Bankable launches new loan fund for Black-owned businesses
Based in Anderson, Bankable offers microloans to small and startup businesses around the state. This is the organization’s first fund specifically targeting Black-owned businesses.
Small Biz Funding
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Failure risks escalate for small businesses as pandemic drags on
Business advisers and advocacy groups say many small businesses that have managed to survive the pandemic so far are heading into a brutal fall.
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Black chamber leader calls for more city support
During the coronavirus pandemic—which research shows has disproportionately affected black-owned businesses—the 250-member organization has received no city funding to give loans or grants to its members who were struggling.
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Local virus relief funds top $45M and counting
The funding is going to businesses that need assistance paying their employees or rent, to organizations helping families pay their mortgage or buy groceries, and to companies bearing pandemic-related expenses.
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Software firm Lessonly scores $15 million in latest venture funding round
The funding—secured before the coronavirus hit the U.S.—will be used to fuel growth across all segments of the company, said Lessonly CEO Max Yoder.
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Editing suite for range of skin tones is first Be Nimble idea-stage pitch winner
The Indianapolis-based Be Nimble Foundation wrapped up its first Black Innovation Week with an inaugural Idea-Stage Pitch Pardi competition—and chose 12 fledgling startups in the tech and consumer products sectors to honor.
House committee advances bills to create small business, learning loss grant programs
The Indiana House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday unanimously voted to approve pandemic-related bills that would allocate $30 million to help small businesses and $150 million to help students struggling from learning loss.
Ex-Purdue professor, wife get probation for research funds fraud
Qingyou Han, 62, and his wife, Lu Shao, 54, were ordered to pay a combined $1.6 million in restitution after pleading guilty to using more that $1 million in federal research funds for their own personal expenses.
Indiana banks sock away extra money for COVID-19-related loan losses
Amid the widespread economic disruption caused by the pandemic, banks have already granted payment deferrals of up to six months to a significant number of commercial and individual borrowers.
Computer issues at SBA hold up small business rescue loans
An SBA spokeswoman said Tuesday afternoon that there have been more than 275,000 applications received for loans valued at $75 billion since the program launched.
SBA makes emergency loans available statewide to help businesses survive outbreak
The low-interest loans of up to $2 million are designed to provide working capital to Indiana businesses struggling to make it because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Self-funded firms take all the risk, all the rewards
Venture capital is supposed to be the lifeblood of fast-growing tech startups. But a handful of Indianapolis-area companies are defying that widely embraced mindset.
Startup claims breakthrough in gauging pain
MindX founders think they’ve found a scientific way to measure pain and other hard-to-quantify mental health conditions, such as suicide risk, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Startup accelerator seeks locations to expand statewide
Wisconsin-based Gener8tor, which seeks to helps fledgling companies boost revenue and grow jobs, said it’s one-year pilot program in Indianapolis was so successful that it wants to spread its services to additional Hoosier communities.
Tax credit change poised to boost supply of venture capital from out of state
Indiana startups might soon have an easier time attracting out-of-state investments thanks to a change lawmakers made this year to an instrumental tax incentive program.
IBJ Podcast: A startup’s journey from idea to pivot to series A fundraising
120WaterAudit co-founder and CEO Megan Glover talks to host Mason King about the challenges of raising money and whether being based in Indianapolis helps or hurts those efforts. Her answer may surprise you.
Q&A: 120WaterAudit eyes big growth after pivot
Megan Glover started 120WaterAudit in 2016 with the idea of targeting residential consumers nationwide with a water-testing kit that cost $120 every four months. But the company has pivoted to work largely with municipal water utilities and governments.
Startup showcase growing in lockstep with agbioscience sector
AgriNovus Indiana’s Ag+Bio+Science Startup Showcase is growing faster than a corn stalk in June.
In its third year, the showcase attracted a record number of attendees, sponsors and participants for its pitch contest.
Small businesses still feeling federal shutdown hangover
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the five-week closure cost the economy $11 billion, and $18 billion in federal spending was delayed.
Fishers IoT Lab nearly maxed out in less than a year
The Indiana IoT Lab in Fishers has fast become an oasis for tech firms big and small, as well as freelancers helping companies turn their ideas about internet-connected devices into products.
Out-of-state firms are sweeping up Indiana’s tech startups. Is that a good thing?
Experts are mixed on whether the buyout barrage is cause for concern or validation of success.
Startup Woven removes resume from hiring process
Woven bills itself as a software company that helps high-growth engineering teams hit ambitious hiring goals. And it recently hit one of its own: closing on its first round of funding.
Indy tech firm Encamp grows by making environmental compliance easier
When Goshen native Luke Jacobs, an environmental scientist and self-taught techie, developed software to streamline his job, he got a tepid response from his employer. Displeased, he tapped his brainiac brother and equally smart Indiana University classmate to start their own firm.
Elevate Ventures makes 3-year investment commitment to Bloomington, Columbus
Elevate Ventures, Bloomington-based incubator The Mill and the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce on Thursday announced they have entered a three-year agreement to invest $2.5 million to bolster the entrepreneurial ecosystems in Bartholomew, Brown and Monroe counties.