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May was a thrilling and dizzying month for the Hoosier state—and not just because of the exciting NBA playoff run, the heralded arrival of WNBA rookie phenom Caitlin Clark and a for-the-ages finish to the Indy 500.
If you blinked, you might’ve missed a flurry of major new developments in innovation and entrepreneurship as Indiana accelerates its investments in high-potential startups and fast-growing businesses and unveils several entrepreneurial-focused initiatives.
Gov. Eric Holcomb and Elevate Ventures have announced a $100 million fund to help grow Indiana startups and provide financial resources to keep them here in Indiana.
In May, Indiana also welcomed business, academic and government leaders from more than 30 countries and territories to the second Indiana Global Economic Summit, which shined an international spotlight on the state’s leadership in innovation across numerous key industries. The event heightened anticipation for next year’s Global Entrepreneurship Congress. Indianapolis will be only the second U.S. location to host the annual convention—the premier gathering of entrepreneurs, policymakers, investors and startup ecosystem builders from around the world—since its inaugural meeting in 2009.
Here in Bloomington, IU Ventures, which invests in and supports early-stage companies with strong connections to Indiana University, recently welcomed 250 of the best and brightest innovators from across IU’s rapidly expanding entrepreneurial ecosystem “back” to campus for the third-annual IU Founders and Funders Network Venture Summit. The sold-out event provided members of IU’s startup ecosystem the chance to connect with industry leaders and potential partners, build relationships to support their endeavors, and learn about innovative startups and investment opportunities. It also introduced attendees to IU Innovates, a newly launched university-wide initiative that is expanding support for students and faculty in the creation and growth of startup ventures and Quarry AI, which will accelerate the development of AI and software projects originating from IU’s world-class research enterprise.
All these activities illustrate Indiana’s progress in advancing new businesses and innovations that will drive the economy of the future.
But we cannot rest on recent laurels. Now is the time for Indiana to be bold.
As Caitlin Clark might say: Now is the time for Hoosiers to “shoot from the logo.”
In 2021, the Indiana Business Research Center at IU’s Kelley School of Business found that Hoosier companies under 5 years of age accounted for a majority of net job growth in the state and contributed an estimated $11.5 billion to Indiana’s GDP. Indiana’s goal should be to commit even more strongly to helping its emerging entrepreneurs find access to funding capital, industry partners, talent and expertise, mentorship, training and other critical resources that will enable them to transform their big ideas into full-blown successful businesses.
The state’s top colleges and universities must further ignite the business potential of entrepreneurial-minded faculty, students and staff through comprehensive entrepreneurship programs like IU’s renowned Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Education, experiential learning that immerses students in the foundations of starting a business; executive-in-residence programs whose members can mentor and advise founders, companies and investors; and community-building and networking events like the IU Ventures summit.
Finally, we must do more to cultivate a vibrant and sustainable culture of entrepreneurship across our state.
As Hoosiers, we are naturally humble about our successes, choosing to let our hard work speak for itself. By more actively recognizing and celebrating the contributions of our entrepreneurs, we can fashion a spirit of innovation, creativity, collaboration, resilience and risk-taking that further elevates Indiana’s reputation as a place where startup businesses truly take off.•
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Armstrong is an associate vice president at Indiana University and the president and CEO of IU Ventures.
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