NOV. 2-8, 2018
Technology touches nearly every corner of business nowadays, but even the biggest firms can’t do it all. That’s one big reason why corporate venture capital is on the upswing. Companies like Eli Lilly and Co., Simon Property Group, Allegion and Salesforce have established firms to invest in tech startups and other newish ventures that can help the mothership. IBJ’s Anthony Schoettle reports on how this is playing out locally. Also in this week’s paper, North of 96th reporter Samm Quinn has dialed her focus down down to several blocks near the Monon Trail in Carmel that are in the midst of a dramatic transformation with new developments and construction projects. And in Focus, John Russell profiles academic researchers at Indiana-based universities who also have developed careers as serial entrepreneurs who commercialize their discoveries.
Front PageBack to Top
Carmel turning blighted industrial area into sizzling mixed-use corridor
Redevelopment projects are dramatically reshaping several blocks along the Monon Trail in Carmel—and an end to construction isn’t in sight for the Midtown area.
Read MoreAllegion, Heritage among corporations leaping into venture investing
A wave of corporations in central Indiana is creating venture capital arms, pushed partly by the desire to join the technological movement.
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Top Indiana CEOs drop $650K on PACs, races
An IBJ analysis of political giving this election by CEOs of Indiana’s biggest companies found 56 executives donated $650,000 to nearly 92 organizations and candidates seeking federal office.
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Hamilton County officials debate 10 percent income tax hike for 911
For at least a year, county officials have debated how best to pay for the county’s 911 communications operation going forward.
Read MoreSears’ Castleton, Greenwood closings create opportunities, obstacles
One complication is that Sears—not Simon Property Group—controls the Castleton Square space.
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New digital city hall promises convenient, efficient services
More than 50 city services—from requesting extra police patrols to filing property tax appeals to requesting a streetlight in your neighborhood—are now offered digitally at my.indy.gov.
Read MoreQ&A with Doug Kouns, an FBI agent who became entrepreneur
Doug Kouns spent 20 years in the FBI before retiring to launch his own intelligence, investigations and research firm in Carmel.
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Developer to revamp 50-year-old, south-side apartment complex
Birge & Held plans to rehabilitate the 304-unit community and target low- and moderate-income renters, who face a shortage of affordable housing.
Read MoreFocusBack to Top
University researchers make discoveries count as entrepreneurs
A few influential “serial entrepreneurs” in Indiana universities feel an itch to turn their discoveries into products and companies, over and over again.
Read MoreMATTHEW NEFF: Can we accelerate business creation from academia?
Most institutions encourage faculty innovation, but it is only publications that counts toward tenure consideration.
Read MoreOpinionBack to Top
Editorial: Convention hotel plan a winner
A proposed public-private partnership to build two convention hotels with 1,400 more rooms as well as a $120 million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center will give downtown and Visit Indy a big boost.
Read MoreGREG MORRIS: Advance your education and enhance your life
Know someone struggling to break into the job market? Pass along a copy of Career Ready
Read MoreSheila Kennedy: You can still make a difference in your own back yard
There’s a limited amount that most of us can do to affect national policy, which is certainly not to say we shouldn’t vote, advocate and do our best to persuade our fellow Americans of the value of our positions. But we really can make a difference locally.
Read MoreKyle Hupfer: Hoosiers should stay the course, vote Republican
Here in Indiana, thanks to a decade-plus of strong Republican leadership from Mitch Daniels, now president of Purdue University; Mike Pence, now our nation’s vice president; Eric Holcomb, our current governor; and our supermajorities in the Statehouse, Indiana has seen unprecedented growth and opportunity.
Read MoreHAHN: Cognitive decline fueled by aging can lead to exploitation
Learn about elder abuse and be proactive in financially protecting loved ones.
Read MoreBOHANON & CUROTT: Fed must stay independent, ignore Trump tirades
The officials in charge of setting the governments’ budget should not be the same officials in control of the printing press.
Read MoreMichael Blickman: Beware of using artificial intelligence in hiring
A significant problem with using AI in the hiring process is the prospect that the data used by the computer is implicitly biased and that unlawful discrimination will result.
Read MoreLetter: Please vote, and take your kids along
You may not think your vote can make a difference, but it does.
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Fuzzy’s Vodka ends sponsorship of IndyCar, Ed Carpenter Racing
Ed Carpenter Racing said Indianapolis-based Fuzzy’s Spirits LLC plans to “concentrate on business initiatives outside of motorsports moving forward.”
Read MoreIndianapolis-based Salin Bancshares to be acquired in $135M deal
Salin Bank and Trust Co.—the third-largest privately held bank in Indiana—will take on the name of its acquirer after the deal closes in early 2019.
Read MorePackaging manufacturer plans $106 million plant in Lebanon
A British company with packaging plants around the world plans to build a 550,000-square-foot manufacturing facility just southwest of Interstate 65 that will employ 140.
Read MoreIndiana Historical Society names CEO to replace retiring Herbst
The CEO of the Connecticut Historical Society will take over the post in late January, marking the first leadership change at the organization in more than a dozen years.
Read MoreDeveloper pulls trigger on $50M logistics project near I-65
The new owner of the site is bullish enough on the Indianapolis market to start development of the 1 million-square-foot building without having a user signed for the space.
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MIKE LOPRESTI: Indians have some fingerprints on this Red Sox championship
A journeyman, a coach and a team player—World Series winners now—all spent time at Victory Field.
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Finding a place for Spirit & Place
About 30-40 events this year will fit under the elusive umbrella of the Spirit & Place Festival, a unique yet difficult-to-define, only-in-Indianapolis celebration of the arts, humanities and religion.
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