Upstart chip-maker wins space on shelves of local groceries
Mark McSweeney launched Broad Ripple Potato Chip Co. last year out of his existing business, a franchise of Great Harvest Bread Co.
Entrepreneurship
Articles
Sharks decline to take Carmel firm’s bait
Carmel-based Baker’s Edge may not have landed an investment on the season finale of ABC hit “Shark Tank,” but co-founder Matt Griffin nevertheless feels good about the experience.
Grab-and-go meals on menu for Patachou owner
Local restaurateur and entrepreneur Martha Hoover wants to open kiosks offering healthy meals on the go in public places, including along the Monon Trail.
Not-for-profit focused on exercise adopts novel funding model
When Tom Hanley couldn’t get large charitable foundations to support a wellness program he developed for central Indiana youth, he switched gears and adopted a fee-for-service model underwritten largely by sponsorships.
Baker’s Edge founders to test ‘Shark Tank’ waters
Carmel residents Matt and Emily Griffin can expect to see a big burst in sales of their innovative brownie pan after they appear in front of celebrity entrepreneurs on ABC-TV’s hit show later this month.
Firm that figured out how to sell hair-salon products online is snapped up by giant
Indianapolis startup Loxa Beauty was barely generating revenue last year when one of the biggest companies in its industry offered to buy it.
Chatham Tap crew buying ex-church for brewery, restaurant
The owners of two popular pubs on Massachusetts Avenue are delving into the trendy micro-brewery business with plans for a brewery and restaurant in a historic former church a few blocks away.
Company conducts ‘global warfare’ against invisible cyber threats
Corporate executives, shaken by fears of hackers, are enlisting Rook Security and an explosion of companies like it to monitor and chase cyber criminals across borders and recover stolen intellectual property.
Bold developer stirs up nursing-home business
Zeke Turner, the 36-year-old CEO of Mainstreet Property Group LLC—who frequently sports a boyish grin and a bold-colored dress shirt, but rarely dons a tie—said he’s “just getting started” in transforming the staid nursing home industry.
Internet-based weather forecasters offer bolder, more detailed outlooks
A posse of Internet-based prognosticators is offering not just forecasts but sometimes even mounds of data left open to interpretation.
Purdue, Cook create $12M fund for life-science startups
The Foundry Investment Fund will join with other investors to provide funding for companies that use Purdue-licensed technology or expertise in human and animal health and plant sciences.
New shooting range draws crowd in Hamilton County; another in the works
The northern-suburb county should have two shooting ranges operating by the end of this year; owners of both business say Hamilton County is a ripe market.
Podcasting allows DJs to carry on, without a radio station
Longtime disc jockeys Jason Hammer and Nigel Laskowski are free from the corporate overlords of modern radio, these days operating their own podcast after having lost their full-time on-air gigs.
Upswing causing slowdown in startups
The number of newly formed Indiana companies slumped in 2013, the first such dip since the recession, but the small drop could actually be a positive sign for the economy. Established companies have more job openings than a few years ago, meaning workers have less incentive to start their own businesses, as thousands did when the economy tumbled.
Young CEO has big plans for employee-training software firm
Upstart Lesson.ly, an Indy-based developer of training software, is run by a 25-year-old and is trying to cut into a $42 billion market dominated by titans such as IBM and Oracle.
Therapist helps seniors, families decide when to relinquish keys
Laura Noblitt is a Zionsville-based occupational therapist with 25 years of experience in geriatric rehabilitation. She has spent half a decade riding shotgun with elderly drivers in central Indiana, determining whether it’s safe for them to stay behind the wheel.
Unintentional entrepreneur parlayed consumer-electronics savvy into PR firm
Arland Communications, run by former Thomson Consumer Electronics spokesman Dave Arland, is the only area firm focused entirely on the $200 billion-plus annual consumer electronics market.
Peyton Manning wears ankle brace designed by local entrepreneur
Rick Peters, founder of Carmel-based Ultra Athlete LLC—a small manufacturing firm with a reputation for state-of-the-art ankle braces—sent his latest brace to the Denver Broncos head trainer on a whim, and saw Manning wearing it three days later.
Apple buyout in ChaCha’s future?
Apple has applied for a patent that sounds pretty familiar to the folks at Carmel-based ChaCha Search Inc. Enough so that ChaCha founder Scott Jones has suggested that his business is well-suited for an acquisition by one of the largest companies in the world.
Indiana-born coat-checking firm gains steam after ‘Shark Tank’ appearance
Derek Pacqué, who started CoatChex in 2010, appeared a year ago on the ABC show in which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to prominent investors. Billionaire Mark Cuban offered to invest but wanted a large ownership stake. Pacqué said no, and has since grown his company.
But really, he said, the company is doing just fine without the billionaire.