Powder Keg aims to blast Indy startups onto national scene
If Indianapolis’ startup community is on the brink of exploding, Matt Hunckler wants to light the match.
Small Business
Articles
Microsoft, Chase fuel ad shop’s growth spurt
Thanks to blossoming relationships with corporate behemoths like Microsoft and JPMorgan Chase, local ad agency Bradley and Montgomery is making plans to double its 50-employee work force.
INSIDE DISH: New partners boost sales at Pure
Receipts at the locavore's haven in Fountain Square have surged since February, when two new partners took over day-to-day management, redefined the space, expanded the menu and turned its hours of operation upside down.
Banks eager to loan, but small firms hold back
Indiana banks can tout more success in small-business lending since the recession ended, but the success is hard-won because the masses of entrepreneurs remain cautious about borrowing.
Hopes slipping among state business owners
A survey of Hoosier business owners shows an increasingly a ho-hum outlook, with only one in seven optimistic for their own company and even fewer encouraged about the U.S. economy.
Small loans for small businesses
Business Ownership of Indiana is ramping up its micro-lending program, awarding a $10,000 loan to Indianapolis-based Stage Ninja LLC. Can such small amounts make a difference to fledgling firms?
Startup aims to help relieve business leaders’ stress
No job is too small for Simply Helpful, which provides office-support services on a contract basis.
Royal Spa owner prevails in suits involving ex-employee
Royal Spa CEO Robert Dapper won a small judgment against ex-employee Kevin Roessler, and had a complaint and counterclaim containing sexually explicit charges against him dismissed.
Gerdt Furniture closing Castleton location
The 26-year-old store at 8602 Allisonville Road is liquidating its merchandise and is marking down prices as much as 70 percent. Gerdt’s original and lone remaining store, in Southport, will stay open.
Defender Direct acquires Williams Comfort Air
Home-security and satellite-dish installer Defender Direct Inc. has acquired local heating, cooling and plumbing powerhouse Williams Comfort Air, creating a home-services company with nearly 2,200 employees and $335 million in annual revenue.
Local software developer plans to add 25 jobs
Connect Think LLC said it will add the jobs by 2016 and will invest $244,000 in equipment to continue its focus on mobile application development.
Sale of signature game Phase 10 sent Fundex into ditch
The nightmare that culminated with the Plainfield-based company’s recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing began in the depths of the financial crisis, when the company’s lender yanked its more-than-$10-million line of credit.
Local pilot turns aerobatics into satisfying ‘jobby’
Billy Werth’s passion for flying has landed him two jobs that pay the bills–as commercial pilot with Chautauqua Airlines and a major in the Air Force Reserves at Grissom Air Reserve Base in Peru. His third job is just for fun. Since 2006, Werth has owned an acrobatic flying company called Grayout Aerosports.
What’s New: Simply Helpful
Meet Tara Elder, who launched Simply Helpful in April to aid entrepreneurs and other business leaders overwhelmed by their to-do lists.
Startup aims to take business cards into digital age
Indianapolis entrepreneur Nick Carter thinks he’s found a way to eliminate the “black hole” of marketing data: smart business cards that track how recipients use them.
Sun King brewing another round of growth
After just three years in business, Sun King finds itself the second-largest brewer in Indiana, behind only Three Floyds Brewing Co. in Munster, which produces about 23,000 barrels and also is growing quickly.
Event-planning vet Maribeth Smith has impressive resume
Maribeth Smith’s introduction to the world of event planning sure was a doozy—coordinating the city’s first significant Final Four in 1991. In the 20 years since, Smith has planned some of Indianapolis’ biggest soirees, highlighted this year by several events surrounding the Super Bowl, which helped cement her status as one of the city’s leading meeting planners.
Study: Indiana tax code discourages small businesses
A new study of Indiana's business tax structure suggests the state's tax code discourages the small, home-grown businesses often considered the engines of job creation.
Update: Swimming with sharks can be painful
Indianapolis entrepreneur Derek Pacqué pitched his business idea to potential investors on national TV and walked away empty handed—by choice.
LEADING QUESTIONS: Film fest chief zooms in on fundraising
What "Twilight Zone"-ish connection does the founder of Heartland Truly Moving Pictures have to its new HQ? What tearjerking moment did he share with a major donor? How did he calm an infuriated Hollywood director? Jeffrey Sparks is ready for his closeup.