Marketing software firm CIK plans to expand, add 57 jobs
CIK Enterprises LLC, a marketing software and services firm, plans to add the jobs by 2016. The company will continue to lease a 30,000-square-foot facility on the city’s west side.
Small Business
Articles
Farmers to get advice on coping with crop losses
Indiana farmers worried about what to do with their withered corn crops will gather in Vigo County this week to discuss crop insurance, cattle feeding options, and other topics related to the drought. Purdue University agricultural experts say some crops already are beyond saving.
What’s New: Blue Marble Design
Meet M.J. Meneley and Randy Royer, landscape architects who rolled out Indianapolis-based Blue Marble Design LLC as a full-time enterprise in May.
Firm gives college kids the opportunity to run a painting business
Student Development Co. helps college students run Textbook Painting businesses, to learn the ins and outs of entrepreneurship. Thirty students in seven states are participating this summer, including 10 student entrepreneurs in Indiana.
Multi-employer health clinic to open downtown
NoviaCare Clinics LLC will open a multi-employer health clinic in downtown Indianapolis this fall, opening the door for smaller employers to add the service to their health benefits.
Web startup aims to connect private businesses, investors
Private firms that need to raise relatively modest amounts of capital have a hard time finding money. Now three Indianapolis entrepreneurs think they have the answer: crowdfunding. Individuals make small investments that are aggregated to fund a business. Indianapolis-based Localstake wants to be the matchmaker.
Venture funding falls 12 percent in second quarter
Funding for U.S. startups fell 12 percent in the second quarter as venture capitalists poured less money into fewer deals than a year earlier. But the number of companies getting funded in the earliest stages of development reached the highest level in more than a decade.
INSIDE DISH: Unlikely pair pilot Ship to profit
OK, so an accountant and a tattoo artist start a bar. Except it's no joke. Clearly defined roles have helped the odd-couple co-owners of The Sinking Ship navigate a turbulent startup and land on solid financial ground.
Mudathlon makes a splash as obstacle course races grow
A 3-year-old Westfield has taken advantage of the adventure-race trend by staging Mudathlons–obstacle courses conducted in the mud. More than 12,000 people were expected to participate in Mudathlon’s four races this summer, up from about 2,000 at the company’s first two races in 2010.
Duo introduces app for hairstylists
Founders of MyBestFriendsHair.com aim to help professionals manage client information.
Gen Con gaming for another attendance record
As crowds get bigger, businesses take more notice.
Does entrepreneurial speed dating work?
The annual Innovation Showcase aims to connect area entrepreneurs with interested investors. Think speed dating with higher stakes.
Purdue offers Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for disabled vets
The Krannert School of Management is one of eight programs around the country that teach the boot camp aimed at helping post-9/11 disabled veterans start their own businesses.
Lilly Endowment awards Butler biz accelerator $3M
The gift will enable the accelerator to keep providing consulting services to mid-size Indiana businesses using the experience of consultants, as well as Butler University faculty and students. It launched in 2005 with the help of a $22 million grant from the endowment.
Carmel veterinarian opening animal hospital near Mass Ave
Woodland Animal Hospital owner will take former bookstore space in Chatham Arch neighborhood.
What’s New: Charlie’s Chillers
Meet Sherri Campbell, who is ramping up Indianapolis-based Charlie’s Chillers LLC after winning last month’s Hottest Kitchen Entrepreneur Challenge.
Building relationships pays off for contractor Gray
Steve Gray Renovations grew during the remodeling industry’s worst downturn in more than two decades.
WOJTOWICZ: It pays to know environmental requirements
Unexpected problems add to the headaches of opening or relocating a business, and we hear a lot about the hang-ups of required, but annoying, environmental investigations.
Co-working spaces multiply, giving independent workers options
Co-working sites—shared office spaces designed to give entrepreneurs, free-lancers and consultants the tools they need to get the job done as well as the chance to interact with other professionals, sans cubicle—are gaining popularity nationally and, finally, in Indianapolis.
Local ad firm BrandWidth rebounds after internal turmoil
BrandWidth puts legal scuffle behind it, emerges to nab several national accounts.