Entrepreneurship

Launch of the REAP

 
February 28th marked the official fundraising launch for the Regional Entrepreneurship Action Plan (REAP) for Northern Indiana. While the wildly successful pilot program is underway thanks to support from state and regional funders, the region is now undertaking an effort to raise $1 million from area funders to match $3 million from state funders and $5 million from national funders to support the program for three years. The initial planning initiative was the result of collaboration between the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), community leaders and private investors in Northern Indiana, and JumpStart Inc., a venture development organization in Northeast Ohio.
 
The objective of this partnership was to help the region develop stronger regional entrepreneurship and innovation capabilities, stimulating job growth and wealth creation. The REAP outlines the rationale and structure for providing regional entrepreneurs with expert assistance and investment capital, accelerating the growth of high potential startup businesses and existing companies. Over 40 people were in attendance at the launch as Ray Leach, CEO/President of JumpStart Inc., and Steve Hourigan, President/CEO of Elevate Ventures, Inc., spoke on the importance of the REAP and entrepreneurship in a community; or in our case a region.
 
JumpStart was founded in Ohio where they created over 2,864 jobs, made 42,000+ entrepreneurial connections, invested $1.1 billion in risk capital, and provided over 60,000 hours of service to entrepreneurs annually. Their main goal: to increase the economic impact of entrepreneurial ventures and the ecosystems supporting their growth in northeast Ohio and across the U.S.
 
So how did an organization that originated in Ohio help Northern Indiana? Simple, they shared their best practices from Jumpstart in Northeast Ohio to craft a Hoosier-specific program to implement here in Northern Indiana. JumpStart is helping Vision 2020 go to the next level of resources, actions and outcomes in partnership with state and national entities. And as the REAP took off, JumpStart recommended that Vision 2020 work with Elevate Ventures, a 501(c)3 organization, to make this all possible.
 
Since the inception of the REAP in 2010-2011, Elevate Ventures has been doing amazing things for Northern Indiana:

• They created QuickStart, a one year pilot program launched last fall, which provided expert advisory services to accelerate entrepreneurial services to small, high growth companies
• They initiated the formation of the Northeast Regional Advisory Board and deployed two Northeast Regional Entrepreneurs In Residence (EIR): Robert Clark and Dave Corcoran, who assist in the evaluation of potential investment and provide functional expertise to assist with existing investment
• They launched EIR Assistance and Economic Gardening Programs
• Committed 1/3 of 3 year state funding for Elevate / 21st Century Fund
• Coordinated with JumpStart to secure national funding to provide a 5:1 leverage ratio against regional commitment
• They also made it possible for Northern Indiana to capture 42% of the leads in Indiana, which is substantial when you consider that only 6% used to come from Northern Indiana

As a result in this growth, Northeast Indiana is working on funding its first two companies within the next quarter!
 
So what exactly does it take to build an entrepreneurial economy and how exactly do all of these things tie together? As Robert Clark, Entrepreneur in Residence with Elevate Ventures put it: “It takes team effort – support and partnership throughout the region. The only way to make a difference is to help each other collectively.” And he’s right. Collectively with the help of JumpStart, Elevate Ventures, and the Northeast Indiana region and its various partners, we can do extraordinary things and it seems that things will only continue to get better as we move forward into the future.
 
Dan Sands, Founder and President of Solstice Medical, LLC, gave a brief speech on how his experience with Elevate Ventures has helped his company in their success. They helped Dan realize the tangible points that investors wanted to know and helped him explore the talent needs that his company had, and where he could find talent and/or how he could get them here if they weren’t already here. During the launch Dan said, “There is a real opportunity for our region and I am really excited about the future and the help that we [as a region] are receiving.” Solstice Medical, founded in 2005 and located in Whitley County, is the leading supplier of radio frequency identification technology solutions including software development for the medical industry and was recently honored as one of Indiana’s leading emerging growth companies.
 
The fundraising launch of the REAP was a great success and we want to thank Mike Packnett and Parkview Health for making it all possible. Thanks again to everyone who attended. If you have additional questions regarding the REAP and are interesting in contributing, please feel free to contact our office.
 

“There are no institutional substitutes for individual entrepreneurial change agents. Without entrepreneurs, economies become poor and weak. The old will not exist; the new cannot enter.”
-Lester C. Thurow

 
Until next time,
Erica
 

Priorities Revealed at Annual Meeting

 
A press conference was held yesterday afternoon at the IPFW Alumni Center by the Regional Opportunities Council to reveal the top priorities established for Northeast Indiana to achieve by the year 2020. Media and the general public waited anxiously to hear the long-awaited announcement.
 
Under the leadership of the Regional Opportunities Council, the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership has spent months garnering feedback from citizens across the 10-county region, establishing buy in from regional leadership and benchmarking successful regions across the country. As a result of feedback from the many partners and stakeholders working on Vision 2020, a final slate of priorities, which align with the five pillars, and a regional mission and vision were unveiled.
 
Throughout the Vision 2020 process, we have found that talent is the underlying current that ties the pillars of Vision 2020 together. Without a focus on developing, attracting and retaining talent, none of the five pillars will be successful. As a result, the Regional Opportunities Council voted at their October meeting to officially adopt a regional mission around talent: The mission of Northeast Indiana is to develop, attract and retain talent.
 
With multiple organizations, businesses and individuals moving Vision 2020 forward, maintaining alignment is critical for long-term sustainability. To affirm alignment with the mission, the Regional Opportunities Council also adopted an overarching vision for Northeast Indiana. The vision is for Northeast Indiana to become a top global competitor, exceeding the expectations of businesses and residents.
 
“A unified mission and vision for Northeast Indiana ensures that as we develop strategies within each pillar, we are doing so with focus, continuing to align with our core purpose for years to come. This is not about one organization aligning with these goals; it’s about all of us–education, business and civic leaders alike–agreeing that to be successful, we need to realize the power of speaking with one voice,” said Dr. Jerrilee Mosier, Chancellor of Ivy Tech Northeast and member of the Regional Opportunities Council. She discussed the importance of developing, attracting, and retaining talent in our region at yesterday’s press conference. She mentioned that if we don’t take the time to retain our educated individuals, we are simply educating someone else’s workforce.
 
Top Priorities set for Northeast Indiana
 
As mentioned above, the priorities revealed yesterday are long-term goals that the region will work on collectively to achieve in 2020. All of these priorities have been vetted extensively and have consistently been ranked by participants of Vision 2020 as both difficult to execute and highly desirable based on their potential impact to the region. As a result, the Regional Opportunities Council finds them to be game changers for the future of Northeast Indiana.
 
21st Century Talent
The BIG Goal
The BIG Goal, as set forth by the Lumina Foundation, entails increasing the proportion of Northeast Indiana residents with high-quality degrees and credentials to 60% by 2025. Currently, only 31.5% of residents in the region hold a degree. Reaching this goal will directly impact both the success of our businesses and the per capita income in the region.
 
 
Entrepreneurship
Quick Start
Quick Start is a one year pilot program that provides expert advisory services to accelerate entrepreneurial opportunities and small, high growth companies. It is a partnership of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), Elevate Ventures, Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership and JumpStart. Quick Start will also coordinate efforts with the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, Small Business Development Center, SCORE and the LEDO Council.
 
 
Infrastructure
Regional Internet Access
Regional internet access will provide our talent with the tools necessary to access global markets, develop and improve technological skills and improve communication. Considering models such as iMAN in Steuben County, we will work to become one of the most wired regions in the country.
 
Regional Interstate Accessibility
Focusing on regional interstate accessibility will improve access to major transportation corridors. With the limited amount of state and federal resources, we must work collectively to prioritize and advocate for those transportation projects that will transform our regional transportation system. The Regional Chamber of Northeast Indiana’s efforts to bring community leaders together around the I-69 to Roanoke Project is the first significant endeavor towards addressing this priority.
 
 
Competitive Business Climate
Permitting
Streamlining the permitting and zoning processes across the region will create a more business-friendly climate, providing greater efficiencies to support our top industry talent. National research of permitting best practices tell us that successful efforts include the following: improvements driven by customer demand, common environmental interests, which serve as a catalyst for improvements, utilizing technology to make improvements sustainable, and the importance of empowering jurisdictions to lead and own these improvements.
 
Air Service at FWA
Increasing flight frequency as well as non-stop air service options will provide our regional talent with greater access to national and global markets. This ease of mobility will also encourage business and job growth and increase our capability to host major conferences.
 
 
Quality of Life
Downtown Riverfront Development
Riverfront development in downtown Fort Wayne will help create a vibrant and dynamic metro center for the region. Creating strong quality of place and offering increased social and cultural amenities will attract young talent and tourists as well as provide an asset for current residents. It could also align with trails, public transit and other waterways to serve as a catalyst for future developments throughout the region.
 
 
John Sampson, President and CEO of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership said “It shows great strength in our region that we were able to successfully collaborate on developing these priorities. Now we need you, the residents of Northeast Indiana, to help turn these plans into action.”
 
Until next time,
Erica
 

CAP Creative Café

 
On Wednesday, September 28th, the Citizens Advisory Panel (CAP) met for the 2nd time this year at the downtown Allen County Public Library. Their task: discuss and provide feedback on the Top 8 regional priorities as determined by the Regional Opportunities Council (ROC). The Top 8 priorities, each aligning with one of the Vision 2020 pillars, discussed included: 21st Century Talent – The BIG Goal (Increase the proportion of NEI residents with postsecondary education to 60% by 2025); Competitive Business Climate – Permitting and Fort Wayne International Air Service; Entrepreneurship – JumpStart; Infrastructure – Regional Internet Access and Regional Interstate Access; and Quality of Life – Downtown Riverfront Development and a Multifaceted Public Art Program.
 
The meeting was orchestrated by CVC Communications CEO, Marilyn Moran Townsend. She introduced the idea of “Creative Café” where small groups are given 10 minutes to discuss one topic then rotate to the next topic for another 10 minutes and so on and so forth. “This isn’t a typical brainstorm” Townsend said, while introducing the idea of the project to the members of the CAP, “These ideas are going to get deeper and deeper as you circle around.” We had eight projects to discuss, each project occupied two tables making 16 tables; each table had a facilitator of the project or “expert” on the topic and a scribe who took notes during each discussion session, it was quite a scene.
 
The meeting lasted over 2 hours and when all was said and done CAP members were excited and enthusiastic about the night. At the end of the meeting, CAP members were asked to select the top priorities; first, by selecting the priority that they felt was the one that would have the most impact on the region and second, by selecting the priority that they felt would be most difficult, but that we as a region needed to take on none the less. The top three priorities that were selected through this process were: The BIG Goal, Riverfront Development, and Regional Internet Access.
 
Thanks again for everyone who participated in the event. It was a huge success and I think we made a lot of headway with the projects!
 
(Image above: Half of the room discusses the Top 8 priorities in the Creative Café format.)
 
By Erica Hahn – Vision 2020 Project Coordinator