Jumpstart

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
 

Entrepreneurs Made Here

 
Many people want to be their own boss, start their own company, be the next Mark Zuckerberg. The problem is they don’t know what they want their product to be. What’s the next big thing they can create or invent? What will get people talking? And that’s where many entrepreneurs miss the mark. It isn’t always about reinventing the wheel; oftentimes it’s about taking something that’s already being done and make it better.

 
Take for instance Brian Emerick, president and CEO of Micropulse Inc. He was a tool-and-die maker in the manufacturing sector – not a flashy career that gets frequent media buzz. But he didn’t try to make over the manufacturing industry; instead he worked hard and focused on the needs of customers. He started his tool-and-die business out of his garage in Columbia City and now that same garage sits next to a 100,000 square foot medical device manufacturing facility that he opened next door.

 
Why not leave and move to a big city to try and make a name? “My roots are here,” Emerick said, “The location is perfect. The people are great. And Whitley County is a good, positive place to do business.”

 
Emerick and Micropulse are proof that Northeast Indiana is an ideal location for manufacturing and Emerick is working to help other entrepreneurs find a way to root their business in Northeast Indiana too. Emerick is a member of the Vision 2020 steering committee for the Entrepreneurship pillar.  This pillar is working with Jumpstart Inc. to help entrepreneurs, like Emerick, get the guidance and support services needed to grow their ideas.

 
“Northern Indiana is rich with skilled manufacturing talent, and the work ethic is second to none,” he said, adding, “Hoosiers have a ‘roll up your sleeves and do what needs to be done’ attitude.”

 
Emerick and Micropulse don’t only fall within the reach of the Entrepreneurship pillar; they span all five Vision 2020 pillars. Emerick has access to a highly skilled workforce right in his community (21st Century Talent); a strong manufacturing base and business-friendly taxes (Business Climate); an ideal location next to the medical device capital of the world (Infrastructure); a welcoming community that he calls home (Quality of Life); and Emerick himself is the embodiment of an innovator (Entrepreneurship).

 
Northeast Indiana is proud to have Emerick and Micropulse within its ten counties, but we aren’t the only place that’s taking notice of Micropulse. In July, Micropulse was chosen as one of 43 Indiana businesses to be awarded with the distinction of “Company to Watch,” which is an annual award given by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. Micropulse was a recipient in 2008 as well. But Micropulse received an even more exclusive designation this year; the company was given a “Spotlight” award, which only five of the 43 companies received. The award is given to past “Companies to Watch” recipients who have shown continued growth.

 
Brian Emerick and Micropulse are great examples of the success that entrepreneurs and businesses can have in Northeast Indiana. Vision 2020 is working to provide the tools needed to be successful; the rest is up to you!

 
To read more about the “Spotlight” awards, click here.

To read a case study on Micropulse Inc., click here.

To visit Micropulse Inc.’s website, click here.