Last month I blogged about the “The Young Entrepreneur Auction” bill that is making its way through the state legislature.  I am a big fan of the bill as a way to not only encourage college grads to become entrepreneurs, but as a way to really spur local economies.  You can see a copy of the bill here, and can track its progress here. The official description of the bill is:

Requires the Indiana economic development corporation (IEDC) to establish a young entrepreneurs program to promote the business proposals of students in entrepreneurial programs at state educational institutions. Provides that the program must include at least one auction per year in which communities bid for the opportunity to locate a young entrepreneur’s start-up business in their community. Requires the office of community and rural affairs to assist rural communities in preparing for an auction.

I recently discussed the bill with State Representative Sue Ellspermann, the bill’s author (you can read her bio here).  In the discussion she explained to me a little about her background, and where the idea for the bill came from.  I am going to attempt to encapsulate the discussion here – because I believe that if you understand where this bill is coming from, there is very little chance that you will not support it.

A little backgound about Sue Ellpermann

Sue got her start as a small business owner at the age of 26 – starting her own consultancy.  She admits she was fortunate to have business coming in the door very quickly – but she still has a keen understanding of the challenges of launching and growing a small business.  She comes from a very entrepreneurial family and community – so naturally, she is interested in encouraging others to follow that path.

The Origins of the Young Entrepreneur Auction Bill

Sue shared with me a story of a young furniture maker from her hometown, Ferdinand, IN, who wanted to move back and open a furniture manufacturing business there.  As with any business, he needed support to get the business started.  The community rallied around him by calling a meeting of 25 of so people. They learned about his business plan, and through various forms of support (other than simply capital investments) he was able to open a business that is now thriving and a source of pride for the community.  In fact, now he is actually using extra space in the old factory the business runs out of to help incubate other, local businesses.

The point here is that rather than making the rounds to banks, angel investors and other capital sources blindly (which is a daunting task), the community was able to come together and make connections to the right people for him – and they were more than happy to do so.  Additionally, the entreprenuer had an immediate support system in place – a network of people that had his back in case he needed it.

So the origin of the bill (at least as I understand it), is that if the community backed approach can work for the young furniture maker, why not come up with a process that encourages the same thing in communities around the state.

How the Young Entrepreneur Auction Bill Would Work

Entrepreneurs would only be eligible for consideration if they (a) are enrolled in a state educational institution and pursuing a major or minor in an entrepreneurial program; or (b) graduated from a state educational institution with a major or minor in an entrepreneurial program not more than 3 years before submitting an application to participate.  While this might seem a little restrictive, it makes sense to me.  Opening something like this up to others might be too difficult to manage.  More importantly, the main point of this bill is too encourage college students to start businesses, not necessarily their parents.

With the help of the state Universities:

• Eligible entrepreneurs would submit business plan to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC).
• IEDC would then filter out the good from the bad, and setup times for the selected entrepreneurs to present to communities around the state. This would happen at least once a year – ideally in May/June to coincide with the majority of college graudations.
• Those communities would then have some period of time to make “bids” to attract the entreprenuers they are interested in.  Those bids could come in the form of loans, grants, office space, fiber, utilities, support…etc…from both public and private sources.
• IEDC would then help the entrepreneurs evaluate and hopefully select a bid.
• Entrepreneurs get a head start!  Communities attract new businesses and jobs!  Viola!

There are lots of details that are yet to be determined, and the bill gives IEDC a lot of discretion on the coming up with those details, but the above is it in a nutshell.

Why This Bill Kicks A$$

First of all, it should be noted that the fiscal impact is minimal – running this project would likely only require the equivalent of a 1/4 FTE.  So the state doesn’t stand to lose much – and nobody can really argue that is a budget concern.

More importantly, though, this gives towns and small cities around the state an opportunity to create economic growth organically, without the need to attract the next big factory.  It encourages the states bright young people to give starting a business a shot, without all of the burdens typically associated with starting a business.  Of course, this is not an automatic path to success, not does it mean these entrepreneurs will not need other resources to get started – but it is a boost that should help an entrepreneur, who might be worried about making the leap in to a startup business, get comfortable with the prospect.  Plus, when the business arrives, it immediately is met with the support of the surrounding community – a value that is difficult to measure.

It is great to see initiatives like in the works in Indiana! Agree with me?  Contact your legislator and make sure they know.

Many thanks to Sue Ellpsermann for sharing her thoughts with me – and for authoring the bill!

If you have thoughts are suggestions, please leave them in the comments below.

Nothing like spreading the startup love around.  Our friends over at StartupSpectator.com and IndySpectator.com posted a nice article about the some of the resources around Indy / Indiana for the startup community. IndianaStartup.com was mentioned, along with some other great resources and events.  You can read the full post below.  If you haven’t already, make sure you sign up for IndySpectator.com – an email based “succinct guide to the most important happenings and events occurring everyday in Indianapolis and the surrounding area.” And make sure to check out StartupSpectator.com.

So you’re interested in starting a business someday? I know that’s an aspiration I have that’s probably shared with quite a few of you. Yet few people actually achieve the dream of starting their own company. There are myriad of reasons of why that’s the case, but I think one of the biggest ones is the inability to find support or a partner that can help you build a business. Think about some of the most successful companies of our time. Bill Gates had Paul Allen with him every step of the way at Microsoft. Steve Wozniak was there to hack together a new kind of computer with Steve Jobs at Apple, and Mark Zuckerberg relied a lot on Chris Hughes and Dustin Moskovitz when he was building Facebook. Great companies are usually built by a team because, let’s face it, rarely is anyone as good enough at every aspect of business to be able to handle it alone.

But how do you find the right people to partner with and/or support your business? We have you covered, and lucky for you, Indianapolis is starting to grow a fairly strong entrepreneurial community. Check out these resources and events if you’re a budding entrepreneur or even if you’ve always kept the thought of starting your own business in the back of your mind.

Startup Spectator
Startup Spectator is our sister site so we’re a little partial. Still, it’s beginning to grow into a great source of information on what is currently going on in the startup community. On Startup Spectator you’ll find news on local startups, interviews with entrepreneurs, and op-ed’s from people involved in the community.

IndianaStartup.com
Another great source of information is IndianaStartup.com, but with a slightly different angle. IndianaStartup.com features a collection of tips for entrepreneurs, which will help you cover the bases when you do decide to launch your business. You’ll also find profiles on local startups so you can get a feel for the kind of businesses that are just starting out in our community.

Startup Digest
Startup Digest is a national publication that covers events related to entrepreneurship and technology. We’re lucky to have a dedicated Indianapolis list that comes to your inbox once a week on Monday mornings with all of the startup related events happening throughout the week. It’s great for technology enthusiasts with several events dedicated to discussing the latest programming trends and also great for people generally interested in business with networking events and high profile speakers.

Verge
If you only took my advice on one of these recommendations then Verge would be it. Formerly known as Hackers and Founders, Verge is a once a month meetup at the Earth House Collective downtown where hundreds of entrepreneurs, investors, and “hackers” converge to pitch new business ideas and discuss what’s coming next. If you’d like to connect with the who’s who of the Indianapolis startup community then you absolutely need to come to this event. You can sign up on the Meetup page and also look for the new Verge websitecoming soon.

Startup Weekend
This might be the best way to force yourself to get started working on a new business. Startup Weekend is a 54 hour marathon (don’t worry you’ll have time to sleep…but maybe not much!) where you quickly form a team and start working on a new business. The goal is to have that business ready to launch by the end of the weekend. It may not be perfect and adjustments may have to be made, but at least you’ll have the foundation of a new business just by coming to this event. The next weekend will be April 8-10 at the Purdue Research Park.

Now go get involved in the vibrant entrepreneurial community that is growing in Indianapolis!

One of the keys to making any state, city, or community a great place to start a business is the ability for entrepreneurs and startups to obtain support, both public and private, in the launch and growth of their business.  Support can come in a variety of forms, and on the of the best forms (if setup and executed properly), is the business incubator / accelerator model.  Indiana has a bunch of these – and we will be profiling all of them at some point.

The first of those is the Flagship Enterprise Center in Anderson.  Flagship is a technology based business incubator and growth stage business accelerator that was created through a partnership between Anderson University and the City of Anderson.  It is also the second largest business incubator in the state according to the IBJ.  Some of Flagship’s clients include AMATRA Technologies, Bright Automotive, and Comfort Motion Technologies (you can see more clients here)

I asked Adam Hoekesema, the client services manager for Flagship, if he could answer a few brief questions about Flagship (Adam will also be contributing to IndianaStartup.com as a guest blogger beginning next week):

What does the FEC do?

The FEC helps businesses launch and grow through a unique business incubation program.  Clients  benefit from the following FEC programs and services:

• Executive Level Business Coaching
• Business Planning and Strategy Assistance
• Access to Capital through Microloans, Grants, and Equity Investments
• Access to FEC conference rooms
• Networking Opportunities
• Training Seminars

There are 3 client programs available to businesses including:

1. FEC Client – Clients are physically located  in an FEC building
2. ABI Client – Clients are physically located at the Anderson Business Incubator
3. Affiliate Client – Clients maintain their own office, but still have access to Flagship  programs and services including our client specific business incubation program.

To learn more about the Flagship Enterprise Center visit their website at www.flagshipenterprise.org or call DeWayne Landwehr at (765) 622-0100

As you may have heard, in the past few days the Obama administration announced a new policy initiative called “Startup America” – which is being billed as a national campaign to spur innovation and create jobs.  According to the Whitehouse website, the goals of Startup America are:

Expand access to capital for high-growth startups throughout the country;

Expand entrepreneurship education and mentorship programs that empower more Americans not just to get a job, but to create jobs;

Strengthen commercialization of the about $148 billion in annual federally-funded research and development, which can generate innovative startups and entirely new industries;

Identify and remove unnecessary barriers to high-growth startups; and

Expand collaborations between large companies and startups.

Details are still coming out about the initiative, but it appears to have some heavy private sector weight behind it:

• Steve Case – Founder of AOL – is Chairing the initiative
• Intel Corp. is investing $200 Milllion
• IBM is investing $150 Million
• Facebook plans to hold at least a dozen events around the US aimed at helping entrepreneurs
• The US Chamber of Commerce is increasing its funding for the education of entrepreneurs by $1 Million

On the public side of the initiative, the following is being proposed:

• The permanent elimination of capital gains taxes on certain investments in small businesses.
• Expansion of the New Markets Tax Credit to encourage private investment in startups and small businesses operating in low-income communities.
• $2 Billion in existing loan guarantees over five years to match private investment in startups and small businesses in underserved communities.
• Providing mentors for “clean tech” startups.
• Training veterans who want to start businesses.
• Allowing entrepreneurs to request faster review of patents.

Before I could ever really formulate a solid opinion on Startup America, I would need more details than I have now.  But on the surface, I like this – a lot.  The startup world has the attention of the government, and I believe that can only lead to good things.  It may be that the first iteration of this initiative isn’t perfect, and I don’t necessarily like every aspect of what I have seen so far – but in my mind that is beside the point right now.  It is encouraging to see the Whitehouse put some energy into the the startup community in this country – while also recognizing that there is the potential for major economic growth by spurring startups and entrepreneurs.

It will be interesting (and hopefully exciting) to see where this goes.

Do you have any initial thoughts?

Last night I attended the Indy Hackers and Founders event – and it…was…awesome.  If you are into the Indiana tech scene, you need to attend this event (if you can get a ticket that is).  12 years ago, I spent 2 1/2 years as a dot-com founder/entrepreneur in Indy – and there was nothing even close to an event like this.  Casual, yet electric.  Organized, yet social – very social.  What started out as a small gathering of hackers and founders last year, has evolved into a 200+ person event, complete with a waiting list, that attracts investors and all kinds or people interested in tech startups.  It is exciting to see a community like this develop in Indy – and I hope it spreads throughout the state.  Matt Hunckler and his team deserve a ton of credit for putting this event together and showing so much passion for the Indy startup scene.

Besides the great conversation and networking before and after the event (and the plethora of frothy beverage and party subs), last nights event had 2 big highlights:

Hackers and Founders Indy is now Verge.

With the help of Indianapolis brand and experience design consultancy KA+A, the Hackers and Founders Indy guys have come up with a brand all their own.  It will be interesting to see how Verge takes shape and what changes are in store.

MyJibe.com Held a Launch Party.

The co-founders of MyJibe.com announced the impending launch their new personal finance tool, which “enables you at any moment to know how much you can spend, when you can afford what you want and if you’re on track to reach your savings goals.”  Co-founders Mike Langellier (founder) and Brandon Dewitt (hacker) spoke about their experiences over the past year, how they bravely left the big corporate world.  Mike somehow managed to do all this while having 2 small children at home (and he wisely thanked his wife in front of the 200+ in attendance).  These are easy guys to root for – so spread the word about MyJibe.com and give it a whirl.  We hope to have more about MyJibe.com on this site in the very near future.

Can’t wait for the next Hackers and Foun…..uhhhh….Verge Indy!

What did you think?

Welcome to IndianaStartup.com!  Beginning today, we are re-launching this site with a renewed drive to get the word out about Indiana being a great place to start a business.

We plan on doing that in a few different ways.   We will be looking at startups in lots of industries – including biotech, manufacturing, retail, restaurants, media…you name it. We will be profiling cool startups and their founders…allowing you to benefit from the lessons they have learned.  We will have daily posts from all sorts of professionals providing valuable advice, guidance and tips to startups (marketing, legal, accounting, business planning, strategy, fund raising…and lots more). We will have some of Indiana’s most exciting startups chronicling their startup journeys…through good and bad.

Some of the guest bloggers you will see here include:

• Harold Apple . Harold has been a huge part of the Indiana tech scene for awhile.  He is a successful entrepreneur, and is a valued mentor and advisor to many, many people (including me).  He currently is the President and CEO of the Indiana Health Information Exchange.   LinkedIn.  Twitter.
• Chris Byers. Chris Byers is the CEO of Formstack.com, an Indianapolis based startup.  His experience includes co-founding and running an international non-profit while based in London, England & Krakow, Poland.  Linkedin. Twitter.
• Kenan Farrell. Kenan is an Indiana attorney who focuses his law practice (KLF Legal) on Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law, representing businesses, non-profits, artists and entrepreneurs. LinkedIn.  Twitter.
• Adam Hoeksemab. Adam Hoeksema is the Client Services Manager for the Flagship Enterprise Center in Anderson Indiana.  The Flagship Enterprise Center is a non-profit technology based business incubator and growth stage business accelerator. LinkedIn.  Twitter.
• Carl Kinker.  Carl J. Kinker (CPA, MBA) is a partner with The Controllership Group, based in Fishers, Indiana. Carl has over 25 years of executive level experience in management and operations, serving as controller and CFO for high-growth, entrepreneurial companies.  LinkedIn.
• Joshua Koch. Joshua Koch is Co-Founder and COO of The Tyros, an Indianapolis startup company that is chronicling its journey as a startup on IndianaStartup.com.  The Tyros is a web and mobile application strictly for Athletic Officials, Assigners and Coaches helping them organize, communicate and grow.  LinkedIn.  Twitter.

We will be adding new bloggers all the time (contact us if you are interested!).

And to kick things off, we will giving away an iPad in the very near future to one lucky person or business. Official contest rules will be forthcoming within the next few days – so check back soon.  But I can tell you that one requirement to win the iPad will be to follow @indianastartup – so be sure to become a follower.

2011 is going to be a great year for startups in Indiana!

Indiana Representative Sue Ellsperman (R-Ferdinand) plans to file a bill during the first legislative session of 2011 that would create a “young entrepreneur auction.”  The gist of the bill is this:

I have not seen a copy of the bill yet, but conceptually this sounds like a great idea.  If communities around the state are able to widely participate, something like this might be successful in matching up young entrepreneurs with communities that have the facilities and talent to give them a chance at success.  Some critical considerations, at least in my mind, include:

• Making sure there is wide participation around the state – lots of communities will need to get on board. Otherwise, what is the point?
• If the only “community leaders” who participate wind up being real estate developers and brokers in Indy and Bloomington looking to fill empty office space at discounted rates, this will flop.
• How is this paid for?  What will the incentives be?  Tax breaks?  Free space?  Grants?

I plan to keep an eye out for this bill and will post a follow up.

What are your thoughts?

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When I originally launched this blog in July of 2009, I intended on making daily blog entries ranging from legal tips to profiles of local startups.  My busy schedule as a solo practitioner attorney has unfortunately prevented me from keeping up.  Despite the poor frequency of my posting, the site continues to generate a relatively significant amount of traffic (approximately 10,000 visitors in 2010), has obtained some decent placement on Google for many of its posts, and at one point had over 200 subscribers (now that number is down to around 50).

For 2011, I want to see this blog fulfill its potential as not only a top notch information resource for start-up entrepreneurs, but also as THE platform to get the word out on Indiana’s start-up environment.  To that end, I am doing a few new things:

Looking for Guest Bloggers.

Basically, anyone that is interested contributing to the Indiana startup scene is welcome to come on board.  I am particularly interested in people that have a passion for entrepreneurship and startups and would be willing to contribute on some sort of regular basis (weekly, monthly…whatever works for you).   Ideally, I would like to find someone that has an interest in one of these areas:

• General start up advice and tips
• Accounting
• Business Planning
• Marketing / Social Media
• Finance and fundraising
• …anything else that fits into this general theme.

I do not make any money right now off this site, but it does serve as a good marketing tool for my law practice that focuses on working with startups.  Contributors wouldn’t be paid for their contributions, but if this site takes off, it could be a great marketing tool for them as well.  Plus, the more content we can put out there, the more valuable of a resource this will become.  If you are interested in becoming a regular contributor and helping to grow Indiana’s startup community, shoot me an email at brian@bvplegal.com.  I will add a full profile page with logos, headshots, backlinks…etc…for anyone that comes on board.

Starting A LinkedIn Group

LinkedIn.com has a great new feature that allows for the creation of very functional group pages.  The new group pages provide discussions, promotions among members, job postings…and more.  I have set up the IndianaStartup.com page at this link.

Any other ideas?

What else do you think can be added to this site to make it a great resource of the Indiana startup community?  If you have ideas, contact me of leave a comment.

If you are an entrepreneur, be sure to clear your calendar from the evening of Friday June 4th – Sunday June 6th and attend Indianapolis Startup Weekend.  I have been reading about these events for a couple of years, have always heard great things, and plan on attending myself this year.

I have included some brief information on the event below – but to learn more and register for attendance, be sure to visit http://indianapolis.startupweekend.org/.

Startup Weekend recruits a highly motivated group of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more to a 54 hour event that builds communities, companies and projects.

Founded in 2007 by Andrew Hyde, the weekend is a concept of a conference focusing on learning by creating. It is known for its quick decisions, ‘out of the box’ thinking (oh no, the buzzwords are attacking!), unique facilitation technique and letting the founders show what they can do. The program has already met with success in indianapolis, Toronto, New York, Hamburg, Houston, West Lafayette, indianapolis, DC and more.

The participants that attend a Startup Weekend decide what they want to tackle over the weekend and come out at the end with several developed companies or projects. Attendees are responsible for bringing the same desire and passion to the project and walk out of the room with the task at hand, in a short 54 hours. Sound intense? It is.

A typical weekend might go something like below, although most weekends find their own schedule that works best:

6pm Friday: Everyone gets together; figures out who else is there; what would be interesting to build. 7pm: Pitches start (if you have an idea for a product you pitch it to the group). 8pm: Teams start breaking off (generally about nine teams will form during the weekend, creating nine products or companies). 9pm: Hopefully teams have solidified their concept and created an elevator pitch (even a simple one) by now. 10pm: Break off to a bar or coffee shop to continue the discussion and attempt to paper prototype out their application.

9am Saturday: Crowds pour in; work starts on development. Noon: Lunch.

3pm: More coding, business plan development, and a special guest (music, vc, sponsor etc). 6pm: Special guest drop-ins and pitches from the teams. 9pm: Gut check on the product; basic prototype building; group get-together for drinks and to talk about the products everyone is working on.

9am Sunday: The day’s work starts again. Noon: Projects are being developed; live website with signup is possibly set up; more special guests drop in. 6pm: Sink or swim time for those looking for a weekend launch. 9pm: Presentations from each company; what worked, what didn’t, what could go better and contacts are exchange for those continuing in the future.

What do Attendees get?

Startup Weekend provides an unprecedented level of networking, team building, learning, and life changes for its attendees and their communities. Don’t forget that there will be 6-7 meals and drinks provided. There is a reason that most attendees come back for every event – it’s just plain fun and provides amazing opportunities you can’t get anywhere else. Sometimes a company emerges, sometimes one doesn’t, but every time people leave with more experience, insight, knowledge, friends, and resources than they came with.

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The internet has changed the way people do business – and it is changing the expectations people have about receiving legal services. People want legal services fast, without paying an arm and a leg. While there will always be a time and place for traditional, hourly legal services, certain transactional legal services lend themselves very effectively to being offered over the internet.  Some people resort to legal forms companies, such as LegalZoom, to obtain “online legal services.”  Forms companies can’t provide legal advice, only a lawyer can. Thats why I created IndianaOnlineLegal.com.

Over the past year, a good deal of my solo legal practice has been driven by the various blogs and sites I maintain on the internet.  One thing I have learned is that not everyone that finds me wants a “traditional” experience with an attorney.  They know what they want in terms of legal advice or documents.  They want it quick, and they want it to be affordable.  They don’t need or want to meet face to face.  They don’t want to visit an office.  They don’t want broad representation.  Some of them need an LLC formed.  Some of then need a power of attorney.

IndianaOnlineLegal.com caters to the needs of these people.  By using carefully designed, interactive questionnaires that help me quickly assemble documents, I am able to provide certain legal services and legal documents at a fraction of the cost that some other attorneys charge. In fact, the prices on IndianaOnlineLegal.com are right on par with non-attorney legal form sites such as LegalZoom.com. Keep in mind that LegalZoom.com is not an attorney and may not give you legal advice – I can.  And the option to receive legal advise regarding your documents is available (sometimes bundled with the price of your document, sometimes at an additional cost).

As the site grows, I will be adding to the menu of legal services and documents available.  Everything will be offered for a low, fixed fee. Check it out to see if it meets your legal needs.

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