Twenty percent of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open. Forty-five percent fail during the first five years, and sixty-five percent during the first ten years. The reasons behind these numbers vary from resource shortages to a lack of valuable connections. In today’s dynamic economy, the strength of an entrepreneurial ecosystem can make or break a founder’s business.
Indiana recognizes the significance of such an ecosystem, comprising entrepreneur-serving organizations, diverse capital access, and seamless connectivity. The state’s visionary approach to fostering entrepreneurship, exemplified by the first-of-its-kind ConnectIND portal, is propelling the state’s entrepreneurial landscape to new heights.
First-of-its-kind state portal
As part of the state’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurs, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) launched ConnectIND in June 2023. This first-of-its-kind virtual entrepreneurship portal takes a systems-level approach to ecosystem development, aimed at increasing the connectivity to and allowing for quick availability of entrepreneurial resources. Portal users also have the option to engage with an ecosystem expert who can help them navigate these resources most effectively for their company’s unique set of circumstances.
Programs and resources offered by ConnectIND
ConnectIND works by using advanced technology to connect entrepreneurs to an organization or program that would be valuable to them based on a specific need or based on geography. The portal provides a statewide listing of resources, organizations, and events for entrepreneurs, curated connections to Indiana’s robust network of support organizations, mentors, accelerators, capital opportunities, space, and more. Navigating thousands of Indiana resources and understanding where to start can be overwhelming to founders, but users do not have to do it alone.
The entrepreneurial ecosystem navigators are the experts behind the portal that helps connect Indiana founders with the right resources at the right time in their journey. This human-touch element allows entrepreneurs to meet with experienced advisors to help them get started or grow their endeavors. “We are here to help; we work with founders to identify what their most critical needs are and proactively start making those warm connections to the resources that are necessary for them to thrive,” says Indiana Small Businesses Development Center’s Southeast ecosystem navigator, Mike Fulkerson.
“The human component–the easy access to myself and the other navigators throughout the state is the glue that brings ConnectIND together. As navigators, we are not sitting idle waiting for navigation requests to come in, we are actively meeting with entrepreneurs where they are and helping however we can,” says Fulkerson.
Reach and Impact
All types of entrepreneurs can benefit from ConnectIND. It is industry-agnostic, inclusive, and accessible, empowering all entrepreneurs regardless of their experience level. “We intend and have people using the portal who haven’t even started their business yet . . . and we have people who have multi-generational, family-owned businesses using the portal,” says David Watkins, senior vice president of entrepreneurship and small business at IEDC. ConnectIND also has multi-language capabilities and is translated into the most common languages spoken in Indiana making it more accessible to founders whose first language is not English.
The feedback has been “overwhelmingly positive,” says Fulkerson. Since its launch, the portal has seen more than 7,000 users and had almost 45,000 views–and users aren’t just checking out the portal and leaving. The data shows that the average time spent on the portal was 2 hours, proving that users are digging deep into the organizations and resources while using the added benefits to the portal like connecting with an ecosystem navigator or generating custom match options. With a 70 percent engagement rate, it has found over 1,100 custom matches for users.
Long-term vision and evolution
“The portal will always be an iterative dynamic tool,” says Watkins. The next big development for the portal will be to implement learning and education modules so that even if a user is not directly connecting with an organization, an advisor, or an Ecosystem Navigator, they can still access helpful information to begin the learning process of starting or growing a business in Indiana.
Indiana is committed to investing in the growth and success of the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, which continues to inspire entrepreneurs and fuel innovations, create quality jobs for Hoosiers, and attract record levels of capital investment. The state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has a significant impact on the state’s economy and its communities, and ConnectIND promises to be a comprehensive resource to fuel further entrepreneurial growth. We invite you to join Indiana’s bold entrepreneurial ecosystem to be a part of this thriving community of innovators.
