Closing in on the end of 2009 I have to say that I am quite pleased with the commitment Indiana showed this year to be a State that supports and promotes innovation, entreprenuership and business growth.This week I had breakfast with Larry O'Connor, Executive Director of Butler University's Business Accelerator. Larry is a former CEO of Bank One Indiana. Following his "retirement", Larry became CEO of The IndianapolisMuseumm of Art, and recently took the position to lead theAcceleratorr program.
On the program's website, Larry describes theAcceleratorr as follows:
Operationally, the Accelerator is a consulting business designed to serve middle market companies in Central Indiana. Teams of professional consultants, faculty and students work directly with these companies - helping them to grow and simultaneously providing a living laboratory in which undergraduate and MBA students learn and experience real business problems and situations.
While Butler is continuing its work with mid-market companies, 2009 also showed growth of incubator programs and the birth of new angel investment groups in Indiana. As an entrepreneurial law / private equity attorney, the health of these groups means a lot to me in terms of support and growth of my clients.
2009 was a strange year for businesses. Private capital was hard to come by due to economic constraints. Lending was tight. The corporateenvironmentt seemed to be mired by corporate fraud (Madoff, Durham). Despite all of this, Indianapolis proved to be a great place for businesses to launch and grow.
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Alerding Castor Hewitt, LLP is an Indianapolis law firm focusing on business law, information technology law (including SaaS law and legal technology consulting), private equity consulting, and business and Internet litigation.
