By Frank Howard, L5 Solutions
EAC Board Member
For those of you who have not taken the opportunity to visit the home page of the EAC, it lists the following beliefs that are core to the organization:
- Entrepreneurship is the economic engine of our economy.
- Entrepreneurial education is a lifelong learning process, starting at elementary school and progressing through adulthood.
- The right support, provided at the right time, will empower individuals to choose an entrepreneurial path that will culminate in innovative, sustainable businesses that create jobs and build a healthy economy.
- Supporting entrepreneurial businesses will create an economically vibrant community.
Fortunately, we are not alone in these beliefs. Effective July 1st, the state of Indiana now has a “Young Entrepreneurs Program” that was recently signed into law. It establishes a program that focuses on community economic growth while providing entrepreneurs from state educational institutions an opportunity to start a business in Indiana. Details can be found in House Bill 1251. In summary, it provides a program through the IEDC where at least once a year there is an auction where communities can bid on businesses/startups that have gone through the application process and met certain requirements. The selected bid is legally binding between the two parties.
What do you think about this program, its goals, and possible success? Does it conjure images for you as it did me… a version of the TV program “Shark Tank” with Indianapolis Mayor Ballard sitting next to Carmel Mayor Brainard talking trash about why their deal is a better one for the home grown Indiana entrepreneur.
Like all ideas, the difficulty is in the execution. Regardless of the program’s success, I am excited that we are not alone. We are fortunate enough to live in a state that sees the value of entrepreneurship and makes it a focus of our state’s economic development.
To learn more about this bill see the following state website links:
