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Venture Capital
Venture capital is the lifeblood of entrepreneurship – and entrepreneurship equals economic growth.
Since 1980, Fortune 500 companies have gradually eliminated more than 5 million workers from their payrolls. Over that same time period, entrepreneurs and small businesses have added more than 35 million jobs, including two of every three new positions being created in today’s economy. Venture capital has largely bankrolled this success.
Venture funding supports entrepreneurial and high-growth companies, generally in exchange for an equity share in the firm and accompanied by management support from the venture capitalist.
Indiana has experienced positive growth in venture capital in recent years, growing total investment more than 600% since 1997. This trend continued through the trough of the recession; from 2008 to 2009, Indiana leaped from 41st to 20th among states in venture capital per capita.
TechPoint’s HALO angel investor network has invested nearly $14 million in early-stage venture capital in a dozen promising Indiana start-ups since late 2007. Our sister initiative, BioCrossroads, has raised $140 million in venture capital from corporate and institutional investors for young life sciences companies since 2002.
Indiana continues to make the transition from an economy overly-dependent on large industrial corporations to a more diverse, entrepreneurial and high-tech environment. Positive venture capital trends are fueling this change.
One thing’s for sure: The Crossroads of America is no longer ‘flyover country’ for venture capitalists. Indiana innovations are getting the attention – and funding – that they deserve.