entrepreneurship Archives - The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership

Innovation Grove at Rose-Hulman: Advancing Indiana’s Tech and Entrepreneurial Future

Courtney Kerr2025-11-06T10:29:41-05:00October 28, 2025|

This story is part of an initiative led by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) to highlight entrepreneurship and innovation across Indiana’s universities. Learn more about the initiative here. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology—ranked the nation’s No. 1 undergraduate engineering college by U.S. News & World Report for 27 consecutive years—has begun construction on Innovation Grove, a new entrepreneurial district designed to fuel collaboration, innovation, and economic growth in Indiana’s Wabash Valley. Part of the $102.3 million Trails to Innovation initiative, Innovation Grove will bring together students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and industry partners in a dynamic environment that blends hands-on learning, real-world engineering through Rose-Hulman Ventures, and partnerships with Union Health and the Indiana Orthopedic Institute. The district will feature advanced lab spaces, a new surgical center for hip and knee replacements, renewable energy initiatives including a 5MW solar farm, and collaborative areas for startups and [...]

Fueling Indiana’s Future Innovators – Butler University

Courtney Kerr2025-11-06T10:29:32-05:00October 28, 2025|

This story is part of an initiative led by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) to highlight entrepreneurship and innovation across Indiana’s universities. Learn more about the initiative here. Credit: Butler University From student start-ups to statewide partnerships, Butler University is building a connected ecosystem where ideas grow, leaders emerge, and innovation thrives. At Butler University, entrepreneurship is more than a business concept—it’s a campus-wide commitment to imagination, problem-solving, and possibility. From student-run ventures and pitch competitions to alumni investor networks and statewide collaborations, Butler is cultivating the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders who are shaping Indiana’s innovation economy. “Our goal is to ensure that students graduate with more than a degree,” Craig Caldwell, Dean of the Lacy School of Business (LSB), said. “They leave with the confidence, experience, and leadership skills to solve problems, build businesses, [...]

Rooted in Legacy, Focused on the Future: Ball State’s Enduring Commitment to Entrepreneurship and Community Impact

Courtney Kerr2025-11-06T10:29:24-05:00October 27, 2025|

This story is part of an initiative led by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) to highlight entrepreneurship and innovation across Indiana’s universities. Learn more about the initiative here. When the five Ball brothers moved their glass manufacturing business to Muncie, Ind., in the late 19th century, they weren’t just investing in a place—they were investing in people. In 1917, they purchased and donated the land and facilities of a defunct teacher training school to the state, laying the foundation for what would become Ball State University. But their gift was more than real estate. It was a declaration that education, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy could—and should—work in harmony to strengthen communities. That belief has guided Ball State for more than a century. Today, the University continues to foster a culture of innovation rooted in those values, preparing students to [...]

New EntreWorks report outlines opportunities to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in Indiana

Ronnetta Spalding2025-02-10T19:38:08-05:00December 17, 2024|

Indianapolis, IN – With a focus on expanding Indiana’s entrepreneurial environment, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) and AgriNovus Indiana today unveiled their new report, Unlocking IP: Leveraging Indiana’s R&D Assets to Boost Entrepreneurship. In partnership with EntreWorks Consulting, the report outlines opportunities to increase support for startups, identify emerging programs and priorities, and create a base of home-grown tech talent and an expanded innovation network across the state. “Indiana is often cited as one of the best places to start a business, which is a great starting point,” said Melina Kennedy, CEO of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. “The data released in this report confirms that while we have some great strengths to build up, we have more work to do to as we still lag behind our peers in number of actual new business start-ups per year. The [...]

UNLOCKING IP: Leveraging Indiana’s R&D Assets to Boost Entrepreneurship

Ronnetta Spalding2024-12-02T11:53:45-05:00November 27, 2024|

In recent years, Indiana’s leaders have placed a renewed emphasis on encouraging innovation and Hoosier entrepreneurship. To further support these new efforts, leaders at the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) and AgriNovus Indiana—CICP’s branded initiative focused on growth of the state’s agbioscience industry—began investigating how to leverage Indiana’s existing R&D landscape and IP assets to further stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation across Indiana. Now is the time to scale up on all fronts: to invest more in innovation and entrepreneurship, to become more ambitious in our expectations for companies and support programs, and to do a better job of promoting Indiana as an innovation hot spot to Hoosiers and to others around the world. From universities to major corporate innovators to intermediaries and public sector investments, Indiana has many of the ingredients needed to leverage its R&D assets to boost [...]

Melina Kennedy: Indiana needs more and better supported entrepreneurs (IIB)

Raquel Bahamonde2023-10-08T21:50:24-04:00October 6, 2023|

Melina Kennedy, CEO, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Melina Kennedy, CEO of Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), highlights the need for more and better supported entrepreneurs in the latest Inside INdiana Business newsletter. With competing narratives regarding entrepreneurship in Indiana, last year, CICP engaged NORC at the University of Chicago to complete the Entrepreneurship in the Population–IN (EPOP-IN) study. The EPOP-IN data reinforces the fact that the health of Hoosier entrepreneurship is indeed complicated. EPOP-IN found that nearly 60% of Indiana adults have taken at least some steps toward entrepreneurship. While this demonstrates that a large number of Hoosiers are interested in entrepreneurship, it falls below the national data which indicates slightly more than 65% of Americans have pursued entrepreneurial activity. [READ MORE]

Nearly 60% of Hoosiers have engaged in entrepreneurship; more than 12% are business owners, according to new survey

Raquel Bahamonde2023-07-18T10:44:25-04:00June 27, 2023|

INDIANAPOLIS (June 27, 2023) – New research from NORC at the University of Chicago finds that more than half of all Hoosiers have participated in at least one entrepreneurial activity, which includes involvement in or steps toward business ownership or freelancing. However, the survey shows that current business planners and other potential entrepreneurs could benefit from more resources and support. The data comes from Entrepreneurship in the Population: Indiana (EPOP-IN), a survey commissioned by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP). “A thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem is a critical part of having a dynamic economy. We wanted to dive into some of the motivations that drive business owners,” said Melina Kennedy, CEO, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. “Likewise, we wanted to identify reasons that people are hesitant to start new businesses so we can find more resources and ways to encourage entrepreneurial growth.” [...]

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