Entrepreneurial minds come in abundance in a county with two universities, and two former Grant County residents intend on tapping into that with Launch Marion, a spinoff of the successful Launch Fishers founded by entrepreneur extraordinaire John Wechsler.
Shelby Bowen, a 1992 Marion High School graduate and member of the Community Development Department for the City of Fishers, unveiled the concept for Launch Marion last week to a group primarily composed of Indiana Wesleyan and Taylor students at Tree of Life.
The concept is to create a small business support center for independent professionals to hone their craft by utilizing resources provided by the company and by collaborating with fellow entrepreneurs. Ideally, these entrepreneurs will flourish through Launch Marion and will then branch out into their own establishments within the county.
“We’re going to find out what each of you is good at and then put you to work to help others,” said Bowen, who credited Marion Mayor Wayne Seybold for speaking to him about the possibility of a small business support center in Marion a few months ago after Seybold visited Launch Fishers.
Launch Marion is yet to raise enough funds to operate. Bowen said he is aggressively reaching out to potential investors and is contacting service agencies about partnerships. Launch Fishers founded in 2012 after the City committed $350,000 to the startup. Seybold said a three-year commitment for Launch Marion will be less expensive and feasible if the City Council, Grant County Council, Grant County Economic Growth Council, the two universities and the sort invest in the project.
One potential hurdle in seeking investors for Launch Marion is memories of how Innovative Network faded into oblivion. Indiana Wesleyan, Taylor and the Growth Council collaborated in the mid-2000s to create the Innovative Network, a business incubator spawned to inspire local entrepreneurship. Seybold said the Innovative Network team devoted virtually all of their time to writing research papers as opposed to implementing their ideas.
“What I like about Launch is Launch isn’t like that,” Seybold said. “Launch is, let’s get moving.
“If you don’t understand Launch Marion that’s fine, but embrace it so when your kids or grandkids say I want to live in Marion they have an opportunity to do that.”
Bowen is shopping for a home for Launch Marion. He mentioned a former downtown video store as a possibility and sought opinions from those in attendance at the concept unveiling last week.
“It’s nothing until we have a facility,” he said. “... (The start date) could be anywhere from 90 days to nine months.”
If Launch Marion transforms from a concept into something tangible, membership will cost $500 annually for access from 6 a.m. to midnight in a structure with provided office amenities and meeting space. Dedicated workspace with desk and chair will be an additional $150 a month.
Taylor sophomore Ben Kudisch attended the meeting at Tree of Life and said he is intrigued by Launch Marion. Kudisch hails from Wayne, N.J., and his father is the CFO of a hedge fund.
“I grew up in a family that is venture minded,’ Kudisch said. “I’m looking to build a business of my own someday.”
Fellow Taylor student Jeanette Zhang sees potential in the small business support center, but she said understanding what Grant County is about is crucial for success.
Peter Hart intends to be wherever Launch Marion launches to provide that insight. Hart grew up in Grant County. He graduated from Eastbrook High School in 2002 and then Taylor in 2005 with a degree in business management.
Hart soon found success at a digital marketing startup in Nobleville before leaving in 2014 to join a marketing automation startup in Indiana and to launch his own technology startup, which serves nonprofits.
His startup is viral and he said there is a possibility for him to operate out of whatever facility Launch Marion calls home.
“At some point I’d like to transition back to Grant County. It’s definitely something I’ve talked to Shelby about,” Hart said. “There’s no place I’d rather contribute to than the community of Marion and Grant County.”
Both Hart and Bowen agreed that following the exact same blueprint as Launch Fishers is unwise. That business holds significant advantages with Fishers’ burgeoning economy and location just outside Indianapolis. Hart described Indianapolis as the technology hub of the Midwest and the number of tech-savvy entrepreneurs is plentiful at Launch Fishers.
Hart said the potential is there for Marion to create a new identity though, if young entrepreneurs graduating from Indiana Wesleyan and Taylor stay put.
“That’s what Marion has to have,” Hart said. “A shift has to take place to keep students with brilliant minds here.”