Launch Marion considering two facilities: downtown or on bypass

The Community Foundation of Grant County selected the startup for a 2015 Big Idea Grant. Launch Marion sought a $130,000 grant, but the Community Foundation upped that total to $170,000 under the stipulation that the small-business concept operate out of downtown. If Launch Marion chooses a location elsewhere such as the bypass, the grant will be reduced to $130,000.

"We all along have looked for a space that will work downtown, but there are factors such as the budget and parking needs to consider," Bowen said. "... How can Launch Marion have the greatest impact? If we can check another box for revitalization (of downtown) that would be great, but we don't think we can make a decision based solely on that."

The Launch Marion concept is a spinoff of Launch Fishers, a small-business center that puts entrepreneurs, nonprofits, startups, students and the sort under the same roof to grow their ideas with supplied resources. Launch Fishers operates in a facility with an open layout and Bowen is in search of the same in Marion.

The Garage Billiards facility, owned by Launch Marion supporter Jim Swan, fits that description. Bowen described the space as ideal with its central location and open space and noted the structure is practically ready to move into.

The Salin Bank location is preferable, but walled-off sections in the structure are problematic.  

The Grant County commissioners own the property. Bowen said all three of the commissioners support the small-business center concept.

"I think it offers a lot of opportunities," said Commissioner John Lawson, the Republican mayoral candidate. "I'd like to see them work with the (Grant County Economic) Growth Council. We get the two of them working together and it'll be a good success."

Bowen initially pushed the Launch Marion initiative without collaborating with the Growth Council. He and Growth Council president Tim Eckerle spoke earlier this month, though, and perhaps resolved any issues between the two entities.  

"He asked lots of great questions," Bowen said of Eckerle. "I consider him to be a great resource."

Eckerle questioned Bowen on how the small-business center will operate and what his vision is for its sustainability.

"We're just trying to understand what Launch Marion is - the details," Eckerle said. "Shelby's in the process of trying to put details to a loose concept and trying to please so many (people)."

Indiana Wesleyan University agreed to be an official sponsor for Launch Marion. Carol Brown, director of career development, said IWU received approval to allocate $15,000 annually from its Eli Lilly grant to the startup center. Four years remain on the grant.

The IWU student body stands to benefit significantly from the presence of Launch Marion. IWU matches up students with startups and funds their wages up to a year in a part-time internship. Brown said IWU matches up students at co-working stations such as Launch Fishers and MatchBOX Coworking Studio in Lafayette with success, but the odds of finding matches will increase significantly with a work station in its backyard.

"Hopefully it'll become a satellite for our campus for all students, but particularly business and entrepreneurial students," Brown said, "... It gives students a great opportunity to see how to operate a business and really get immersed in it very quickly."

Five IWU students on the verge of releasing a social media app agreed Tuesday to rent an office when Launch Marion opens its to-be-determined facility. The app is called Zipline and allows users to capture, edit and share videos that last up to 60 seconds.

"It's so critically important not just to have a relationship with Indiana Wesleyan, but having young entrepreneurial minds in the facility," Bowen said. "The guys like the idea of it being off campus. These Zipline guys are a group that I feel could be a good constituent to bring more students to the facility."

Zipline CEO Aaron Peabody said a Kickstarter.com campaign netted nearly $12,000 in donations last spring and IWU graduate Andrew Demski invested nearly $100,000 to the startup. Demski is the CEO of The Demski Group, a business consultant company in New York that invests in startups.

The Zipline app is still in the testing stage and the release date is yet to be announced. The five IWU students - Peabody, Kramer Caswell, Kevin Tillman, Jesse Good and Steve Medina - are spending their summer perfecting the product at the Launch Fishers facility.

"It's been excellent," Peabody said. "We've gotten to know some really exceptional people that have really helped us out."

Peabody foresees the same benefits for business entrepreneurs in a future Marion facility, whether that be in downtown or on the bypass. The IWU student said the old Salin Bank is in a "wonderful location" and described the bones of the structure as cool. He voiced concern about the potential cost to tear down walls and create an open layout, though.

"The bypass is more realistic for Shelby's vision," Peabody said, "and will have a better chance of getting students out of Indiana Wesleyan."