Innovation
|
Now more than ever, entrepreneurship is the critical ingredient for a diverse, thriving economy. Start-up companies are major contributors of innovation and new jobs. Entrepreneurial firms also employ a greater percentage of scientists and engineers than the labor market as a whole. Exciting, plentiful careers with fast-growing companies also help attract and retain more college-educated workers. Indiana is making progress in entrepreneurship – from 2002 to 2006, TechPoint's Indiana Technology Index reports that Indiana experienced 50% growth in venture capital investment and more than a 200% increase in federal SBIR/STTR grants (two key sources of public seed funding). |
CICP's BioCrossroads initiative has raised more than $80 million in dedicated venture capital for promising life sciences start-ups in Indiana. TechPoint has also focused on entrepreneurial education and networking programs, and is working to connect angel investors with high-potential opportunities. Looking ahead, entrepreneurship and innovation initiatives will continue to be high priorities for CICP. |
Since 1980, Fortune 500 companies have gradually cut more than 5 million positions, while entrepreneurs and small businesses are responsible for creating more than 34 million jobs – including an estimated seven of every 10 new jobs in today's economy. Large firms often depend on small firms for new ideas and technologies…Proctor and Gamble now gets about 35 percent of its ideas from outside the company, and its goal is to reach 50 percent…as the pace of innovation increases, tapping into the creativity of entrepreneurs is the only way to keep up. The most entrepreneurial regions possess the highest proportion of the population with a college degree…the average for the most entrepreneurial regions is more than 42% higher than the average for the least entrepreneurial regions. |
