IEDC makes ideas reality; 95% of grants are awarded to small businesses

Marcuccilli, the president and chief executive of Fort Wayne-based Star Financial Bank, said the agency makes it a priority to award grants to promising entrepreneurs and small businesses in the state. An entrepreneur may have a great idea but no capital to commercialize it.

"The IEDC then steps in and helps take it to the marketplace," Marcuccilli said.

Technology companies can turn to the IEDC's 21st Century Fund for grants. The $70 million fund supports cutting-edge companies with the potential to grow and create high-paying jobs, said Bruce Kidd, director of small business and entrepreneurship for the IEDC.

Most of the 21st Century Fund's grants went to research universities and large companies until 2005, Kidd said. The IEDC now awards 95 percent of those grants to small businesses needing start-up capital.

Orthopedics firm Schwartz Biomedical LLC was among the local companies to benefit from the IEDC's funding, Marcuccilli said. The Fort Wayne-based firm and its subsidiary BioDuct LLC received approval from the Food and Drug Administration in April to market a product designed to repair knee cartilage without removing it. Herb Schwartz, the company's president and chief executive, gave a presentation to the IEDC board in March explaining how the agency assisted Schwartz Biomedical.

Grants can make the difference between a start-up getting off the ground or failing, said Dane Miller, a member of the IEDC's board and the founder of Biomet Inc. When the Warsaw-based orthopedics manufacturer was starting out and could not obtain bank financing in 1978, it secured a $500,000 Small Business Administration loan that allowed Biomet to grow.

"The company wouldn't be here without that guaranteed loan," Miller said. Biomet employs about 6,000 worldwide, including 1,250 in Warsaw.

Miller is on the IEDC's entrepreneurship committee, which votes to award grants to companies. Job creation is a key factor in determining which companies receive grants, he said.

IEDC board members have worked to speed up the application process for the 21st Century Fund grants, Marcuccilli said. The IEDC's role is to make it easy for entrepreneurs to obtain the resources they need in a timely fashion, he said.

"I think, in general, it's bringing all those things together to work with the state and local government so the entrepreneur has as few barriers as possible to get through," he said.

The IEDC also has added support for entrepreneurs vying for Small Business Innovation Research grants, Kidd said. The federal grants pay small businesses to develop products for government agencies. The IEDC helps local businesses identify the grant opportunities best suited to them and develop grant proposals, he said. The state also matches some of the grants.

"That's really important because (an entrepreneur) can't go to the bank and get that (funding) and he can't go to venture capital and get that," Kidd said. "He's stuck in sort of a capital gap."

IEDC officials want the state to receive twice as many grants as it has in the past, Kidd said. Indiana businesses were awarded 32 grants worth $8 million in 2004. In comparison, Ohio companies received 220 grants worth $65 million the same year.

Entrepreneurs can turn to the IEDC for advice as well as funding, Kidd said. The IEDC provides funding for 11 small business development centers around the state, including an office on Hobson Road in northeast Fort Wayne. Small business owners can contact the centers for one-on-one counseling and other assistance, he said.

The IEDC devotes significant time and resources to developing small businesses because they play a critical role in the state's economy, Marcuccilli said. With the right support, these businesses are in a position to grow and create jobs.

"It's the 90-10 rule," Marcuccilli said. "Ninety percent of (new) jobs come from existing employers, and most of them have less than 50 employees."

jglenn@jg.net

Board of directors Jim Marcuccilli, Fort Wayne, president and chief executive of Star Financial Bank Dane Miller, Warsaw, founder and former president and chief executive of Biomet Inc. Kip Tom, Leesburg, president and chief executive of Tom Farms Sally Rushmore Byrn, West Lafayette, president and chief executive of SSCI Inc. Mark Holden, Jeffersonville, president and chief executive of American Commercial Lines Inc. Robert L. Koch II, Evansville, president and chief executive of Koch Enterprises Inc. Cathy Langham, Indianapolis, president and owner of Langham William G. Mays, Indianapolis, president of Mays Chemical Co. John M. Mutz, Indianapolis, chairman of the board of the Lumina Foundation for Education, retired in 1999 as president of PSI Energy T.M. Solso, Columbus, chairman and chief executive of Cummins Inc. Bruce White, Merrillville and Edwards, Colo., chairman and chief executive of White Lodging Services Corp.

Source: Indiana Economic Development Corp.