Right to Start Announces the Launch of the Indiana Starters Coalition
The Indiana Starters Coalition is a statewide initiative to advance entrepreneurship as a civic priority.
Pictured from left to right: Right to Start Ambassador Kevin Kellems, Director of Field and Campaign Strategy Catherine Read, Indiana Staters Coalition Guest Speaker and Entrepreneur Kelsey Murphy, National Coalition Manager and Indiana Starters Coalition Manager Courtney Zaugg, and Ambassador Neil Kane. Credit: Aubry Miller.
Indianapolis, IN – October 10, 2024 – Right to Start, the national nonprofit organization championing entrepreneurship as a civic priority, announced today the launch of the Indiana Starters Coalition, a statewide initiative to advance entrepreneurship as a civic priority. Entrepreneurship is key to economic growth and quality of life, as young businesses create virtually all net job growth in America, and research across the 50 states shows that for every 1 percent increase in the entrepreneurship rate, the poverty rate decreases by 2 percent.
The Indiana Starters Coalition will be advancing entrepreneurship across the state: convening entrepreneurs, identifying barriers to starting new businesses, proposing policies to remove those barriers, and engaging all communities including those that have been historically excluded. The Coalition consists of the following founding member organizations:
Elmer Buchta Technology Center (Southern Indiana)
Launch Fishers and the Indiana IoT Lab (Fishers)
MatchBOX Coworking Studio (Lafayette)
Muncie Innovation Connector (East Central Indiana)
Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (Northeast Indiana)
Right to Start (Statewide)
16 Tech Innovation District (Central Indiana)
The Dimension Mill (Bloomington)
The Pantheon (Southwest Indiana).
The Coalition’s launch took place today at a mid-day event held at 16 Tech Innovation District in Indianapolis. Participants included representatives of the founding member organizations as well as individual entrepreneurs. Speakers included the following:
Courtney Zaugg, Coalition Manager for the Eastern United States, Right to Start, and a resident of Indianapolis;
Kelsey Murphy, Indianapolis-based entrepreneur and winner of FOX’s “MasterChef: Legends.”
“Indiana has enormous potential for new business growth in every community in the state,” said Victor W. Hwang, Right to Start’s Founder and CEO. “To achieve that potential, there must be a robust environment to support and encourage entrepreneurship. The Indiana Starters Coalition is a crucial catalyst for that. It will focus on making the process of starting a business easier by changing the civic landscape for the benefit of all.”
“The founding members of the Indiana Starters Coalition are playing a crucial role in the growth of entrepreneurship across the state,” said Courtney Zaugg, Right to Start’s Coalition Manager for the Eastern United States. “They are vital both to the evolution of the Coalition and to ensuring that entrepreneurship is prioritized and facilitated everywhere throughout the state.”
For more information, contact Henry Miller at hmiller@highimpactpartnering.com or 917-921-8034.
Right to Start is a national nonpartisan movement to advance entrepreneurship as a civic priority throughout the United States. Entrepreneurship has long been viewed as a solitary endeavor – the lone starter in a basement or garage. Right to Start’s vision is to transform America so that all communities prioritize entrepreneurship, clearing away obstacles to ensure that every American has an equal right to start and a level playing field on which to embark. The campaign is conducted through two affiliated nonprofit organizations, a 501(c)3 and 501(c)4.