An opportunity for innovators, entrepreneurs and inventors to meet and learn about technology innovations in Columbus will take place next month.
An open house called “Meet Your Makers” will be from 1 to 4 p.m. March 2 at various locations around Columbus.
After the open houses are completed, there will be a Maker Meetup at the Garage Pub and Grill, 308 Fourth St., from 4 until 6 p.m. March 2. Guests must be 21 or older.
“Meet Your Makers” is an outgrowth of a joint community partnership program announced last October that involves Columbus and Bloomington, as well as “Elevate Ventures,” a venture development organization in Indianapolis.
Since the “Meet Your Makers” open house is for all ages, the event will provide a number of opportunities to interact with high tech, such as tearing apart a computer, playing with a robot, testing welding skills and printing a map of Columbus with a laser.
Registration is available through the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce website at columbusareachamber.com. Those who register will receive a map of 10 different Bartholomew County locations where “Maker” event-related activities are taking place.
“The goal (of “Meet Your Makers”) is to showcase all the places where creative high-tech people can discover local high-tech facilities that they may be unaware that they can work with,” said Chamber President Cindy Frey.
Participating organizations include Purdue Polytechnic Institute’s 3-D printing and metrology labs, Ivy Tech Community College’s welding lab, Gallery 411 and the tricked-out workshop for the FIRST Robotics team, chamber officials said.
The open house is part of “Velocities,” the joint community partnership program announced last October, a three-year pilot program with a $2.5 million investment.
Elevate Ventures, Bloomington-based incubator The Mill and the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce have entered into a three-year agreement to invest $2.5 million to bolster the entrepreneurial ecosystems in Bartholomew, Brown and Monroe counties.
Formally named Velocities, the partnership is designed to develop an entrepreneurship-minded culture and infrastructure in the south-central Indiana area, including investing in local high-potential and high-growth businesses, portfolio services, educational events for entrepreneurs and investors, marketing support coaching and more.
The effort will also include a dedicated entrepreneur-in-residence, who will work with fledgling companies and advise them on next steps in bringing their idea and company to fruition, Frey said. The goal is to start an entrepreneur ecosystem, along with finding investors who might be interested in providing venture capital for the companies.
“What this project does that’s different is that it focuses on innovation-driven businesses,” Frey said. “We’re looking for high-growth, high-potential companies.”
Partnerships such as “Velocities” has already seen success in other Indiana communities such as South Bend and Elkhart, Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop said in an earlier interview.
Columbus committed $300,000 from its Economic Development Income Tax funds for the program, while the remaining $200,000 is being covered by Heritage Fund — the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, as well as private donors.
The state of Indiana contributed $1.5 million toward the effort that is being shared between the cities of Columbus and Bloomington.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
"Meet Your Makers" will be at different locations throughout Columbus from 1 until 4 p.m on Saturday, March 2.
To download a detailed map describing all the locations and activities, go to columbusfishtank.com to register.
Registration and more details are also available through the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce webpage at columbusareachamber.com.
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About Velocities” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
For more information about Velocities, visit velocitiesin.com.
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Velocities board members” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Velocities will be operated by a board of directors including:
- Rick Johnson, president and CEO of Johnson Ventures, Inc.
- Dave Glass, CEO of LHP Engineering Solutions
- Cindy Frey, president of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce
- Chris LaMothe, CEO of Elevate Ventures
- Jane Martin, retired venture capitalist
- Lynn Coyne, president of the Bloomington Economic Development Corp.
- Pat East, co-founder and CEO of Hanapin Marketing and executive director of Dimension Mill
Institutional and individual founders include:
Bloomington Economic Development Corp., City of Columbus, Cook Group, Cornerstone Information Systems, Duke Energy Foundation, Envisage Technologies, First Financial Bank, German American Bank, Hanapin Marketing, Heritage Fund – The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, Indiana University, Ivy Tech Community College – Bloomington, Jane Martin, Johnson Ventures, Old National Bank, Secretly, Tecumseh Capital Partners, Tom and Barbara Schoellkopf, Upland Brewing and Pete and Janelle Yonkman.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
