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Alumni’s environmental compliance company receives Product of the Year award

Posted on by Steve Martin

Congratulations to Encamp Inc., founded by IU Bloomington graduates Luke Jacobs and Daniel Smedema along with Jacobs’ brother Sam. The company received the 2019 Product of the Year award from Occupational Health & Safety magazine in the EHS — or environmental, health and safety — Software category.

Luke Jacobs

Encamp has engineered a software platform that makes it faster and simpler for businesses to maintain compliance with environmental regulations while minimizing mistakes caused by human error. It received a $250,000 investment from the Indiana University Philanthropic Venture Fund in 2018.

“Additionally, we are launching the first intelligent environmental, health and safety compliance calendar that customers will be able to use at no cost at the start of Q4 2019,” Luke Jacobs said. “Our mission is to create software for our customers that makes it easier than ever to achieve high levels of corporate environmental responsibility while also reducing the time and money it takes to get there.”

Jacobs said the award carries a lot of prestige because Occupational Health & Safety is the leading news magazine, e-newsletter and website for industry professionals. Encamp will be featured in the October/November issue as well as on the website.

“The award recognizes our outstanding product development achievements and how our platform can improve workplaces,” Jacobs said. “The award further cements our value to the EHS industry, and it places us in an elite caliber of other 2019 winners like 3M, Honeywell, and Wolverine Footwear and Apparel.”

Jacobs said the $250,000 investment from the fund has been critical to Encamp’s continued product development and sales team expansion.

“Since the funding, we have raised an additional $1 million as part of our seed funding,” Jacobs said. “Additionally, we have increased to almost 160 customers, including our first Fortune 500 client.”

Teaching with Technology: IU East students’ desire for innovative machinery impacts our community

Posted on by IU Communications

By Timothy W. Scales, senior lecturer, School of Business and Economics, Indiana University East

At the Center for Entrepreneurship at Indiana University East, we teach with technology. Sometimes it’s the instructor teaching the students and, other times, it’s the students teaching the instructor. Over the past few years, we have utilized new equipment such as 3D printing, woodcarving, laser printing and other CNC machinery to understand the production of things like prototyping.

Timothy W. Scales

It was a group of three high school students in the BOSS, or Business Opportunities for Self-Starters, program that got the university started in making prototypes. The students created a prototype on their high school’s printer and used the prototype in a final business plan competition. That inspired the university to write a grant and buy a 3D printer for the university students.

As the university students were working with 3D images, they began to inquire into and explore other types of materials. The next grant was for a woodcarving machine, which created the desire for the laser carver and cutting machine. Currently, the students create products and prototypes from a variety of materials and make modifications as needed.

The students’ desire for new machinery has served as a strong academic stimulus for the instructors to write for grants and teach creation of manufacturing, distributions, packaging, pricing, time management and many other important components of business education.

Teaching with technology has strengthened the working relationship with our university and several of the local high schools. Sometimes students create prototypes for fun things such as Ping-Pong paddles, and other times it becomes more serious when working with area businesses. A student may assist a company to create a prototype for a patent application, for example. These experiences are great for the student, the university and the community.

IUPUI students help to catalyze Indianapolis neighborhood small businesses

Posted on by IU Communications

By Teresa A. Bennett, assistant vice chancellor, Office of Community Engagement, IUPUI

SOURCE River West Entrepreneurship Center was launched in 2016 out of a partnership between the IUPUI Office of Community Engagement, LISC and the Near West/River West Great Places 2020 leadership. It was created to fulfill the neighborhood’s desire for entrepreneurship and small-business education and resources aimed at growing small business in the Near West area of Indianapolis.

Teresa Bennett

At SOURCE, entrepreneurship is all about opportunity and inclusiveness: 85 percent of clients are part of the traditionally underserved populations of black/African American, Hispanic and/or female. Nationally, startups by women and people of color are the fastest-growing segment of new business, but this boom is generally overlooked because the businesses are often very small, with few workers or even only a single owner/operator. To meet the needs of these small or micro-businesses, SOURCE provides accessible, low- or no-cost programs and services that build confidence and bridge the opportunity divide.

And IUPUI students are important to the work:

  • Graduate students from the COMET Lab in the School of Informatics and Computing developed and staff a new initiative called Techno Talks, for which students give a monthly presentation on a business-relevant technology topic and follow up with hands-on tech assistance to SOURCE clients.
  • Graduate and undergraduate students from the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs have conducted capstone and class research projects on topics including small-business needs assessments, client focus groups, economic development plan assessments and community impact studies.
  • Herron School of Art + Design students have conducted marketing and branding studies for business owners.
  • SOURCE student interns routinely respond to clients’ inquiries, direct clients to resources, ensure the resources are up to date and accurate, manage communications and social media, and assist with programming and workshops.

Riley Smith, an IUPUI political science and philosophy major, said it best: “Working at SOURCE, I have the privilege of being involved with diverse projects aimed at fostering business development. Not only do I get to assist the community by helping to make entrepreneurial resources more accessible, but I also have the opportunity to learn and practice new skills such as event planning, website design, customer support and marketing.”

SOURCE is proud to involve IUPUI students in the mission to create an environment where entrepreneurs and small-business owners can learn, grow and thrive. These students bring a wealth of expertise and passion that benefits the business owners, and the students have an opportunity to serve their community and learn about business firsthand.

Supporting and sustaining student innovation and entrepreneurship at Indiana University

Posted on by IU Communications

By Travis J. Brown, senior executive assistant dean, School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, Indiana University Bloomington

As with all student interests, innovation and entrepreneurship must be encouraged and supported. Indiana University is one of the world’s foremost research institutions, and there are thousands of intelligent students with groundbreaking ideas. By supporting those students and their ideas, IU not only benefits the students, but also continues to strengthen its impact on people’s lives around the world. Sometimes this support means launching and cultivating resources for students to find, connect with and use.

Travis J. Brown

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program within the School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering is focused on exposing students to the process of innovative and entrepreneurial thinking. Since joining the school, I have dedicated myself to building a program that would be inclusive of students from all disciplines while working with the already successful program developed within the Kelley School of Business. Toward that end, with the generous support of Donna and John Shoemaker, I launched the Shoemaker Innovation Center — and the student incubator within, known as the Shoebox — in Luddy Hall. Students from all disciplines are welcome to apply to become a client within the Shoebox and attend the educational programming hosted by the Shoemaker Innovation Center.

I was also able to launch the Shoemaker Scholars program, a group of student entrepreneurship ambassadors from different schools who have come together to ensure that students studying at Indiana University Bloomington are fully informed regarding the programs that have already been built. I have discovered that students can find it difficult to learn about all of the activities, organizations and resources available to them. Through the StartupIU website and newsletter, the Shoemaker Scholars group facilitates student innovators and entrepreneurs having easy access to the information they need to find the assistance they are seeking.

I look forward to continuing to grow the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, along with my colleagues across campus, and working with the Shoemaker scholars to ensure that Indiana University students are aware of the opportunities available to them. Whether or not students decide to engineer the invention or launch the startup they develop through the program, the thinking they hone through the exercise of fleshing out their idea will serve them throughout their career.

The upheaval in industrial innovation: Why IUPUI students are ready

Posted on by IU Communications

By Lou Lenzi, professor of practice, School of Informatics and Computing, IUPUI

Nearly every industry vertical, from the manufacture of hard goods to the delivery of services, is experiencing an upheaval of its traditional business models. New technologies, global competition, increasing environmental awareness and shifting demographics are but a few of the causes driving this change. As a result, automobile manufacturers are now in the mobility services business. Subscriptions are no longer the sole domain of media content but are available for everything from pet food to laundry detergent. We now “manufacture” meat and “grow” jet engine parts.

Lou Lenzi

Such change will only increase in velocity, requiring every industry to reassess its existing processes for the development of new products and services to meet these ever-changing demands. The established methods of new product innovation, marked by closed-wall R&D organization with budgets fixed to some predetermined percentage of total revenues, project funding based on committee-approved internal rate of return metrics, and strictly guarded intellectual property policies are quickly being replaced. Smart firms are embracing collaborative, cross-functional internal teams; external co-working spaces; crowdsourced, open-innovation competitions; customer-centered design thinking methodologies; and fresh, invigorating new approaches to industry/academic partnerships and collaborations.

I’m proud to say the School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI has both anticipated and responded to this new world of innovation and academic/industry partnerships in our curriculum. For example, our IoT Design and Business Innovation course taught within the Department of Human-Centered Computing is not just focused on creating the appropriate user experiences within a connected device or an internet of things ecosystem. Our focus also includes how these user-centered design methods can identify entirely new business opportunities and business models.

In order to “stress test” the application of this methodology, we engage with industry partners to provide our students with real-world business challenges facing that particular industry. These fast-paced, five-week design sprints replicate today’s innovation environment, preparing students for life outside the classroom along with a portfolio of work that will help launch their career and position them for long-term success within any industry. Our industry sponsors benefit from the experience by witnessing how these user-centered design techniques can be applied to their business, while assisting in the development of a new cohort of young professionals. The experience also provides the sponsor with a potential source of talented new hires prepared to address the ever-changing dynamics of new product and services development.

IUPUI is supporting students as they prepare for this new paradigm of industry innovation. The results could impact lives around the globe.

B-Start, Bloomington’s business development program, to accept applications through Sept. 20

Posted on by Steve Martin

Luke Mongin of Haven delivers a business pitch during the Demo Day competition portion of the 2019 B-Start pre-accelerator program. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Hogan, Bloomington Economic Development Corp.

Are you interested in launching an innovation-driven business in Bloomington?

Indiana University Bloomington students, faculty and staff with an interest in starting their own company can apply to participate in the 2019-20 cohort of B-Start, a pre-accelerator program, to help launch their for-profit, innovation-driven business in Bloomington.

The five-month B-Start program includes:

  • Individual mentoring by local entrepreneurs, business leaders and young professionals who have experience or interest in starting and scaling companies
  • Group workshops and peer meetups to guide participants through the startup process
  • Demo Day, B-Start’s final event in which entrepreneurs pitch their business plans to judges

The Bloomington Economic Development Corp. will accept applications between Aug. 26 and Sept. 20 from Monroe County residents to join the fifth annual B-Start cohort. B-Start is scheduled to run from September to March. Group workshops will take place on Tuesdays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at various co-working and startup spaces.

Ellyn Sallee, project/development manager at the Bloomington Economic Development Corp., said a wide variety of entrepreneurs and startups have participated in B-Start throughout its history.

Ellyn Sallee

“B-Start has graduated 27 companies since it launched in 2015. Given great demand from past program applicants, this year we have already increased our mentor capacity, allowing us to accept more entrepreneurs into our program for the 2019-20 session,” Sallee said. “We are committed to advancing our community’s innovation-driven and high-growth companies, ultimately creating new jobs and strengthening Monroe County’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.”

Haven Software, founded by then-IU student Luke Mongin, won first place and $2,500 in the 2019 Demo Day competition. The company is a cloud-based software as a service platform that centralizes and manages all core functions of a small business. Hunger Curbed, founded by then-IU student Kennedy Brown and current IU student Zach Simunic, won second place and $1,500.

Women, minorities, veterans and members of other underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply. For more information and to apply for B-Start, please visit the program’s website.

How attending BIO benefits me and my company, and can benefit you

Posted on by IU Communications

By Nathan J. Alves, CEO and co-founder, Indiana Lysis Technologies LLC; assistant professor, Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine

Faculty, staff and students at Indiana University campuses and academic centers who seek to develop long-lasting, valuable partnerships across academia and industry should look into the annual BIO International Convention. I highly recommend attending; the conference provides many opportunities that can benefit academic and business interests.

Nathan Alves

BIO is the world’s largest trade association representing all things biotech-related in the United States and more than 30 other nations. The organization hosts an annual international convention in a major American city that draws more than 18,000 attendees. It is a major networking hub that provides a unique, speed-dating-like, one-on-one partnering system that links pharma and biotech executives, academia, and investors in one place. In 2018, the convention set the Guinness World Record for the “Largest Business Partnering Event” with 46,916 partnering meetings over four days.

I have had the pleasure of attending three BIO International Conventions. The first I attended as a student volunteer while I was a Ph.D. student at Notre Dame. That opportunity gave me access to the convention and exhibitor hall at a significantly reduced fee. It also served as an eye-opening experience, demonstrating just how important networking and building business relationships can be.

That was evidenced when I was invited back to speak on panel a few years later regarding my experiences with founding a company, Indiana Lysis Technologies LLC. As the company’s co-founder and CEO, I attended my third BIO this past year as a Start-Up Stadium finalist competing against more than 150 international startup companies.

My experiences with BIO have all been fulfilling and valuable, and I will continue to leverage the business relationships that I have developed through attending it as my career both in academia and business progresses. You should, too.

IU researchers map global economy in collaboration with LinkedIn

Posted on by IU Communications

The study revealed large-scale associations between industries and people across the globe. Each circle represents a specific geo-industrial cluster with its size proportional to its number of employees.

A small team of researchers at Indiana University has created the first global map of labor flow in collaboration with the world’s largest professional social network, LinkedIn. The work is reported in the journal Nature Communications.

The study’s lead authors are Jaehyuk Park and Ian Wood, Ph.D. students working with Yong Yeol “Y.Y.” Ahn, a professor at the IU School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering in Bloomington.

Yong-Yeol Ahn. Photo courtesy the IU School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering..

According to the researchers, the study’s result represents a powerful tool for understanding the flow of people between industries and regions in the U.S. and beyond. It could also help policymakers better understand how to address critical skill gaps in the labor market or connect workers with new opportunities in nearby communities.

The study showed some unexpected connections between economic sectors, such as the strong ties between credit card and airline industries. It also identified growing industries during the study period from 2010 to 2014, including the pharmaceutical and oil and gas industries — with in-demand skills such as team management and project management — as well as declining industries, such as retail and telecommunications.

The study revealed large-scale associations between industries and people across the globe. Each circle represents a specific geo-industrial cluster with its size proportional to its number of employees.

IU researchers created the map using LinkedIn’s data on 500 million people between 1990 and 2015, including about 130 million job transitions between more than 4 million companies. The researchers gained access to this rare data as one of only 11 teams selected to participate in the inaugural LinkedIn Economic Graph Research program in 2015. They later became one of only two teams — IU and MIT — selected to continue their work beyond 2017. The team worked closely with LinkedIn engineers, including Michael Conover, a graduate of the IU School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering and a senior data scientist at LinkedIn at the time of the study.

In a blog post on LinkedIn, Park compares the study to a “roadmap” to the future economy since the first step in any journey requires understanding the current landscape.

“We expect this study will provide a powerful foundation for further systematic analysis of geo-industrial clusters in the context of business strategy, urban economics, regional economics and international development fields — as well as providing useful insights for policymakers and business leaders,” he said.

Other authors on the study are Elise Jing of IU, Souvik Ghosh of LinkedIn and Azadeh Nematzadeh of S&P Global, who contributed to the study as a Ph.D. student at IU. Wood is currently a software engineer at LinkedIn.

IU researchers at LinkedIn headquarters in 2015. From left, Azadeh Nematzadeh, Michael Conover, Jaehyuk Park, Yong Yeol “Y.Y.” Ahn, Yizhi Jing and Ian Wood. Photo courtesy LinkedIn.

Meet Indiana University-connected startups: Hunger Curbed

Posted on by Steve Martin

Kennedy Brown and Zach Simunic are the founders of Hunger Curbed, which they launched in 2019. The company serves food truck operators and their customers. They won second place in Demo Day, the final event of the B-Start pre-accelerator program organized by the Bloomington Economic Development Corp. Brown is an alumna of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University Bloomington; Simunic is a senior in the Kelley School.

Zach Simunic (left) and Kennedy Brown (right)

Kennedy Brown: Food truck operators are looking to make their marketing efforts as pain-free as possible. Hungry foodies are looking for accurate information — like location, menu, hours of operation — that they have grown accustomed to from brick-and-mortar food businesses. Because traditional mediums are not optimized for mobile businesses, most food trucks are losing out on the opportunity to engage with their customers and create a loyal following.

CC: How does Hunger Curbed address those challenges?

Zach Simunic: We simplify how food trucks communicate with their customers. We automatically distribute accurate and timely information, like location and menu, to our native platform and platforms where they might already engage with customers. By creating an accessible, accurate digital profile, we legitimize the business in the customers’ minds and allow truck operators to efficiently develop loyalty among customers.

 CC: What are the next steps to advance Hunger Curbed?

KB: We are currently building an SMS chat system to be deployed in Bloomington. This is the first iteration of what will become a larger system of products that will be deployed across web, mobile application and current marketing channels. We chose to test in Bloomington for its proximity to targeted cities and its diverse, engaged campus population that mimics urban populations like the ones we hope to find success in. We are also actively looking for talent to join us on our quest to create a more trusting and efficient relationship between food trucks and their customers.

CC: What are your thoughts about Bloomington’s entrepreneurial ecosystem?

KB: Our company has benefited greatly from Bloomington’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The combination of the university and local companies creates an ideal community where students can start, build and grow a company while learning from faculty, community leaders and fellow students.

The Bloomington environment is incredibly unique. Options and a variety of resources — like StartupIU and the Shoemaker Innovation Center on campus, and the Dimension Mill, B-Start and the Indiana Small Business Development Center — are key points that any student interested in pursuing an idea should take advantage of. People are starting to choose to build companies in the Midwest, and it’s encouraging to see students using Bloomington as their launchpad to act on their entrepreneurial urges.

Indiana Data Partnership launch powers multi-sector collaboration

Posted on by IU Communications

 

 

By Ashley Hungate, Management Performance Hub

The Indiana Data Partnership is launching to empower collaboration among government, nonprofit and private-sector entities to drive positive change in key challenges impacting Hoosiers.

IDP is an enhancement to the Indiana state government’s Management Performance Hub, which provides data analytics solutions tailored to address management and policy questions, enabling improved outcomes for Hoosiers. Formed in partnership with Indiana University, this enhancement expands MPH’s mission by creating a secure, replicable and sustainable framework that helps organizations successfully partner to maximize holistic solutions and minimize duplication of efforts through sharing and viewing common data. Another benefit is the creation of better visualizations of organizations’ service networks.

A news release about the launch of the Indiana Data Partnership is online.