Nurturing Newborn Firms

I am an adviser with the Indiana Venture Center in Indianapolis. I work primarily with early-stage companies with high growth potential and assist them throughout the venture creation and expansion process, from business planning, strategy formulation, and capital acquisition to working through issues of execution and implementation. Many clients are at the stage of raising equity financing, so I also manage a network of angel investors across the state of Indiana.

The Indiana Venture Center has five university partners: Ball State University, Purdue University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Indiana University, and the University of Notre Dame, and the center's model relies heavily on leveraging university talent.

I got my start at Indiana Venture Center, when I led an engagement with a center client while in my second year of B-school at Purdue. I essentially acted as an independent consultant for the Indiana Venture Center, and after completing a successful project, the center asked me to join the staff full-time upon completion of my Masters in Business Administration.

Working with early-stage companies allows me to be part of a passionate and dynamic environment on a daily basis, and my exposure to a variety of clients, industries, and innovations has been a tremendous learning experience. More than anything, however, being able to make a personal connection with entrepreneurs who truly value my assistance is the most enjoyable aspect of my job.

Here's a typical day in my life:

6:00 a.m.—Out of bed for my first "job" of the day, which has me heading out to the barn to feed three horses. The rule is that they eat before I eat.

7:00 a.m.—On the road for a one-hour commute to the office. I have begun to appreciate this time, and I use the drive to focus my mind, ponder ideas, and map out the coming day.

8:05 a.m.—I'm settled into my office to begin checking e-mail and voicemails. Certain items need immediate attention, but most will have to wait until lunch.

8:30 a.m.—I begin to prepare for my first meeting of the day. The center's president and I are meeting with a company that is attempting to raise $1 million to...

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