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Indy Biz Pass: Proven Infrastructure Ready to Scale
3 years operational | 350+ businesses served | $28.7B opportunity window closing
Why Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Matter
High-growth firms don't emerge in a vacuum. They thrive when three critical forces align to create the conditions for explosive growth. Research from the U.S. Census Bureau and Brookings Institution has conclusively demonstrated that young, high-growth companies—not large established firms—drive disproportionate job creation and economic vitality in American regions.
20%
Young Firms' Share
Young companies account for one-fifth of all gross job creation in the United States
50%
High-Growth Impact
High-growth firms generate nearly half of all gross job creation despite being a small fraction of total businesses
20%
Annual Growth Rate
"Cheetah" Firms minimum 20% revenue growth annually for five consecutive years
These "Cheetah"—companies growing at least 20% annually for five consecutive years—are the engines of regional prosperity. When markets provide capital and customers, when government creates supportive policy and infrastructure, and when communities supply skilled workforce and entrepreneurial culture, ecosystems unlock exponential growth potential. Central Indiana's challenge isn't creating more programs—it's ensuring our proven infrastructure reaches the 440,000 entrepreneurs currently invisible to traditional economic development systems.
Central Indiana's Hidden Reality
We Built Economic Development for the Wrong 20%
Indiana's small business landscape contains a fundamental disconnect that undermines inclusive economic growth. While economic development initiatives have traditionally focused on companies with ten or more employees, the overwhelming majority of Indiana businesses operate at a completely different scale—and they've been systematically overlooked.
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10+ Employees
5-10% of businesses
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1-9 Employees
15-20% of businesses
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Sole Proprietors
440,000-460,000 businesses (75-80%)
Out of 592,000 small businesses across Indiana, between 440,000 and 460,000—representing 75-80% of all businesses—are sole proprietors. These entrepreneurs have zero paid staff. They're juggling every business function alone. Most generate under $500,000 in annual revenue, with many earning under $50,000 annually. They concentrate in critical sectors: construction, professional services, transportation, retail, personal services, and healthcare.
These aren't hobby businesses or side hustles. They ARE the market. They represent the demographic diversity, geographic distribution, and entrepreneurial ambition that will determine whether Central Indiana's $28.7 billion corporate investment wave creates shared prosperity or concentrates wealth among an already-advantaged few. Traditional economic development infrastructure—designed for companies with HR departments, CFOs, and procurement teams—is fundamentally inaccessible to sole proprietors operating from kitchen tables and pickup trucks.
The challenge is stark: our region's economic development architecture was built for the 5-10% of businesses at the pyramid's top, while 440,000 entrepreneurs at the base remain invisible, unreached, and unable to participate in the massive growth opportunities unfolding right now. This isn't a gap—it's a structural disconnect threatening equitable regional prosperity.
The Perfect Storm—Why NOW Matters
Central Indiana stands at an unprecedented inflection point where massive corporate investment converges with critical infrastructure capacity gaps. The next 24-36 months will determine whether 440,000 entrepreneurs participate in generational wealth-building opportunities or watch from the sidelines as growth concentrates among a small fraction of already-established firms.
Investment Wave Happening NOW
  • Eli Lilly: $3.7 billion investment, 700 new jobs in advanced manufacturing and research
  • IU Health: $4.3 billion campus transformation reshaping downtown Indianapolis
  • Elanco: $100 million headquarters expansion, 1,000+ high-wage positions
  • Regional Total: 218 companies have committed $28.7 billion in capital investments
  • Annual Lending: $1.4 billion flowing to small businesses through traditional channels
  • Venture Capital: $389 million deployed across 161 deals in emerging sectors
Who's Being Left Out
  • 440,000+ sole proprietors with no paid staff to pursue supplier opportunities
  • Invisible to procurement systems designed for larger, established vendors
  • Lacking capital-readiness support to access the $1.4 billion annual lending pool
  • Unable to compete for contracts tied to $28.7 billion in corporate investment
  • Missing participation windows as supply chains and vendor relationships form now
  • No navigation system to connect to resources, programs, or opportunities

Critical Window: Major corporate investments create supplier ecosystems and vendor relationships in their first 18-24 months. Infrastructure to connect micro-businesses must exist NOW—not after procurement decisions have already been made and supply chains locked in.
Capital is flowing. Opportunities are materializing. The fundamental question facing Central Indiana isn't whether we'll experience economic growth—that's already happening. The question is whether 440,000 entrepreneurs will participate in that growth or be systematically excluded by infrastructure designed for a different scale of business. The window for inclusive participation is measured in months, not years. Proven infrastructure exists. The moment to scale it is now.
Indy Biz Pass—Not a Concept, A Solution
3 Years Operational | Proven Model | Ready to Scale
Indy Biz Pass isn't a pilot program, a theoretical framework, or a concept awaiting validation. It's operational infrastructure that has been functioning and serving Central Indiana businesses for three years. Built on comprehensive research from JPMorgan Chase, Next Street, and the Brookings Institution, and stress-tested through real-world implementation, Indy Biz Pass represents proven capacity to connect sole proprietors to the ecosystem resources they need to grow.
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2021-2022: Research & Design
Comprehensive asset mapping across eight communities of influence. Bottom-up ecosystem approach developed through human centered engagement. Infrastructure specifications validated against 440,000 sole proprietor needs.
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2022-2023: Platform Launch
Digital infrastructure deployed connecting businesses to service providers. Initial cohort of businesses onboarded with unified profiles. Service provider network established across capital, coaching, and capacity-building resources.
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2023-2024: Proven Impact
350+ businesses actively engaged through platform. 100+ service providers integrated into network. 3 physical co-working hubs operational. Real-time pathways created to capital, coaching, and contracts. Custom AI studio launched at indybizpass.ai.
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2025-2026: Scale Phase
Expand eligibility to all businesses under $250K revenue. Deepen AI capacity tools addressing sole proprietor constraints. Strategic integration across all eight communities of influence. Connect 440,000+ entrepreneurs to $28.7B growth wave.
The platform combines digital infrastructure with physical co-working spaces and AI-powered capacity tools. Entrepreneurs create unified business profiles capturing industry, stage, revenue, and growth goals. The system matches them to relevant service providers, training programs, capital sources, and contract opportunities. Service providers gain access to the 75-80% of businesses previously invisible to traditional outreach. Corporate anchors can identify diverse suppliers capable of meeting objective criteria around capacity, quality, and compliance.
We didn't build another directory or launch another program. We built permanent connective tissue linking eight communities of influence to 440,000 entrepreneurs who need them. Three years of operational experience has validated the model, refined the technology, and demonstrated impact. The infrastructure exists. The question isn't whether it works—the question is how fast we scale it to meet the urgency of Central Indiana's $28.7 billion moment.
The Eight Communities of Influence
Entrepreneurial ecosystem research demonstrates that sustainable business growth requires integration across eight distinct communities, each providing essential resources that no single organization can deliver alone. Organizations operating without connections to all eight communities limit their capacity to access resources and achieve long-term viability. Education serves as the keystone species—its engagement throughout the ecosystem is essential for workforce development, knowledge transfer, and innovation diffusion.
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Education
Universities, community colleges, K-12 systems, and vocational training providers supply skilled workforce, research capacity, and knowledge infrastructure. Education connects talent to opportunity and drives long-term innovation capability.
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Community
Nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and social service networks provide support systems, cultural capital, and community connections that enable entrepreneurs to navigate challenges and build sustainable businesses.
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Policy
Government agencies, foundations, and industry associations create regulatory frameworks, funding mechanisms, and strategic initiatives that shape the operating environment for business growth.
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Funding
Banks, venture capitalists, angel investors, and CDFIs supply the capital spectrum from microloans to growth equity, enabling businesses to start, stabilize, and scale operations.
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Development
Economic development organizations and regional partnerships coordinate strategic planning, infrastructure investment, and business attraction efforts that create conditions for entrepreneurial success.
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Industry
Corporations, mature businesses, and high-growth gazelles provide customer demand, supply chain opportunities, mentorship, and models for scaling operations successfully.
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Entrepreneurs
Accelerators, incubators, and entrepreneur associations deliver technical assistance, peer networks, and specialized support helping businesses navigate growth challenges.
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Communications
Media outlets, PR professionals, and newsmakers shape narratives, build visibility, and connect entrepreneurs to broader audiences—critical for customer acquisition and brand building.
Indy Biz Pass functions as the connective tissue linking all eight communities to the 440,000 sole proprietors who need them. Traditional economic development efforts often operate within siloed communities—banks work with other banks, accelerators connect to other accelerators, but rarely do all eight integrate around the needs of micro-businesses. Our platform creates the integration layer, ensuring entrepreneurs can access community support, navigate policy resources, find appropriate capital, connect to industry customers, receive entrepreneurial coaching, and build communication capacity—all through a unified infrastructure designed specifically for businesses operating below traditional economic development thresholds.
The Digital Network—Ecosystem in Action
Not a Directory—An Active Navigation System
Indy Biz Pass operates as active navigation infrastructure, not a passive directory. The platform addresses the documented reality that most micro-businesses don't know where to go for help, can't navigate fragmented support systems, and lack capacity to pursue scattered opportunities across multiple channels. By creating unified business profiles and intelligent matching algorithms, the system makes 440,000 invisible entrepreneurs visible to the ecosystem while making fragmented resources accessible to sole proprietors.
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Unified Business Profile
Entrepreneurs create a single comprehensive profile capturing industry sector, business stage, current revenue, growth goals, and capacity constraints. The system uses this profile to automatically match businesses to relevant co-working spaces, coaching programs, capital sources, and contract opportunities. Designed specifically for businesses under $250,000 revenue—the 75-80% sole proprietor segment.
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Resource Navigator
Searchable, filterable map of 100+ programs, training opportunities, grants, and support services across Central Indiana. Addresses the critical finding that "most businesses don't know where to go for help." Sole proprietors can filter by industry, stage, location, and specific need—finding relevant resources in minutes rather than months of trial and error.
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Contracts & Customers Lane
Direct pathways to corporate, institutional, and government procurement opportunities tied to the $28.7 billion investment wave. Uses objective criteria around capacity, quality, and compliance rather than subjective vendor relationships. Connects micro-firms to anchor institutions actively seeking diverse suppliers.
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Data & Learning Loop
Aggregated performance tracking showing what's working across the ecosystem—which programs drive revenue growth, which capital sources serve underrepresented entrepreneurs, which corporate partnerships create supplier opportunities. Creates feedback connecting Market, State, and Civil Society for continuous improvement.
The platform backbone makes the invisible visible. Before Indy Biz Pass, 440,000 sole proprietors were essentially invisible to traditional economic development systems—no unified data, no systematic tracking, no way for service providers to reach them or for anchor institutions to find them. Simultaneously, dozens of high-quality business support organizations operated in relative isolation, unable to reach the entrepreneurs who needed them most.
The digital network solves both problems simultaneously. Entrepreneurs gain a navigation system for accessing resources. Service providers gain visibility to 75-80% of the market they couldn't previously reach. Corporate anchors gain pathways to diverse suppliers meeting objective criteria. Economic development officials gain real-time data on what's working and where gaps persist. The infrastructure transforms fragmented, siloed programs into an integrated ecosystem where 440,000 entrepreneurs can actually participate in Central Indiana's growth.
The AI Studio—Democratizing Capacity
Virtual Team Members for Solo Operators
When 75-80% of businesses are sole proprietors, they're executing every business function alone—marketing, financial planning, proposal writing, strategic planning, operations management, compliance, and customer service. This isn't a skill gap; it's a fundamental capacity constraint. One person can't be expert in eight domains simultaneously. Traditional solutions—hiring consultants, outsourcing functions, building teams—are economically inaccessible to entrepreneurs earning under $50,000 annually or generating under $500,000 in revenue.
RFP & Bid Tools
Compete for contracts without expensive proposal writers. AI assists with compliance documentation, project scope development, and competitive positioning.
Concept Validation
Test business viability before investing capital. Market analysis, competitive landscape research, and feasibility assessment tools.
Business Ideation
Match skills to market opportunities. Identify viable business models aligned with entrepreneur capabilities and regional demand.
Financial Planning
Budget development, cash flow projection, and scenario modeling without expensive CFO services. Capital-readiness preparation.
Product Launch
Go-to-market strategy, pricing models, and launch planning without full-service marketing agencies. Positioning and messaging development.
Marketing Tools
Professional marketing materials, social media content, and customer acquisition strategies executable by solo operators.
Business Strategy
Strategic frameworks, growth planning, and decision-making tools traditionally accessible only to larger firms with consulting budgets.
Operations & Compliance
Regulatory compliance, licensing navigation, and operational systems without expensive legal and consulting support.
The AI Studio at indybizpass.ai functions as virtual team members for 440,000 sole proprietors. Instead of hiring a marketing director, entrepreneurs access AI-powered marketing tools. Instead of contracting with proposal writers, they use AI-assisted RFP development. Instead of paying for strategic consultants, they leverage AI-powered strategic frameworks. The result: one-person operations can execute at the sophistication level of larger firms.
This is capacity democratization at scale. For decades, access to professional services—marketing agencies, financial advisors, proposal writers, strategic consultants—has been a structural advantage for larger firms with professional budgets. Sole proprietors couldn't afford these services, creating a persistent capability gap that limited their ability to compete for contracts, access capital, or scale operations. AI dissolves that barrier. A construction contractor operating from a pickup truck can now generate professional proposals. A personal services entrepreneur can develop sophisticated marketing campaigns. A retail operator can model complex financial scenarios.
The AI Studio doesn't replace human judgment or expertise—it multiplies capacity for entrepreneurs who have talent and ambition but lack teams and budgets. It's the infrastructure enabling 440,000 sole proprietors to participate in Central Indiana's $28.7 billion growth wave on competitive terms. The studio is live at indybizpass.ai, operational now, serving businesses today.
Measuring Systemic Change
3-5 Year Vision: Success Means the System Works Differently
Indy Biz Pass success isn't measured by program metrics—businesses served, workshops delivered, profiles created. Success means the Central Indiana economic development system functions differently for the 440,000 sole proprietors currently invisible to traditional infrastructure. We're measuring systemic change across four integrated dimensions aligned with the Central Indiana CEDS Performance Framework, tracking whether ecosystem resources actually reach micro-businesses and whether participation translates to measurable business outcomes.
Ecosystem Participation
  • 1,000+ firms actively engaged annually through platform
  • Focused on 75-80% sole proprietor segment currently underserved
  • Increase from 27% baseline of businesses knowing about and using available support
  • Geographic distribution across Marion County and surrounding counties
  • Demographic representation matching regional diversity
Business Survival & Growth
  • Revenue increases for businesses under $500K annually
  • Employee additions—sole proprietors becoming employers
  • 3-5 year survival rates exceeding regional averages
  • Specific tracking of financially fragile firms earning under $50K
  • Sector-specific growth in construction, professional services, transportation, retail, personal services, healthcare
Capital Access
  • Portion of $1.4 billion annual small business lending reaching platform members
  • Bank and CDFI relationships formed by micro-businesses
  • Capital flowing to businesses under $1M revenue—traditionally underserved segment
  • Venture capital and angel investment reaching early-stage companies
  • Grant and foundation funding accessed by community-based entrepreneurs
AI-Powered Capacity Building
  • AI tool usage across 440,000+ sole proprietor population
  • Time savings and productivity gains from virtual team capacity
  • Revenue growth correlated with AI studio utilization
  • Contract wins attributed to AI-assisted proposal development
  • Marketing and customer acquisition improvements from AI tools
Beyond quantitative metrics, we're tracking qualitative systemic shifts. Are service providers changing how they reach micro-businesses? Are financial institutions developing products for the under-$500K segment? Are corporate anchors building supplier diversity programs around objective capacity criteria rather than subjective relationships? Are policy makers incorporating 440,000 sole proprietors into economic development planning?
Geographic and demographic reach matters critically. Business ownership growth in historically under-invested neighborhoods. Participation across all key sectors where sole proprietors concentrate. Wealth-building opportunities extending to communities systematically excluded from previous growth waves. These aren't secondary considerations—they're core measures of whether Central Indiana's $28.7 billion investment creates shared prosperity or concentrates wealth among the already-advantaged.
We'll track this data continuously, publish results transparently, and adjust strategies based on evidence. The dashboard isn't just accountability—it's the learning loop connecting Market, State, and Civil Society for continuous ecosystem improvement. Success looks like a fundamentally different economic development system where 440,000 entrepreneurs are visible, accessible, and actively participating in regional growth. That's the three-to-five-year vision. That's what we're building toward. And the infrastructure to deliver it exists today.
The Call to Action—Scale NOW
Proven Infrastructure. Open Window. Urgent Moment.
What We've Proven (2022-2024)
  • ✓ Platform functions at scale with unified profiles and intelligent matching
  • ✓ 350+ businesses actively engaged across multiple sectors
  • ✓ 100+ service providers integrated into cohesive network
  • ✓ 3 physical co-working hubs operational and accessible
  • ✓ AI studio democratizing capacity for sole proprietors
  • ✓ Real pathways established to capital, coaching, and contracts
  • ✓ Data infrastructure tracking participation and outcomes
What's At Stake (2025-2027)
  • $28.7 billion corporate investment creating supplier ecosystems NOW
  • Procurement decisions locking in vendor relationships in 18-24 months
  • $1.4 billion annual lending pool—who accesses it?
  • 440,000 entrepreneurs' participation in generational growth wave
  • Regional prosperity vs. concentrated wealth among already-advantaged
  • Workforce development at scale through entrepreneurial capacity

THE WINDOW IS NOW: Major investments create supply chains and vendor relationships in their first 18-24 months. Infrastructure to connect micro-businesses must scale immediately—not after decisions have already been made.
For Entrepreneurs
Join Indy Biz Pass today—your on-ramp to capacity tools, ecosystem connections, contract opportunities, and capital access. If you have more talent than access, this infrastructure is built for you. Visit indybizpass.com or try the AI studio at indybizpass.ai.
For Support Organizations
75-80% of Central Indiana businesses can't find you. Your programs are invisible to the entrepreneurs who need them most. Partner with Indy Biz Pass to reach 440,000 sole proprietors through proven navigation infrastructure.
For Corporate & Anchor Institutions
You're investing $28.7 billion in Central Indiana. We create pathways for diverse micro-businesses to participate as suppliers, meeting objective criteria around capacity, quality, and compliance. Build inclusive supply chains that strengthen regional prosperity.
For Financial Institutions
You're lending $1.4 billion annually to small businesses. We create pipelines of capital-ready entrepreneurs through coaching, AI-powered financial planning, and systematic business development. Reach the 75-80% segment traditional outreach can't access.
The infrastructure exists. Three years of operational experience has validated the model, refined the technology, and demonstrated impact. The moment is urgent—Central Indiana's $28.7 billion investment wave is creating opportunities right now, and procurement windows close in months, not years. The question isn't whether this works—the question is whether we scale proven infrastructure fast enough to ensure 440,000 entrepreneurs can walk through this narrow window of inclusive participation.
If you have more talent than access, Indy Biz Pass is for you. If you're a service provider committed to reaching underserved entrepreneurs, partner with us. If you're a corporate anchor building supply chains, connect through our platform. If you're a financial institution seeking capital-ready micro-businesses, we're creating that pipeline. The infrastructure is operational. The pathway is clear. The moment is now.
Contact & Access: Visit indybizpass.com for platform access | Try AI tools at indybizpass.ai | Partner inquiries: Connect through our website for collaboration opportunities