By: Kelci Dye, MBA’18

I am in the Evening MBA Program at the IU Kelley School of Business. I’m beginning my final year in the program and am excited for the unique opportunities that are offered in the upper tiered courses.

One of the classes I am taking involves participation in the Venture Club of Indiana, in order to connect students with the venture community. I am excited to get out of the classroom and interact with local business men and women.

On September 20, I attended my first Venture Club of Indiana event. I was pleasantly surprised at a few different elements of the evening. First, I was blown away by the Salesforce building. We were in a room that had so many offerings: a technical assistance station, full service coffee bar, game area, work out area and lots of seating. This space was top notch, and you could tell the employees are valued.

Second, I was shocked with the depth of the venture support in our community. There are so many people and resources in Indiana to help start-up ventures thrive. Whether a start-up is looking for advice, funding or talent, it seems as if there are a lot of options within the community to find what you’re looking for, and it made me appreciate Indy even more.

Third, I was encouraged by the people I met and the good things that are happening around the city. I met an investor in Cluster Truck, a digital marketer, and someone who just opened a private school focusing on the arts and entrepreneurship. So many people are finding needs in the marketplace and are taking risks to help meet those needs.

Finally, our class had a great discussion regarding an investor panel that spoke during the event. We were impressed with the thoughts shared by the panel including: their own successes and failures, experience needed to gain expertise, range of dollar amounts acceptable for investing, and red flags to notice when looking to invest. I think I’m going to learn a lot from my experience with the Venture Club of Indiana. Welcome to the club!