Holcomb: Tech Companies Growing in ‘Perfect Environment’
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowGovernor Eric Holcomb says Indiana’s pool of mentors in tech create an industry where "the hits just keep on coming." He says entrepreneurs who have turned "coffee table discussions" into million and billion-dollar companies paved the way for businesses like Indianapolis-based Lessonly, which today announced a $2 million expansion involving more than 100 new jobs. Chief Executive Officer Max Yoder says the growth, coming just weeks after announcing $8 million in funding, shows the training software company’s ability to "attack a wide-open market."
Holcomb says Indiana has become a place promising "stability and certainty and predictability" for tech companies to grow.
Lessonly, which launched in 2012 and landed a Series A investment round of $5 million in 2016, says initial plans call for building on current operations, but ultimately the company wants to expand its footprint in the city. Lessonly is currently located in School No. 9 in Indianapolis. Chief Executive Officer Max Yoder says, if that building can’t handle the company’s growth, he would like to move into another school, because it "fits the vibe of training and learning."
Last month’s Series B round came from Boston-based OpenView Venture Partners, Rethink Education Management LLC in New York and central Indiana firms High Alpha Capital and Allos Ventures. At the time, the company said that funding could potentially double its current 80-person team over the next two years. Lessonly’s clients include NBC News, Trunk Club and Thumbtack.
Holcomb says the state’s partnership with Lessonly shows Indiana is "leaning into this space in a big, big way." The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Lessonly up to $1.3 million in conditional tax credits and training grants based on the company’s expansion plans.
The IEDC says the Indianapolis area added nearly 6,200 new tech jobs in 2015 and 2016, with a 28 percent growth rate ranking fourth among U.S. metropolitan areas and more than double the national growth average of 11 percent.