How Indiana Became the Next Big Startup Tech Hub

A few big startup successes in the 90's has put Indiana on the cusp of rivaling other startup hubs like Boston and Silicon Valley

In the 1980s, venture capitalist Bob Compton used to run an experiment that he coined “the cocktail culture test.”

It was very simple. When he attended cocktail parties in Indiana, he would tell others what he did for work and then observe their response.

It might be hard to believe now, but when he told people that he was the chairman of a tech company or a venture capitalist, he said people would often drift away or change the subject.

“All of my friends in the VC world in Boston and Silicon Valley viewed the Midwest as an emergency landing strip in case the plane went down while traveling from coast to coast,” Compton said during a phone interview.

More than three decades later, things have changed.

Since Compton first ran his culture tests, the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana have become a powerhouse in the tech startup scene, producing many unicorns, drawing huge corporations and generating some serious venture capital activity.