Entrepreneurship

Some of Allen County’s top employers come from the most humble of beginnings. Now, dozens of programs and entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs) are aligning to build a thriving ecosystem for startups.

Greater Fort Wayne Inc. Bridge Program

Bridging the gap between startup and success, our Bridge Program creates a unique support system to help founders flourish. It’s the business community banding together to build the next generation of homegrown success stories.

Coworking, Coaching, and Programming

Northeast Indiana Innovation Center

The NIIC is the region’s “one-stop shop” for all entrepreneurial services: business development, access to capital, product innovation and commercialization services, marketing, research, training, mentoring, and coaching.

Indiana Small Business Development Center. Logo.

Northeast Indiana SBDC

Northeast Indiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC) provides entrepreneurs expert guidance in a variety of areas including planning, government registration, market analysis, advertising, exports, government contracting, and more.

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SCORE Fort Wayne

Our local chapter is platinum certified and has 50+ active mentors. SCORE offers free business mentoring, workshops, and numerous templates and tools for stating or growing a business.

NEIN Venture Hub

Whether you’ve got an idea or are growing your empire, this hub is an inclusive, accessible place that brings together the entrepreneurial resources and support to help you reach your goals. Welcome to your NEIN Venture Hub!

Summit City Entrepreneur and Enterprise District (SEED). Logo.

SEED Fort Wayne

The Summit City Entrepreneur and Enterprise District (SEED) is an affiliate of the City of Fort Wayne and encompasses approximately seven square miles. SEED provides businesses in the district with personal property and property tax benefits to promote private investment in the urban core and commercial corridors. It also operates the Enterprise Center, an office and light manufacturing co-working space, provides programming like the Build Institute, and offers grant opportunities to SEED businesses.

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Start Fort Wayne

Located downtown, Start Fort Wayne is building a thriving entrepreneur and high-growth tech community in northeast Indiana. Start Fort Wayne fosters startups by providing collaborative workspace (The Atrium) and educational programming.

Funding

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Community Development Corporation of Northeast Indiana

The Community Development Corporation of Northeast Indiana (CDC) is a City of Fort Wayne sponsored non-profit that provides alternative financing options to new and existing small business owners.

Fortitude Fund

The goal of the Fortitude Fund is to create an entrepreneurial culture in northeast Indiana that welcomes new ideas and encourages you to dream bigger. Fortitude provides small grants to early-stage companies.

Elevate Ventures

Elevate Ventures invest in high-potential cross-sector innovative companies (with a minimum $500M Total Addressable Market) at the pre-seed, seed, and early stages.

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Brightpoint

As Northeast Indiana’s largest CDFI (Community Development Finance Institute), The Brightpoint Development Fund creates economic opportunities for communities, families, and individuals who lack access to affordable capital and financial services.