Economic Gardening Program

"A tremendous asset to our company..."

"...exposed me to new insights and opportunities to grow as a CEO..."

"The Economic Gardening Program's expert team of consultants helped me formulate our strategic growth plan that has already begun paying dividends."

One company increased its sales by one million dollars. The average increase in revenue seen by participants was 17% in the first year.

Interested?

The Elevate Ventures Economic Gardening Program is a free set of services to help "second stage" companies grow. These are businesses that have been operating at least two years and have revenue between $750,000 and $25 million, with five to 100 employees, and which want to expand their sales. Targeted industries include manufacturing, software, and industrial and professional services with the capacity to grow beyond the local market.

The program is part of the Regional Entrepreneurship Action Plan (REAP) supported by the City of Fort Wayne, the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, local funders and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. It includes a leadership assessment and consultation, market research and web/social media assistance, and follow-up implementation consulting. In all, the package is worth $7,500, but the value to a business is generally much greater.

Since beginning in late 2011, 26 Fort Wayne companies have participated out of over 160 throughout Northern Indiana.

Economic Gardening targets "second stage" businesses, which have experienced growth in the past but are unable to afford the kind of high quality market research available to large corporations. Such second stage businesses represent over one third of Northeast Indiana's economy. This makes helping second stage companies important to help our region's economy grow.

To find out whether this program is right for your business, contact Karen Goldner at Elevate Ventures: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 260-433-2444.