J. Jeff Schwegman, Ph. D., founder and CEO of AB BioTechnologies on Bloomington's west side, Monday, May 1, 2017. Staff photo by Chris Howell
At a glance
The area small businesses recognized Wednesday are but two of nearly a half-million small businesses in Indiana. About 45-percent of Indiana's private sector workforce in 2016 — roughly 1.2 million people — were employed by small businesses, according to Elaine Bedel, president of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. It's an unsurprising feat when one knows that 99.4-percent of Indiana businesses in 2016 were classified as small.
In that same fiscal year, the state's ten small business development centers helped create nearly 240 businesses and assisted in bringing 2,365 federal contracts worth a total of $566 million to Hoosier small businesses.
AB BioTechnologies may have started in the back bedroom of Jeff Schwegman's home, but it's now recognized by state and federal small business leaders.
Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration Linda McMahon kicked off the National Small Business Week road tour in Speedway, Indiana, Wednesday to announce winners of its annual economic and entrepreneurship awards.
Bloomington's AB BioTechnologies was honored in the established small businesses category for businesses operating at least one year in the Economic Development and Growth Through Entrepreneurship (EDGE) Awards.
Identified as a poster child for successful growth by the Indiana Economic Development Corp., the company is one of several in the area that were recognized as part of National Small Business Week between April 30 and May 6.
"I'm a scientist," AB BioTechnologies CEO Jeff Schwegman said. "I'm learning business as I go, but I'm the kind of person that wants to know everything you know. I'm like a sponge."
AB BioTechnologies started in the back bedroom of Schwegman's house. Schwegman had fortified his knowledge of lyophilization, conceptually similar to freeze-drying coffee but with pharmaceutical materials. Schwegman, who worked at Baxter Pharmaceuticals and shared his knowledge on the lecture circuit, said he left a six-figure salary to scrape by to start his own business. Spurred on by mentors that had retired from Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals, Schwegman targeted the smaller clients, ones he said weren't having their needs met by larger companies.
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