Brian Schutt (IBJ photo/Chad Williams)
Indianapolis entrepreneur Brian Schutt has been hired to lead Indiana’s new Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which was created by legislators with a mission of growing the state’s economy by supporting small businesses.
In his new position, which he begins Monday, Schutt will lead an office focused on supporting what are often called “Main Street” businesses—companies such as insurance or real estate agencies, home services companies, manufacturers and non-venture-backed businesses that are not quickly scaled and operate in towns across the state.
Schutt, 45, is the co-founder of two Indianapolis companies that fit the definition of Main Street businesses: home-services company Homesense Heating and Cooling, and Refinery46, a co-working space and startup incubator. The two companies share a building on East 46th Street.
Schutt was named one of IBJ’s Forty Under 40 honorees in 2019, and until this month he was a regular columnist for IBJ’s Forefront publication, often writing about entrepreneurship-related topics.
Gov. Mike Braun, who worked with Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Adams to select Schutt, has identified the support of Main Street businesses as an important priority of his administration. Schutt and the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation will report to the Indiana Department of Commerce. The office will operate separately from the Indiana Economic Development Corp., which Adams also oversees.
“We’re really excited about Brian and think he’s the right leader to help us,” Adams said.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, as of 2022, Indiana was home to 591,671 small businesses. Of that total, about 80% are businesses that have no paid employees other than the owners.
Another of Schutt’s priorities in his new job will be to encourage what’s sometimes called entrepreneurship through acquisition—becoming a business owner by buying an existing business rather than starting one from scratch.
As the Baby Boomer generation continues to age into retirement, Schutt said, business owners in this group who don’t already have a succession plan will be looking to exit their companies—perhaps by selling to a fellow entrepreneur. “There’s a significant opportunity [for aspiring entrepreneurs] in what they call entrepreneurship through acquisition,” he said.
By focusing on Main Street businesses and business acquisition activity, Adams said, the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation will be distinct from Elevate Ventures, an Indianapolis-based organization that invests federal and state money into Indiana-based startups on behalf of the IEDC.
“Elevate Ventures is really focused on true startups, and a lot of tech-based businesses that entrepreneurs are starting from scratch,” Adams said. “So that’s … why we are kind of splitting the two lanes. Traditionally, we’ve had one lane for both.”
The launch of the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation comes at a time of tension between the Governor’s office, the IEDC and Elevate Ventures.
On April 24, Braun announced a funding freeze for Elevate Ventures, an Indianapolis-based organization that invests federal and state money into Indiana companies on behalf of the IEDC. Braun cited concerns about transparency as a reason for the freeze.
Braun has also hired an independent auditor to investigate the IEDC and affiliated organizations.
Under its current three-year contract with the IEDC, which runs through June 30, 2026, Elevate had been receiving $541,667 per month to fund its operations, including staff salaries, programming and other day-to-day expenses. As of July 3, Elevate Ventures had not received its monthly operating allotment since April 17, the Office of the State Comptroller said.
Asked specifically about Elevate Ventures’ funding status, Adams said, “We’re continuing to work through a process with them, and, candidly, all the entities affected by the freeze in funds. It’s not just Elevate. We are evaluating everything as we speak.”
Elevate Ventures CEO Christopher Day did not respond to an email seeking comment.
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