As a resident of Carmel and a member of the greater Indianapolis business community for over 35 years, I’ve been privileged to have been one of the original TechPoint board members, as well as being the real estate partner for so many of the sprouting tech start-ups in Central Indiana. My roots, however, take me back to Chicago where I grew up on the city’s south side. And Chicago is where CARMEN Commercial Real Estate has launched our second office to work with businesses to locate and negotiate for office space. I read this article by Neal Sales-Griffin, the Managing Director of the Techstars Chicago Accelerator. It reminded me that Indiana isn’t the only place with a strong, tech-based, entrepreneurial community.

Neal discusses the 2022 class of Techstars Chicago Companies. He notes that it’s not just the skill development that stood out at a recent meeting of new members meeting alumni, but the conversations and connections that made all the difference.

Connections are something my associates and I at CARMEN have built with the Indianapolis and Carmel communities over the last 30 years. Through these connections, I’ve seen businesses blossom, falter and some ultimately succeed, and I was fortunate to help many of these entrepreneurs find office space that would grow with them. In fact, we even negotiated creative deals that would provide these fast growing companies enough flexibility to not be limited by their facilities with inflexible lease terms and one-way leases that do little more than serve the landlords.

It’s exciting to see such a diverse group of Chicago entrepreneurs jump into the business world at such an interesting time in history. I look forward to watching their progress and as do what we’ve done since 1993, make invaluable business and personal connections.

To read Neal’s complete article, click here.