Greater Lafayette Commerce has received a $40,000 grant from the State of Indiana's Community Collaboration Fund to launch the Greater Lafayette Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) Initiative, a cohort-based program that will prepare a new generation of owners to acquire and lead the region's established businesses.
The grant was among 22 awards announced by Gov. Mike Braun through the fund, which is administered by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and supports community-led projects strengthening the state's small business economy, with a focus this year on entrepreneurial education, technology adoption and small business acceleration.
"People often think entrepreneurship means building a business from scratch, but some of the most exciting opportunities in this community are businesses that already work," said Amanda Findlay, executive director of MatchBOX Studios, the community partner delivering programming for prospective buyers. "A buyer inherits customers, staff and a reputation. Our job is making sure they also inherit the discipline to run it well, and that sellers walk away knowing their life's work is in good hands."
Entrepreneurship through acquisition — buying and operating an existing business rather than starting one from the ground up — offers a faster, lower-risk path to ownership than starting from zero. The Greater Lafayette ETA Initiative pairs expert-led workshops and facilitated matchmaking events for prospective buyers with a clear exit-planning framework for owners nearing retirement.
"Greater Lafayette has a generation of business owners approaching retirement, and many of them don't have a plan for what comes next," said Mikel Berger, president and CEO of Greater Lafayette Commerce. "When an established business closes for lack of a buyer, the community loses jobs, tax base and knowledge that took decades to build. This funding lets us treat ownership transition as the economic development priority it is."
The Community Collaboration Fund provides matching grants for new collaborations and programming that fill gaps in local entrepreneurial resources. This year's awards total $757,000 in state funding and are expected to support $1.18 million in total project investment, serving more than 6,000 current and aspiring entrepreneurs across Indiana.
"Making Indiana the very best place to start, build and grow a business is a driving force of my administration," Braun said, noting that the grants will support programs communities themselves identified as critical to long-term job creation and wage growth.
Indiana ranks among the top five states for small business survival and 12th in the nation for its rate of new entrepreneurs, according to the Kauffman Foundation.
Additional details on the Greater Lafayette ETA Initiative, including cohort timing and how owners and prospective buyers can apply, will be announced in the coming months.
