The Indiana City of Fishers won the Rising Tech City award during TechPoint’s 20th annual Mira Awards gala honoring the best of tech in Indiana.

Fishers, Ind., began its journey to this year’s first-ever Rising Tech City Award recipient more than a decade ago when business and city leaders sought (and delivered) solutions to transform what was commonly referred to as a bedroom community into an innovation hub, specifically focused on technology.

As fallout from the recession raged on in 2008, Fishers intentionally reinvented itself by building a talent-focused, entrepreneur-friendly community that championed shared values with tech firms like walkability, flexibility, and cooperation. By the time the storied coworking space Launch Fishers opened in 2012, the city was well on its way to becoming one of the most attractive homes for tech in Central Indiana.

The Mira Award judges noted that the City of Fishers’ long-term 10-year plan designed to champion entrepreneurship and tech growth not only worked for Fishers, but is an excellent example to present to other communities and regions to benefit more areas of the state. The judges were impressed that the city, while proud of what has been built, continues to look to the future and allot significant time and resources to facing challenges and taking advantage of opportunities to benefit its residents.

The several hundred million dollars of investments made at a macro city-planning level as well as the specific initiative investments in Launch Fishers, the Certified Tech Park covering North East Commerce Park—where Launch Fishers is now located—and part of the Nickel Plate District, and the Indiana IoT Lab were as prescient as they have been successful for the city.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness portrait by Polina Osherov.

TechPoint, the nonprofit, industry-led growth accelerator for Indiana’s tech ecosystem, honored the successes and innovation of Indiana people, places, companies and products at the JW Marriott Indianapolis during the 20th annual Mira Awards gala presented by Angie’s List, Infosys, and Salesforce. With a sold-out crowd of 1,400 attendees—up another 100 from last year—this was the largest Mira Awards in the program’s 20-year history.

Only a handful of the 2019 nominees existed as companies 20 years ago, and 82 percent were founded in just the past 10 years. Similar to the rapid adoption of the iPhone starting a decade ago and streaming services today, tech businesses in Indiana have grown from a few pioneers to a fast growing, vibrant industry that is a key driver of job growth and a critical part of the state’s economic success story.

SEE ALL WINNERS

A total of 14 award winners and honorees were chosen from the 109 outstanding people, places companies and products that were selected as nominees for their achievements during the 2018 calendar year. Fifty-two independent, volunteer judges spent more than 850 total hours evaluating applications, interviewing nominees, and selecting this year’s winners. Judges included company founders, CEOs and presidents, CTOs, CIOs, and other subject matter experts.

The Mira Awards are named after the first of the brilliant variable stars to be discovered – the Mira Star. It is also the Latin root meaning “worthy of admiration, wonderful, marvelous.” The awards represent the best of tech in Indiana each year.