Can twelve entreprepreneurs living in one mansion launch three startups in eight weeks? Can they do it in non-traditional locations? And can a team of producers take the experience and create something people will want to watch?  

Those are the questions the founders of VentureCamp are testing here in one of Indianapolis's most notorious estates.  

Of the 500 aspiring entrepreneurs who applied to participate in VentureCamp 1.0, 12 emerged and came to the Kessler Mansion in Indianapolis armed with business ideas.  Of those 12 ideas, three made the cut. 

Three teams (and three companies) will finish their VentureCamp experience with a series of Demo Days, fast-paced pitches to investors for funding.   

Mimicking the average entrepreneurial experience, resources are limited at VentureCamp, but the Campers are offered advice from nine mentors, all of whom boast extensive entrepreneurial experience.  Jenny Vance (of VentureCamp company PlanSoon) says, “Having people who have been there, done that and can kind of help you kind of steer around the pitfalls before you fall face-first into them” is one of many benefits of being a Camper at VentureCamp.

VentureCamp got its start in Indianapolis, but it’s not stopping here.  Camps are already lined up at other estates in the United States and Europe.