Tech award winners and investors from around the country connect at IMS

During Fast Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, TechPoint brought together a mix of previous and current Mira Awards winners and select scale-up companies participating in TechPoint’s Tailwind program. Top executives from 28 of Indiana’s most successful and promising companies, met with representatives from 19 venture capital firms, angel investors, and investment banks to seek out their next big investment partnership and help induct the 2016 class of Mira Award winners into the Winners’ Circle.

The Winners’ Circle featured Speed Pitches — a high-energy kick off to the day, in which attending companies and investors had the opportunity to deliver a one-minute pitch describing their company’s vision, market fit and successes. Following the pitches, the Speed Dating rounds began, offering a series of 20-minute meetings for companies to elaborate on their businesses in front of investors in hopes of securing valuable business partnerships as well as funding for their growing businesses.

The Winners’ Circle was made possible by Presenting Sponsors Ice Miller and Verizon Wireless, along with Underwriting Sponsor BKD.

“Indiana technology companies earned nearly $240 million in venture capital investments in 2015,” says Mike Langellier, CEO of TechPoint. “Investment firms are most often on the east and west coast, but Midwest tech is increasingly attractive to them, making an event like this valuable both to companies and investors.”

RTV6 – The Indy Channel and the Indianapolis Business Journal were on site to document the excitement of the day, conducting interviews, and capturing photos and videos of attending companies and investors.

TechPoint was honored to have Mayor of Indianapolis Joe Hogsett and Indiana Governor Mike Pence as guests of the 2016 Winners’ Circle to toast Indiana’s growing reputation as a tech leader. As Mayor Hogsett addressed the crowd, he emphasized that “Indianapolis has arrived in full force in the tech sector.”

Nicholas Crowne, Vice President of Technology Crossover Ventures out of Palo Alto, California said, “I’m grateful I was able to attend. It was a terrific and unique event, and I know it required a lot of hard work and many months of planning, which truly showed. I was impressed with the caliber of the companies and look forward to continuing to support the Indy tech community.

Matt MacBeth, CEO, pi lab said, “The Techpoint Winners’ Circle event was again one of the best networking events. We got to bring Edwin to hang out with the best of tech in Indy, meet some great investment firms from around the country, and get to see the sights and sounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Indy is a top city in the U.S. for tech growth and events like this continue to set Indy apart.”

Thanks to our friends at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, all attending guests had the opportunity to visit the pit lane, the garages, and soak up the IndyCar experience from an exclusive trackside VIP suite on the main straightaway, one of the best vantage points for experiencing IndyCar speed.

Will you and your Indiana tech company be in the Winners’ Circle next year? It’s never too early to start collecting data and stories about your growth and success in preparation for applying for the 2017 Mira Awards!

View over 100 event photos on our Facebook page.

The 17th annual TechPoint Mira Awards gala honored ‘the best of tech in Indiana’ with 17 award winners chosen from 98 outstanding companies, organizations, and individuals selected as this year’s nominees. Upon receiving their awards, winners gain membership into the Winners’ Circle, an exclusive group of tech titans guaranteeing valuable exposure to endless opportunities for funding and networking.