City of Bloomington, Indiana / Conversations with Bloomington's Dreamers, Doers, and Entrepreneurs

In 2014, Ellie Symes founded a successful beekeeping club at Indiana University with a mission to develop a pollinator-friendly campus. She never would have guessed that two years later, she and The Bee Corp team would be accepting the $100,000 grand prize at the "Building Entrepreneurs in Science & Technology" competition for their business plan which addressed the dire need for data in the beekeeping industry.

Listen to Ellie's story and find out why she will be moving her business, The Bee Corp, into The Mill.

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Undergrads Brad Wisler and Mike Trotzke met one fateful day at Indiana University in the mid-90's. Little did they know, they would partner and go on to successfully build, fund, and sell businesses right here in Bloomington over the next few decades (and counting).

Brad and Mike have played a big role in building a healthy Bloomington tech entrepreneur scene and making The Mill, Bloomington's new business incubator and coworking space, a reality.

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Jane Martin graduated from IU, married her husband at Beck Chapel, and then moved to Silicon Valley to become a venture capitalist. Twenty years ago, she and her husband returned to Bloomington to enjoy their retirement.

For Jane, part of enjoying retirement includes serving her community. She served on Mayor Hamilton's Wage Growth Task Force were concerns about Bloomington's lack of economic bounce back after the Great Recession were addressed. Jane believes that The Mill, the forthcoming business incubator and coworking space opening at 642 N. Madison next month, is going to be the economic catalyst Bloomington needs to bounce back and move forward.

Weddle Brothers' Superintendent on The Mill project, Keith Butt, takes us on a journey through parts of The Mill and nearby Kiln Building that includes a look at 100-year-old hardware and thick cuts of lumber still going strong and ready for reuse, plus hidden train tracks uncovered during the demolition.

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Listen in as Susan Dyar, Director of the Monroe County History Center, details how the Showers Brothers Furniture Factory's success and philanthropic efforts strengthened Bloomington's infrastructure, helped to develop new neighborhoods, and lent support to Bloomington’s continued economic growth.

Bloomington would absolutely not be the vibrant, welcoming city it is today had it not been for the Showers family. We are proud to support The Trades District as well as the renovation of The Mill, a coworking space and business incubator which will be utilized to grow and keep talent in Bloomington, representing the passing of the torch from one historic, community-defining job creator to another.

The Mill, located at Morton and 11th Street, was originally built in 1915 as part of the Showers Brothers Furniture Factory. At its peak in the 1920s, it produced 700,000 pieces of furniture a year, enough to fill 16 train-car loads a day. Producing more than half of all the furniture made in the United States, the company declared itself “the world’s largest producer of bedroom and dining room furniture.” In recent years, The Mill was used as a storage facility by @Indiana University and in 2011, the City of Bloomington purchased it, along with several other parcels of land. These 12 acres are currently being transformed into the Trades District, a certified technology park of which The Mill is the center of gravity for making, growing, and working in Bloomington and greater Indiana.

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Dmitri Vietze, Founder and CEO of rock paper scissors, inc., remembers the day he decided he was going to stay in Bloomington. He took his child to WonderLab Museum, visited the Bloomington Farmers Market, and attended a fair in the Square. He didn’t have to move his car, didn’t have to stand in any lines, barely spent any money and thought, “This life is pretty amazing.”

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Forrest Fowler, entrepreneur and co-founder of Cowork, is OBSESSED with Bloomington.

Watch this latest installment of Bloomington Dreamers, Doers and Entrepreneurs to find out why.

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Jane Kupersmith couldn't find *exactly* what she was looking for in a coffee shop here in Bloomington...so she opened her own!

Working from a desk at Cowork in 2013, Kupersmith formed her business plan and launched Hopscotch Coffee. Kupersmith attributes a large part of Hopscotch's success to Cowork's enriching, transitional environment and is looking forward to seeing (and experiencing!) the Cowork community's expansion into The Mill this November.

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Remote-worker and entrepreneur Ron Bronson could work from anywhere in the country, yet he chooses to live and work right here in Bloomington. Bronson says his decision to relocate to Bloomington had everything to do with the hospitality and camaraderie he found at Cowork, an organization that supplies a shared workplace to a diverse group of small business owners, contractors and remote workers.  The close-knit, collaborative spirit Cowork has been nurturing in our community will be brought to the next level this fall when all 100+ members transition to their new space at The Mill, a business incubator, co-working space and centerpiece of the City of Bloomington’s Trades District.

Learn more about Ron and why his he thinks the launch of The Mill is a game-changer in this episode of Conversations with Bloomington Dreamers, Doers, and Entrepreneurs.

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We have so many creative individuals here in the community, the ability for individuals...to work for big companies, small companies, on-their-own companies, from anywhere on the planet...Dimension Mill, Inc gives us a place to house those people and bring them together."

- Tony Armstrong, Associate Vice President in @Indiana University's Office of Engagement as well as CEO and President of the IU Research and Technology Corporation.

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Susan Sgambelluri’s motives for serving on the Bloomington Redevelopment Commission include her desire to work to assure that her adopted city never suffers a devastating economic downturn like her Northwest Indiana hometown experienced.

Learn more about Susan and why she thinks The Mill and projects like it will help prepare Bloomington for the new economy in this week’s episode of Conversations with Bloomington Dreamers, Doers, and Entrepreneurs.

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Bloomington was recently ranked #4 on Livability's "7 Unexpected Places With Great Comedy Scenes" list, sandwiched between Denver, Colo. and Boston, Mass. For those who have seen a show at The Comedy Attic or attended Limestone Comedy Festival, this accolade probably comes as no surprise. Jared and Dayna Thompson, co-owners of The Comedy Attic, have labored (and laughed!) for ten years to build what is now a nationally-recognized comedy scene in our small city.