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Description
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.
#DreamBigInBtown
A
A
What
probably
was
the
first
ever
online
campaign
contribution
system,
but
we
were
so
debts
that
we
didn't
think
that
that
was
something
that
should
be
a
product.
We
realized
that
we
needed
to
build
something
we
could
sell
over
and
over
again.
Ultimately,
we
settled
in
on
building
a
platform
for
apartment
living,
but
yeah
when
we
grew
that
company
into
a
you
know
national
player,
we're
processing
millions
of
dollars
in
the
rent
payments
every
every
day,
and
then
we
sold
that
2007
really
attributed
a
lot
of
being
able
to
do
that.
B
A
After
we
sold
recite,
we
formed
sprout
box
in
in
2008,
and
so
we
learned
a
lot
of
things
and
felt
that
we
could
both
help
entrepreneurs
with
with
that
knowledge,
but
also
help
mitigate
risk
for
investors
by
coming
alongside
entrepreneurs.
So
we
wanted
to
create
a
model
that
would
attract
more
of
that
capital
into
software
starts
and
really
helped
create
a
new
class
of
angel
investors.
So
far,
we've
invested
in
28
companies,
one
of
the
main
missions.
B
Of
the
mill
is
attracting
capital
into
companies
that
are
already
here
in
Bloomington
and
sort
of
creating
our
own,
taking
people
who
weren't
traditionally
software
engineers
and
putting
the
two
coats
cool
and
you
know
creating
our
own
entrepreneurs
from
scratch.
So
it's
really
about
trying
to
provide
as
much
direct
benefit
to
the
citizens
of
Bloomington
as
possible.
We
can
actually
help
transform
the
entire
landscape
of
Bloomington
into
a
place.
That's
you
know
both
prosperous
and
successful,
empowering
people's
dreams
to
build
something
if
you're
like.
What
does
this
mean?
B
For
me,
it's
like
start
thinking
about
what
kind
of
thing
you
would
love
to
produce
and
have
out
in
the
world
instead
of
working.
You
know
in
in
a
constricted
job
start
thinking
about
that
start
showing
up
at
events
at
the
mill
and
it
might
be
possible
to
make
those
things
happen
and
if
more
people
are
blooming
to
do
that,
it's
just
gonna
be
an
even
better
place
to
live.