Are you doing something that has to do with biotech?  No you say?  Do you have a patent on something that gives you an unfair sustainable competitive advantage?  No you say?  Got some farmland?  No you say?  Do you own a manufacturing firm?  No you say?  Are you at least selling a physical object that I can feel and touch?  No you say?  Then you might want to rethink coming to Indiana.  The entrepreneur who answers “No” to all these questions, will face an insane amount of resistance in Indiana.       

If you answered “No” to all of the above questions, your best bet is to do what you’re doing elsewhere.  Silicon Valley might be cool, because surely you must be a Web-based operation–probably of the Web 2.0 variety.  Another place might Boston or Chicago.  Another pair may be NYC or DC.

This fact, in my opinion, plays some role in young people leaving Indiana.  Generation Y is interested in doing, oh I don’t know, cool stuff.    There’s definitely some cool stuff in Indiana, but let’s face it, not everybody gets turned on by biotech.   

Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, only certain type of innovation is exalted in Indiana.  Do you want a warmer reception of what you’re doing in the Web space?  You might want to do what you’re doing in a state other than Indiana (unless you can answer yes to one of the questions given earlier in this post).  Don’t get me wrong, you can totally be successful with your Web app in Indiana, but you’re just going to take a few kicks in the shorts, a few slaps in the face, and a few elbows to the groin.  If you find yourself in Indiana launching a Web based app, be ready for the paaaaain.              

[Note: Even though I am picking on Indiana, I’m pretty certain that most of America is no better than Indiana when it comes to this kind of stuff.]