Last week’s RALLY Innovation Conference brought entrepreneurs and investors from all over the world to Indianapolis. 

Christopher Day, the founder of Elevate Ventures, says the tech-focused conference was a huge step forward for Indianapolis. The event allowed investors to listen to pitches from entrepreneurs. 

Day stressed the importance of investors listening to entrepreneurs and their ideas. “Investors don’t lead the market.” He says when you take egos off the table and figure out what’s best for the company, good things will follow. 

When Day first arrived in Indianapolis, he set out to partner with InnoPower founder Emil Ekiyor. He says he knew instantly that a partnership with Ekiyor and InnoPower would have a major impact.

Ekiyor says Day was willing to listen to new ideas and asked challenging but important questions about the future of diverse voices and minds in Indianapolis tech. “He just brought so much energy into the space,” Ekiyor says. 

As more entrepreneurs bring their companies to Indiana, Ekiyor says there is still work to be done. He wants more women—and minority-owned businesses to join the Indy tech ecosystem. “We can make this place very unique.”

Matt Mindrum, the President/CEO of Indy Chamber, says incredible things are happening in Indiana around the growing tech sector, and the RALLY conference is helping. He says the message about Iny is reaching a wider audience.