BEO 5-3-26 TWIB Through storytelling, strategic partnerships, and community investment, Emil Ekiyor thinks the sky is the limit for the future of small businesses in Indy. “Storytelling drives behavior, and we needed to drive behavior.”   Ekiyor, the founder of InnoPower, says shifting away from an overemphasis on large corporations and toward celebrating and supporting small businesses will continue to foster a healthy ecosystem in Central Indiana that allows small businesses to thrive.  Ekior argues that for years, communities were conditioned to admire big employers and seek jobs from them, while entrepreneurship and small business ownership received less attention.  In addition, Ekiyor says the timing of the BEO Show’s launch during the COVID era is significant. As many people reevaluated their careers and launched businesses, Indianapolis reportedly saw nearly 40,000 new business applications over four years. In that environment, Ekiyor says BEO became a resource connector—helping entrepreneurs discover alternatives to traditional financing, such as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), nonprofit training programs, and other support networks. Ekiyor says the BEO Show acts as “connective tissue” for the entrepreneurial ecosystem. “It is socioeconomic agnostic. It is race and ethnicity-agnostic. It’s all around small business.”    ...read more read less