Community – Page 6 – zWORKS – Entrepreneurial and Coworking Center

Featured member: Lucas Moser

Posted on September 25, 2023

zWORKS developer brings napkin drawings to life

You can get lost in the world of coding. And that’s exactly what member Lucas Moser does at zWORKS.

Moser works remotely for a business analytics consulting firm, PMsquare, based out of Chicago. He leads the software development and operations of their new products team.

Basically, what this means is that he takes napkin drawings and ideas and creates something tangible that users can interact with on a daily basis.

PMsquare is an IBM business partner and works mainly with a data-driven software for businesses called IBM Cognos and IBM Cognos TM1. This software analyzes different data points within a company then allows interaction with those points like filtering company reports, analyzing trends and deviations, sending notifications if a specific data point is triggered, and so on.

zWORKS members join Habitat Build Day

Posted on September 25, 2023

Thanks to everyone who came out to help during our Habitat Build Day in Whitestown for the Boone County Habitat for Humanity!

If you are interested in helping, click here to sign up. There will be a Landscape Day on Saturday, Aug. 4.

Featured Startup: Mix

Posted on September 25, 2023

Data marketing company launches at zWORKS

A new startup company at zWORKS likes to mix things up – quite literally.

Mix is a data-driven marketing company that helps businesses get across the chasm between sales and marketing. They push for digital marketing alongside human intelligence.

“Sometimes you have to add the human element back in,” COO Gene Cottingham said. “Someone in the industry for 10 or more years may see trends that the computer doesn’t or some companies don’t have the $100,000 tool to assess the data.”

He described the cyclical process in five steps – creating the content, placing the content, evaluating the results, running those through the filters, and making recommendations to the changes in the content.

Featured member: Lindsey Bullinger

Posted on September 25, 2023

Atlanta professor calls zWORKS home

One zWORKS member doesn’t commute across town, she commutes across the country.

Lindsey Bullinger flies to Atlanta, Georgia about once a week and is technically considered a super-commuter.

Bullinger does public policy research and teaches at Georgia Tech. Her education route included an undergrad at Miami University, a master’s at Syracuse University and a doctorate at Indiana University.

“What I enjoy about doing this is that these decisions that people are making everyday are affecting people everywhere,” Bullinger said. “It’s important to know if public policy is doing what it’s supposed to be doing.”

Featured Partner: Indiana University

Posted on September 25, 2023

zWORKS partners with IU entrepreneurship program

Jason Whitney has always lived amongst small businesses and startups. His grandfather was a typical Indiana Main Street shop manager and Whitney worked closely with him.

Whitney ended up owning several small businesses in Richmond, Indiana including a pizza restaurant.

“Through those experiences I learned the value of knowing people on a personal level and not on a transactional level which helps me to do business effectively today,” he said.

zWORKS startup builds houses in Haiti

Posted on September 25, 2023

A former pastor has turned her mission work into a non-profit startup called Zanmi Fondwa. Zanmi is the Creole word for “friend” and Fondwa is the area in Haiti in which they build houses.

Jamalyn Peigh Williamson and her husband, David, met in a graduate school at Duke Divinity School. Jamalyn ended up taking a trip to Haiti where she got some advice that would change their lives.

The professor on the trip suggested to live outside the country before leading churches (they wanted to become pastors).

Jamalyn and David moved to Haiti in 2003 and lived there for two years – she was an administrator at the school and he taught English. Ever since, they have been taking trips down to Haiti.

Featured Startup: Maker Factory

Posted on September 25, 2023

At zWORKS, we’ve seen how beneficial collaboration can be. One zWORKS startup is looking to bring collaboration to the engineering world in Indy.

Brian Hull is one of the founders of Maker Factory and his goal is to start a maker space in Indianapolis.

A maker space is coworking for engineers and builders. It provides the tools and supplies needed like lasers, welders, 3D printers, design software, tools, etc.

“I’m a part of zWORKS because I think it’s similar,” Hull said. “It’s a coworking space and I think the next generation of workers are experimenting with coworking.”

Featured Startup: Perfit

Posted on September 25, 2023

The Perfit solution to in-store shopping

From left: Tre Plowman, Jason Fordham and Casey Reagan

It all started at American Eagle in Circle Center Mall. Jason Fordham’s wife was trying on jeans.

As is the popular question for most issues now-a-days, Jason wondered if there was an app that made the fitting room experience less cumbersome.

Different size? Different brand? Shoes to go with those jeans? Jewelry?

And so, the Perfit solution started to form.

Jason brought back his idea to a few of his coworkers at the time, Casey Reagan, Jamal Khan and Tre Plowman.

“We wanted this to be a consumer-driven product,” Fordham said. “That’s the one thing that’s consistent. No matter if people shop online or in-stores, they want to own the experience from start to finish.”

Featured Partner: The Growth Coach

Posted on September 25, 2023

Zionsville resident and zWORKS member Bob Paden is now the owner of The Growth Coach Indianapolis North franchise. He and his team are focused on supporting Boone and Hamilton County business owners grow their companies while maintaining balance.

Paden was operating an independent firm called Tier321.

“Becoming a Growth Coach franchise allowed me to throw gas on a fire I had already been working on for three years,” Paden said.

After leaving a 25-year long career in corporate America, Paden branched out on his own in one-on-one consulting with TIER321 firm. During his past two months with The Growth Coach, Paden said it has been like drinking from a fire hose – in a good way – better tools, better materials and a great support system.

Polo in Zionsville recap

Posted on September 25, 2023

Thanks to everyone involved with Polo in Zionsville for making it such a success! A big shoutout to our sponsors as well as our volunteers for making this sold-out event happen.

We enjoyed partnering with the Boys and Girls Club of Boone County and together we raised over $12,000 for our organizations! And lastly we wanted to thank Ryan Woodall for taking the pictures.