Indiana's Entrepreneurs of the Year.

• Author: Cole, Stacy
• Position: Cover Story - Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year awards

Bob Kronemyer

For 15 years, Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year awards have served a dual purpose: to celebrate business accomplishment and to inspire both upstarts and masters of their crafts in the pursuit of the American Dream.

We give you behind-the-scenes glimpses of the success formulas of the winners in two separate contests: northern Indiana and the "Heartland," which covers central and southern Indiana. Read on, and be inspired.

EMERGING ENTREPRENEUR

William M. Godfrey and Robert W. McLaughlin

Aprimo Inc., Indianapolis

With knowledge of marketing and software development, Bill Godfrey and Rob McLaughlin set out in 1998 to fill a niche in marketing software.

"We realized there was a fairly large technology gap," says McLaughlin, co-founder and executive vice president of Aprimo Inc.

Today, the company offers a variety of marketing software solutions to companies, including a module that tracks program spending and results and another program that manages various marketing plans.

Most of the seed money for the business came from the two founders. Although Godfrey and McLaughlin have obtained capital from Silicon Valley, McLaughlin says they realized the high-paced lifestyle there maybe wasn't for them.

"Here we are in Silicon Valley--these two Indiana guys out to raise a huge amount of money on the West Coast--and we're riding around in a baby blue minivan," McLaughlin says. 'We learned pretty quick that we weren't West Coast types."

McLaughlin cites many keys to the company's success--an important one being that he didn't do it alone. "I can't imagine doing this without a partner," McLaughlin says of Godfrey, company president and CEO.

Even through the dot-coin bust, the company has been profitable and maintained steady growth. However its leaders have seen the need to reevaluate the direction growth will go in light of recent economic hardship. "It's more of a precise, methodical approach to growth now," McLaughlin says. "A lot of that will materialize in international expansion, product expansion and customer expansion."

BUSINESS SERVICES

Roger A. Parient Jr.

Image Technology Corp.,

Indianapolis

Working his way up from the mailroom to running technology for a Fortune 500 company through the 1980s, Roger Parient saw the need for more efficient document management. When that company began having financial difficulties, Parient jumped on the opportunity to take what he'd learned about software development and imaging and begin his own firm in 1995. "It was being at the right place at the right time," says Parient, the president, CEO and COO of Image Technology Corp.

As one of the innovators in its field, ITC offers document and information management to clients, including scanning and archiving anything from legal documents to e-mails and memos. When considering the efficiency of a paperless filing] system, Parient says clients have a lot to gain from imaging.

Initially, he had the difficulty of convincing banks to lend him the capital to get his business off the ground, but he didn't let that stop him. "I can be fairly hard-headed, and said that we don't need banks," he says. "We can make it on our own."

And that turned out to be just what Parient did. "We started ITC with $6,000 and turned it into a multimillion-dollar company in two years."

Today, ITC has associates as far as Cincinnati and North Carolina, where he also plans to have a new facility in the next six to 12 months.

Kathy Carrier

Training Solutions Group, Fort Wayne

Following 9/11, conventional face-to-face classroom training for a financial-services company that was moving part of its operations to New Delhi, India, was halted because of international travel concerns. As a creative alternative, "we set up virtual classrooms on the Internet, so we could train the new workers in New Delhi from afar," recounts Kathy Carrier, owner of Training Solutions Group in Fort Wayne.

The 4-year-old company retains between 20 to 35 employees, depending on the number of projects. Gross revenues for 2001 were $1.7 million, about the same amount projected for 2002. "Landing new accounts with great clients" is a joyous part of the business, Carrier says. For instance the firm provides training nationwide for Walgreens.

However, Training Solutions is increasingly focusing on corporate documentation: procedures, systems and training manuals. "This a huge market," Carrier notes.

"It's important not to give up when things become complicated or risky," advises Carrier. "After all, it's the very nature of an entrepreneur to take risk."

Barry LaBov

LaBov & Beyond Inc., Fort Wayne

Creating new ideas for customers and new innovations in marketing and training are the backbones of LaBov & Beyond Inc. in Fort Wayne.

For instance, electronics manufacturer Thomson Multimedia Inc. needed a way to motivate and train 50,000 sales personnel across the country. "We created a Web site two years ago that has been a huge success," explains founder and president Barry LaBov. LaBov & Beyond also creates advertising and marketing for corporations that have dealer networks, company stores or distributors. "Large corporations need strategic partners that are entrepreneurial, that will move quickly and decisively," LaBov says. One ongoing creative project is Volkswagen Driver magazine, which is delivered quarterly to 1 million car owners.

LaBov projects revenues of about $15 million this year, up from roughly $12 million last year. About 45 percent is automotive. The company currently has 65 employees, but expects to increase the number of satellite offices from four to seven within the next two years.

"You need to follow your passion," says LaBov, who has had some success composing pop music and started his company in 1980. "It should be something you believe in or excites you."

REAL ESTATE/CONSTRUCTION

David C. Woods

Bertram Electric Co., Indianapolis

"Hell, no!" was David C. Woods' first response to the idea of taking over Bertram Electric Co. in 1991. But after several phone calls from his very persistent attorney, Woods finally realized that running the company was something he could make work.

"We put together a buyout plan with the existing owners, got a line of credit in place and everything...