I shared this email with our Verge Indianapolis hub earlier today. I had a couple of people request that I repost it here on the Verge blog. Enter Matt Hunckler (circa 12 hours ago)…

Hey,

Three years ago, there was nothing.

No co-working space, no startup accelerators, no meetup groups, no early-stage funding. And no, I’m not talking about Indianapolis.

I just got off a Skype call with Dave Knox, the man behind The Brandery startup accelerator. He’d never tell you this, but he’s responsible for building a lot of the entrepreneurial momentum in Cincinnati (you know, the Midwest city just a couple of hours down I-74). What they’ve built is incredible.

Starting from a near standstill, they have graduated more than 25 software startups from their Brandery program in the past 3 years since their launch. But they didn’t do it alone.

Entrepreneurs, services providers, and the more established companies (like P&G and Kroger) consistently show up in many, many ways. Like our Indiana-based Verge community, they have a passionate circle of influencers and people who get shit done. They pull out the big guns and go for it. Dave calls it a “Bowling Pin Strategy.”

“If you hit that one pin just right, the others will fall,” Knox says. That’s exactly what our SWAT team set out to accomplish with this month’s Powder Keg conference for our Midwest startups and entrepreneurial thinkers. That’s why Dave is joining us in Indianapolis October 17-19 and why he fits perfectly in our expanding lineup of killer keynote presenters.

Dave gets it. I know you do, too. Because, you know what?

A few years years ago, there wasn’t much of a startup community in Indiana either. No Speak Easy, Indy CoZ, or Launch Fishers. No Developer Town, Gravity Ventures, or SproutBox. No Verge, Indy Hackers, or Lean Startup Circle. Nada.

You show up. We built this together.

I’m excited to see so many of you at the Powder Keg in a couple of weeks. We still have a few Early-Bird passes available. And I’d prefer that they go to you, because you’re the reason we built this conference.

If use the code “VERGELOVE” we’ll give you $50 off your Powder Keg pass when you register today. If we run out of passes, just email me this evening and I’ll make sure we take care of you.

If you’re already all registered, check out the full interview with Dave Knox from The Brandery. I’m going down to their Demo Day tomorrow in Cincinnati and I’m excited to bring their best startups on stage to compete in the Startup Bowl at Lucas Oil Stadium as part of the Powder Keg.

I know Dave is looking forward to meeting you when he comes to speak at the Powder Keg. I’m confident we’ll show him exactly what our Indy startup community is all about.

How about you? What’s your Bowling Pin Strategy?

With Gratitude,

Matt