Broad Ripple: Where We Started, Where We Grew, and Where We’ll Stay

Broad Ripple is our home. It’s where we started, where we grew, and where we’ll stay. Our team loves living here, our clients like visiting us here, and we adore the Broad Ripple community.

But why?

It’s where we started.

Though our client base is geographically diverse today, our early clients were almost entirely Indianapolis-based. Sara Napierkowski, Principal of Client Success and Broad Ripple super fan, shared some of Innovatemap’s inspiration for choosing Broad Ripple. “Broad Ripple is such a centralized location to everywhere else in Indianapolis. The Monon is like a highway from Fishers to downtown for foot traffic.” Sara said.

So, in 2014 we set up shop in the Speakeasy, a Broad Ripple co-working space for remote workers, freelancers, and startups. The Speakeasy fostered an environment for our team to be their most creative selves. At surface level, it gave the founding team a physical place to go to work every day, and for a business in startup mode, that’s a huge step. Frequent introductions with other founders and creatives in passing accelerated networking efforts in an organic way. We made many friends during this stage, which became indispensable to our relationship-driven model as we grew the business.

Additionally, Broad Ripple was a way for us to stand out. Mike saw an opportunity for tech growth in Broad Ripple — an opportunity very few had seized. “Everyone’s downtown,” said Ashlyn Maes, Growth & Operations Manager. “Broad Ripple helped our clients get into a new headspace when they came to visit us. It was like they were playing tourist in their own town to venture into a new part of Indy.” This really worked for us when building meaningful relationships.

It’s where we grew.

When we outgrew the Speakeasy and wanted our own space, Broad Ripple was a no-brainer. The team loved the culture, community, and opportunity. Even in the earliest years of the business, Broad Ripple was woven into the fabric of our identity.

As our client-base and friend-count grew, our relationship with Broad Ripple strengthened. We reaped the full benefits of what Broad Ripple had to offer: local restaurants, scenic walks, and a strong sense of community. Our team fell in love. They enjoyed being in Broad Ripple. Clients, too, noted how much they loved visiting us.

Sara explained, “Clients liked the attraction of Broad Ripple. They liked coming to us. They would come early for a meeting and get lunch at Canal Bistro or we’d wrap up a meeting early and they’d want to stick around and walk down the street for a burger from Twenty Tap.”

The “casual post-meeting burgers and beers” turned into long-term, meaningful relationships that fueled growth. These relationships, many dating back to the earliest days of the company, are still central to how we do business.

Kyle Untersee, Director of Engineering at Stanley Security, recently visited us to share his experience as an Innovatemap client for several years. Kyle, thinking back to his first engagement with us back in 2017, said “I remember that little basement and all the sticky notes covering the walls.”

Kyle remembers where we came from. He’s referring to one of our earlier offices, the house on College Ave, as he’s seen our business in different stages and we’ve grown alongside him. Since we built such a strong relationship together in those early days, we still enjoy time spent together. Kyle said, “I miss coming into this office to hang out.” Broad Ripple helped us build a culture and a physical space our clients love to be in, and that is priceless. P.S. we miss you too, Kyle.

It’s where we’ll stay.

The biggest reason we will stay in Broad Ripple is simple: our team loves it here. “Broad Ripple is a creative and cultural hub,” Sara said, “we’re creatives, we’re thinkers, we’re designers. We need an environment that fosters that creativity.” Our team feels inspired to do their best work in this place.

Our prime location is an amenity we can offer our team. No one likes a long commute, and who wouldn’t love to bike or walk to work? Or enjoy a sunny Friday afternoon to go grab a beer and a few tacos at Cholita with the team? Broad Ripple gives us all this, and more.

Personally, Broad Ripple contributed significantly to the excitement I felt signing my offer letter. I couldn’t wait to live, work, and play here. The Innovatemap team built such a foundational connection between the business and Broad Ripple that the two are inseparable in my mind. I can’t imagine us being anywhere else, and all the love I have for Innovatemap is channeled into my love for Broad Ripple (and vice versa).

Sara’s been a resident of Broad Ripple for several years and shares similar feelings. “To me, Broad Ripple is everything. It’s where I work. It’s where my friends live. It’s where I play. I buy Christmas gifts for my loved ones from the local shops. It’s the cultural heartbeat of my experience in Indianapolis. I just love it.”

She’s not alone. Many of our recent hires moved not only to Indianapolis, but from other areas in Indy to Broad Ripple. They love it, too. When people come to work here, they enjoy the community and want to find more ways to be close to it. Local businesses, culture, infrastructure, and community attract and retain top talent so we can do what we love at the absolute highest quality.

Broad Ripple has given so much to our company and our team. It’s where we started in the Speakeasy, making new friends and building key relationships. It’s where we grew in the little house on College with basement walls covered in sticky notes, building our credibility and bringing tech products to life. And it’s where we’ll stay as our team grows and achieves new heights. We will continue to invest in, and stay true to, our roots.