Nine Bloomington tech firms create alliance to foster interaction

August 13, 2016

Nine tech companies in Bloomington have banded together to strengthen the city’s tech community in a new space that fosters interaction. That space, as it stands, could likely be the Trades District, 12 acres of land the city wants to develop into a live-work-play community northwest of City Hall.

The Digital Neighborhood Alliance was founded by Envisage Technologies, Sproutbox, FormAssembly, CheddarGetter, Platformatics, Periodic, ConsulTech, Mavenly and RideAmigos to build a consensus to help guide city development decisions regarding tech growth. While the group hasn’t limited itself to the city’s tech park, its members have proposed several key elements they wish to see in the Trades District.

“It is incredibly hard to find good space that meets our needs in the city,” said Ari Vidali, CEO of Envisage Technology. “We face incredible competition from places across the country, and currently, there’s not the space for that in Bloomington. We’re here to assist our civic leaders in making good, sustainable choices.”

In addition to expediting the Trades District’s development, the group hopes to develop a physical space in the community that is specifically equipped to house tech companies. Those developments, according to the Alliance, would help bring between 150 and 200 jobs to the area.

“We, as companies, are not fighting each other,” said Mike Trotzke, co-founder of Sproutbox. “Here, we’re working to create talent and create incentives.”