All the right ingredients are in place for the local entrepreneurial culture to flourish, says the new director of the Muncie Innovation Connector.

Morris Windhorst, who started Dec. 1 as director, said the community's business incubator already enjoys support as a result of a partnership between Ball State, Cardinal Health Systems and the City of Muncie.

"We have people looking to build an economic climate that will lead to the development of technology-based companies and high-paying jobs," he said. "We have a great deal of work to do, but I firmly believe that there is a tremendous opportunity to do exciting things here."

The incubator was created in 2001 and is designed to provide a nurturing environment for start-up companies. The incubator has four companies and a service provider located in remodeled residences adjacent to Ball State.

"I was very happy to see that the incubator is content driven," Windhorst said. "Many communities first build a large building and look to fill it with start-ups. I think we have done it right by getting the new firms first. The location also has created a great neighborhood atmosphere for entrepreneurs."  

Windhorst, a native of Seymour, comes to the incubator from Gainesville, Fla., where he was the director of the Technology Enterprise Center. He previously had been the program manager for the Florida/NASA Business Incubator Center in Titusville, Fla.

He will succeed William Skinner, who has headed the incubator project since its inception.

"It has been a very stimulating process and we've had some initial success," said Skinner, who plans to remain close to the project as a member of the incubator's board of directors.

Ball State President Blaine A. Brownell, who also serves on the incubator's board of directors, credits Skinner with nurturing the project.

"Bill's experience during a long and distinguished career in the Muncie business community, including his work on start-up operations, made him a natural fit as the inaugural director of the Muncie Innovation Connector," Brownell said. "Bill is a natural mentor, and his contacts in the business community were invaluable in building support and networking opportunities for the entrepreneurs working in the connector."

Windhorst said he plans to meet with many of the state's prominent economic and entrepreneurial leaders to establish working relationships.

Before moving to Florida, he served from 1991-1999 as manager of economic entrepreneurial development programs for the Indiana Small Business Development Corp. in Indianapolis.

"I believe there is a great deal of information we could be sharing with people in West Lafayette, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Anderson and Richmond," he said. "In turn, we can learn things from others that should help make our incubator project more successful."