The best thing about starting a company in Indianapolis is you can avoid the “startup” hype. Indianapolis in general (not the tech community, but the general community) doesn’t care about startups. The only way they’ll pay attention to you is if you’re successful.

This is a good thing.

Even the most good intentioned founders can get caught up in the hype.

• The hype is what makes you seek unnecessary press, twitter followers, facebook fans, and other vanity metrics. 
• The hype is what makes you worry about how much money you’re raising, who you’re investors are, and who your partners are regardless of how it’s helping you serve your customer. 
• The hype is what makes you feel like you’ve accomplished more than you have or less than you have. 
• In general, the hype distorts the reality, which is lethal

If you phrase that another way, you also get the worst thing about starting a company in Indianapolis - it’s harder for legitimate startups to attract any hype. 

• The hype helps you get press, twitter followers, and facebook fans which help market your product
• The hype helps you raise money, attract strategic investors, and strategic partners to better serve your customers
• The hype can make you feel like you’ve accomplished more than you have which is good for morale, or less than you have, which pushes you to achieve more
• In general, the hype distorts the reality, which if channeled correctly, can be helpful

As they say, “all things in moderation.”