3 Bald Guys strategically “Landing” in the heart of Downtown Fort Wayne
(April 17, 2019) – Downtown technology and distribution business, 3BG Supply Co. (short for 3 Bald Guys) is set to move from its current location on Berry St. to a historic building at Fort Wayne’s Newest attraction, The Landing on Columbia Street. This coming alongside an announcement that they’ve secured a multi-million dollar Series A round investment led by Plymouth Growth Partners (Ann Arbor) with a co-investment by Elevate Ventures (Indianapolis). In a release, 3BG Co-Founder, Alex Smith, stressed the importance of strategically locating the business in the center of one of Fort Wayne’s most promising developments:
3 Bald Guys third floor rendering of their new location at The Landing in downtown Fort Wayne Indiana. Courtesy image.
“As a venture backed, high-growth technology company it was only natural that we wanted to create a working environment that’s conducive for attracting top talent. We feel locating the business within the newly redeveloped Landing district affords us that opportunity,” Smith said.
3BG is a technology-enabled distribution company for Industrial MRO Products and focused on creating centralized data solutions and technology to improve the customer purchasing experience. The problem they are solving is the ‘decentralization’ of product data making it difficult to purchase products industry-wide. They’re also one of only a few local companies that have raised venture capital which is traditionally a strategy based on backing businesses that are aiming beyond the stars.
3 Bald Guys roof rendering of their new location at The Landing in downtown Fort Wayne Indiana. Courtesy image.
3BG currently provides 20-30 professional jobs to the central city and that number is expected to grow to 70+ jobs in the next few years. As part of the company’s aggressive hiring forecast, the space needed to accommodate those plans will initially include two floors with options to expand. In addition, the company is also developing the rooftop of their building allowing their team options to work dynamically in an indoor / outdoor environment. At the ground level of their location will be other incredible retail based businesses that only aid in providing their employees the perfect work / life balance including a brewery and Utopian Coffee, both of which announced this past year.
“The reality is that today’s talent pool doesn’t like to be boxed in — whether that’s trapped in a cubicle doing mundane work or held hostage in a pointless meeting with an empty coffee pot. The ability for one of our team members to be coding at their desk or on the rooftop before taking off at the end of the day to enjoy a coffee or cold beer waiting for them at the bottom of the building where they work is the type of energy we want to provide,” adds Shane Araujo, Co-Founder.
Model Group, the City of Fort Wayne, The Fort Wayne Downtown Development Trust, and other partners are near construction completion of a $34 million redevelopment of Fort Wayne’s oldest commercial buildings located along Columbia Street. They’ve worked for over a year with 3BG on these plans and they’re excited to add them to the roster of recently announced businesses. To learn more about commercial and apartment leasing opportunities at The Landing, please visit www.thelandingfw.com/.
