By DAN MCGOWAN
Inside INdianaBusiness.com

The founder and chief executive officer of Elkhart-based Electronic Commerce Inc. says a $40 million out-of-state investment will “absolutely” lead to growth.

Jeff Lacy says plans call for around 20 additional workers in all fields as the company’s “entire watermark” continues to rise to meet national demand for its cloud-based technology. Lacy tells Inside INdiana Business ECI has thrived in Elkhart because northern Indiana is entrepreneurial by nature.

Lacy says ECI is focused on staying headquartered in Elkhart and growing. He says Indiana has become a “little tech Mecca” in the last decade, fostering growth at big name companies like ExactTarget and Angie’s List. Their success, Lacy says, has benefited the industry in many ways, including talent acquisition and retention.

North Carolina-based Frontier Capital Managing Partner Richard Maclean says the partnership was a long-term process. He says Frontier Capital felt ECI “competes very favorably against other players” in the human resources tech space.

In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Maclean says his company likes what it sees in Indiana.

Frontier is no stranger to investing in Indiana companies. In 2012, Indianapolis-based Healthx Inc. received $22 million in funding to expand its business.