INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — A medical consulting startup is celebrating the grand opening of its new downtown Indianapolis headquarters. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. says Expert RN|MD, which provides medical consultation services to law firms and life science companies, is investing $1.7 million in the new location and plans to create up to 21 jobs by the end of 2023.

The firm was founded in 2018 and recently renovated the 4,000-square-foot space in the downtown’s Wholesale District. Founder Amanda Stephenson says having the headquarters in a central Midwest location sets the firm up for future national growth.

“Indy is a great place to start a business,” said Stephenson. “We’ve gotten so much support from the IEDC, from our state officials, as we’re starting our business and growing our business and it’s a wonderful place to start a family. I want to build a culture, build a company where we’re hiring employees, healthcare professionals who want to be in this industry and want to be a part of our company and our vision.”

Stephenson says while the firm is serving the needs of two different business sectors, it is fulfilling those needs with one common resource: clinical experts. Expert RN|MD is currently hiring for RN consulting, MD consulting and business operations positions. The jobs are expected to offer average salaries above the state and county average wage.

Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch was at the ground opening event Wednesday and said she is particularly excited that the announcement is coming from a woman-owned business.

“It adds to many other women-owned businesses we have in Indiana,” Crouch told reporters. “It speaks to how important it is to have a robust economy, but to also have robust leadership here in the state and so the fact that Amanda and Expert RN|MD chose Indiana I think speaks to the fact that we are the second-largest exporter of biosciences in the country. So what she offers is not just being a woman, but being an entrepreneur and being a leader in a field that Indiana is home to.”

Crouch says the unique services provided by the firm is what adds to the state’s life sciences sector. “It’s a different twist; it’s a little different way of doing business in the future and we think that Expert RN|MD is going to be a leader and we’ll continue to see spin-offs and growth.”

The IEDC has offered Expert RN|MD up to $350,000 in conditional tax credits, which the firm will not be eligible to claim until Hoosier workers are hired for the new jobs.