Nightclub capitalizes on IU partying woes

When Dan Duncan entered IU as a freshman, he had big plans. \n"I declared a biochemistry major and was set on going to medical school after four years at IU," Duncan said. In his first year, Dan pledged and joined Delta Upsilon fraternity and began a side job as a greek party disc jockey three nights a week. Today, as the co-owner and founder of Vertigo night club, Duncan is a long way from medical school.\nAs a D.J., Duncan was given the opportunity to meet new people, have contact with most of the social chairmen on campus and make money at the same time. Chapters such as Kappa Kappa Gamma, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Delta Gamma and Theta Chi fraternities were all frequent customers, and Duncan was making an unexpected amount of money. \nFrom his experiences as a D.J., Duncan realized he had a natural ability with people skills, and he wanted to take them to a professional level. To test his ambitions he began taking business and entrepreneurship courses at the Kelley School of Business.\nJoe Denekamp, professor in the Kelley School of Business and faculty adviser for the Young Entrepreneurship Association, works with students who strive to go above and beyond the typical coursework to fulfill their career path. Duncan, a former student of Denekamp's and member of the organization, fit perfectly into this category. \n"What made Dan unusual was the extraordinary way he carried himself," Denekamp said. "He has accomplished so much at a young age because of his capacity to work with people."\nToward the end of his time at IU, Duncan noticed the parties that once drew over 1,000 people were dwindling to a mere 300. The greek system was adopting stricter policies, and it had become extremely difficult for a party to not be busted by campus security.\n"I realized that this was my opportunity," he said. "I wanted to give the greek system the scale of parties they wanted in a new setting." \nThus began his gateway into Vertigo. After receiving an unfortunate letter of denial from the Kelley School of Business in 2000, Duncan, he and his friend Nathan Dotzlaf withdrew from IU and embarked on an unforgettable project.\n"I was 21 years old and I had no assets and no equities," Duncan said. "Instead, I had a 50-page business plan and some enthusiasm." The two began working with commercial loan officer Dave Landis to give them a seal of approval. \n"I always knew I wanted to work for myself," Dotzlaf said. "I could succeed or mess up without worrying about answering to someone above me."\nAfter fine-tuning their plan, obtaining a variety of licenses from the state of Indiana and taking out a loan bigger than most people take out on their first home, Duncan and Dotzlaf were ready for business. \nDenekamp wrote several letters of recommendation for Duncan to back his plan and help him with acquiring the loan. "To obtain that much money and carry it off like Dan did is almost an impossibility for someone his age," Dotzlaf said.\nJune 2000 marked the opening of Vertigo. Since then, Duncan and Dotzlaf have not looked back. Duncan currently resides in Broad Ripple and Dotzlaf in Bloomington. Duncan commutes to Bloomington at least once a week and focuses on the financial aspects of the club while Dotzlaf runs the day-to-day factors that keep Vertigo up and running. "Since we work on opposite ends of the spectrum, we often have to agree to disagree," Dotzlaf said.\nThe partners recently signed a new lease for another seven-and-a-half years and they are looking to enhance the atmosphere of the club through a second phase of renovations. "We are looking to install a new draft system and possibly begin co-promoting with Axis," Duncan said. "A new development of apartments and shops will be built less than a block away from us by next August, so we are hoping this will be a new opportunity for Vertigo." \nDuncan and Dotzlaf have also begun working in the mortgage business where they plan to work with remodeling and refinancing homes. \nDuncan's advice to IU students with a desire to start their own business is to have a strong focus and motivation. He stresses the importance of negotiating skills and people skills in order to achieve success. \n"It is imperative to focus your thoughts on what you want to do and then put them together in a concrete form." he said. "There are 150 million baby steps in order to transform an idea in to a reality."\n-- Contact staff writer Lindsay Kaplan at lkaplan@indiana.edu.