{"id":1099,"date":"2026-09-22T17:52:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T17:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/?p=1099"},"modified":"2026-09-22T17:52:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T17:52:26","slug":"from-competition-to-collaboration-colton-haymon-20-recognized-among-ibjs-20-in-their-twenties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/2026\/09\/22\/from-competition-to-collaboration-colton-haymon-20-recognized-among-ibjs-20-in-their-twenties\/","title":{"rendered":"From Competition to Collaboration: Colton Haymon \u201920 Recognized Among IBJ\u2019s 20 in Their Twenties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(IBJ photo\/Chad Williams)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Colton Haymon<\/a> \u201920 graduated from Butler University in 2020, he had a clear vision for his future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was ambitious, competitive and eager to make his mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six years later, as founder of Haymon Group<\/a>, that ambition remains. But his definition of success has evolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, he measures progress less by how quickly he reaches a goal and more by how many people move forward alongside him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI need to remove myself from the attachment of time,\u201d Colton says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That perspective has emerged through entrepreneurship, partnership and a career built around helping others grow. It is also rooted in lessons he began learning as a student at Butler’s Lacy School of Business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As a student-athlete, resident assistant and business student, Colton was surrounded by driven peers. Early on, he viewed many of those experiences through a competitive lens. Business presentations, classroom projects and leadership opportunities all felt like chances to prove himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, however, his perspective shifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing at the Lacy School of Business desensitized me to competition,\u201d Colton says. \u201cIt taught me how to balance competition with camaraderie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The relationships he built became one of the most valuable parts of his college experience. Butler exposed him to people with different strengths, backgrounds and ambitions, helping him realize there is no single path to success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProximity to diverse greatness and talent\u201d is how he describes it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of those friendships remain among his closest relationships today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That understanding of community now shapes the work he does through Haymon Group, a business dedicated to helping small and midsize companies grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea traces back to a vision he developed as a Butler student. Years after graduation, he rediscovered an old university blog post<\/a> outlining his career aspirations and was struck by how closely his current work aligned with the goals he had set for himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was affirming,\u201d he says. \u201cIt reminded me that this was something I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through Haymon Group, Colton helps business owners navigate growth, build strategic relationships and pursue new opportunities. Often, he works with organizations that are ready for their next stage of development but do not yet have the resources to hire full-time executive leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its core, he views the work as advocacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople want to do business with people they like and trust,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than applying the same formula to every client, Colton focuses on understanding a company’s goals and connecting them with the resources, relationships and opportunities that will help them succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That instinct to advocate for others has been part of his personality for as long as he can remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up in Chicago, he often found himself stepping in when he believed someone was being treated unfairly. The impulse has remained, though today it looks less like standing up for someone on the playground and more like helping talented people gain the visibility and opportunities they deserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’ve always been an advocate,\u201d he says. \u201cThis person is an excellent steward of what they do, and they deserve more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One example is Anthony Murdock II<\/a>, a longtime friend who played an important role in Colton’s Butler experience. Today, Colton helps support and elevate Anthony’s work, creating opportunities for his ideas and message to reach a broader audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Colton, those moments represent a different kind of achievement than the one he once pursued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy people and my community are eating too,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His success, he explains, is deeply connected to the success of the people around him. When a client grows, a partner reaches a larger audience or someone’s vision gains momentum, he sees that as a victory worth celebrating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnytime I won, by default, somebody else won.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That mindset has also helped reshape how he thinks about timing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many young professionals, Colton has felt pressure to compare his progress to others. Social media, technology and constant visibility into other people’s accomplishments can create the sense that success should happen quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But family influences helped ground him in a different perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His mother spent more than two decades building a pediatric occupational therapy practice in Chicago, demonstrating the persistence required to create something lasting. His father taught him to focus less on comparison and more on doing his personal best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those lessons continue to guide him today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colton still has ambitious goals for Haymon Group, including expanding its work in helping businesses strengthen their global competitiveness. Yet he has learned that ambition and patience can coexist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’m on God’s timing,\u201d he says. \u201cHe’s always on time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For him, trusting that timing does not mean lowering expectations. It means focusing on the quality of the work, the people involved and the opportunities directly in front of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That philosophy has earned recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August 2026, the Indianapolis Business Journal named Colton to its 20 in Their Twenties<\/a> class, recognizing both his entrepreneurial success and his commitment to helping others succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While honored by the recognition<\/a>, Colton views it as a milestone rather than a destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What excited him most, he says, was meeting other young professionals who share a commitment to meaningful work and continuous growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe dream is big,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His advice for current Lacy students reflects that same focus on personal growth. Beyond building technical skills and professional experience, he encourages students to spend time understanding themselves: their values, motivations and the characteristics they want to develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

College, he believes, offers a unique opportunity to do that work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a place to discover not only what you are good at, but also what matters to you. It is where relationships are formed, perspectives are challenged and lifelong lessons begin to take shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Colton, one of the most important lessons was learning that success does not have to be a solitary pursuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The student who arrived at Butler ready to compete is still present in the entrepreneur he has become. But his definition of winning has expanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Success is no longer just about how far he can go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is about who goes with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(IBJ photo\/Chad Williams) When Colton Haymon \u201920 graduated from Butler University in 2020, he had a clear vision for his future. He was ambitious, competitive and eager to make his mark. Six years later, as founder of Haymon Group, that ambition remains. But his definition of success has evolved. Today, he measures progress less by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2812,"featured_media":1133,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"coauthors":[38],"class_list":["post-1099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-careers-connections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2812"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1099"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1134,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1099\/revisions\/1134"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1099"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}