10 years ago, roughly half of Indiana's college graduates remained in the state upon graduation. This number was even lower for STEM degrees, as many of these students found opportunities and offers in major tech hubs. It was in the face of this problem that TechPoint launched the Xtern program, a 10 week internship program that employs hundreds of college students in roles at local tech companies. In this Circuit mini-series,  X Years of Talent, TechPoint interviews the major players in Indiana's tech landscape from talent organizations to the people who were there at the beginning of Xtern. We look back at the past decade of Indiana's talent initiative and look towards the future of Indiana's tech workforce. In this episode, we sit down with Steven Emch, President of the Orr Fellowship. Orr Fellowship is a nonprofit organization that matches exceptional graduating college seniors with full­-time employment at  Indianapolis area companies. He talks about Orr's rich history in Indiana's tech sector, his vision as the organization's new president, and TechPoint and Orr's future of collaboration.

10 years ago, roughly half of Indiana's college graduates remained in the state upon graduation. This number was even lower for STEM degrees, as many of these students found opportunities and offers in major tech hubs. It was in the face of this problem that TechPoint launched the Xtern program, a 10 week internship program that employs hundreds of college students in roles at local tech companies. In this Circuit mini-series,  X Years of Talent, TechPoint interviews the major players in Indiana's tech landscape from talent organizations to the people who were there at the beginning of Xtern. We look back at the past decade of Indiana's talent initiative and look towards the future of Indiana's tech workforce. In this episode, we sit down with Al Carroll, CEO of IndyHub. IndyHub is on a mission to grow and engage a community of young adults in Indianapolis. He talks about the mission alignment between IndyHub and TechPoint, how Indiana can be a destination for talent, reflects back on the early days of Xtern.

10 years ago, roughly half of Indiana's college graduates remained in the state upon graduation. This number was even lower for STEM degrees, as many of these students found opportunities and offers in major tech hubs. It was in the face of this problem that TechPoint launched the Xtern program, a 10 week internship program that employs hundreds of college students in roles at local tech companies. In this Circuit mini-series,  X Years of Talent, TechPoint interviews the major players in Indiana's tech landscape from talent organizations to the people who were there at the beginning of Xtern. We look back at the past decade of Indiana's talent initiative and look towards the future of Indiana's tech workforce. In this episode, we sit down with Julie Heath, Vice President of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. Along with Elisabeth Nieshalla, Taylor University student and Entrepreneurial Fellow at IEDC. They talk about the role talent plays in the success of Indiana's entrepreneurial ecosystem and IEDC's new partnership to bring Xtern to young startups.

In this episode, we talk to Jeff Ton, founder and manager of the Indy CIO Network. The CIO Network is a community of over 200 Indiana based IT leaders that meet to discuss current tech trends and issues. Jeff talks about his four decade career in IT, why the Indy CIO Network was founded, and the future of the organization as a partner of TechPoint.

We talk to Megan Nail , Vice President of the Total Rewards Practice at NFP. NFP is a leading benefits consultant, wealth manager, and retirement plan advisor. In this episode, we talk about how tech-driven employers can leverage compensation and benefit plan design to attract and retain talent. We explore considerations for navigating total rewards administration in a hybrid or remote first work environment. And we discuss the importance of communicating compensation philosophy to employees and navigating questions related to the current economic climate.

In this episode, we talk to Jim Goldman, CEO and co-founder of Trava.  Trava is on a mission to simplify cybersecurity for small and midsized businesses. Jim talks about his journey from academia to FBI to tech founder, how cybersecurity has evolved during his career, and our collective role in preventing cyber threats.

In today's episode, we talk to Mitch Frazier, CEO at AgriNovus.  Part of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, AgriNovus is a non-profit fueling growth in Indiana’s agbioscience community. Mitch talks about his career and his leadership, the intersection of tech and agbioscience, and what the future holds for the industry. 

Today we talk to Kelli Jones, co-founder of both Sixty8 Capital and the Be Nimble Foundation. Sixty8 Capital is a Indiana-based venture firm dedicated to investing in diverse communities. Be Nimble is non-profit with the goal of advancing diversity initiatives to create fully inclusive tech ecosystems. In this episode we talk about Kelli’s journey to working in venture capital, the shared missions of Sixty8 Capital and Be Nimble, and what Indiana can do to be a more inclusive tech community. 

Today we talk to Katie Birge, associate and head of platform at M25. M25 is an early-stage venture firm based in Chicago that invests solely in tech startups based in the Midwest with many Indiana companies in their portfolio. In this episode we talk about Katie’s journey to working in venture capital, what criteria M25 looks for when investing in a startup, and what circumstances led to Indianapolis being ranked the number three midwest startup city. 

Today we talk to Kristen Nunery, founder and CEO at myCOI. myCOI provides companies the ability to automate insurance certificate requests and compliance. Kristen talks about the inspiration for founding the company, how they have built an award winning employee culture, and what’s on the horizon for myCOI.