An Indianapolis Business Podcast: Off the Circle

If you're like most of the country, you're not feeling great about politics nowadays. After this interview with Executive Director Jamar Cobb-Dennard and Tri-Chair Adrianne Slash, I'm confident you'll not only feel better, you'll want to help this bi-partisan effort. The vision of the 10|100 committee is to raise monies that are invested in developing a pipeline of candidates-of-color that will populate campaigns, down-ballot through Congress, with qualified servants who represent values within communities-of-color. The 10|100 committee began its mission in Indiana to recruit board members, learn the landscape of PAC leadership, and support successful candidates. The model will then be replicated across the country, state-by-state, and then to federal races. Special Guests: Adrianne Slash and Jamar Cobb-Dennard.

A professional employer organization (PEO) is a firm that provides a service under which an employer can outsource employee management tasks, such as employee benefits, payroll and workers' compensation, recruiting, risk/safety management, and training and development. Fullstack PEO was born out of necessity with the technology startups launched with DeveloperTown and has now expanded to assist any technology startup in the state. (Fullstack PEO does cover 2 other states and many other industries). Services with Fullstack PEO may include payroll, administrative and operational HR support, strategic HR consulting, ancillary HR support, compliance, health, dental, vision, supplemental benefits, 401(k) management, and health and wellness programs. Special Guests: Dawn Lively and Michael Kelly.

Security in business is essential these days. With the recent outbreak of ransomware at various local medical facilities you should be downright terrified of the potential for a data breach. Indianapolis is the home of many technologists, and we bring two security experts to the table for a fascinating interview on corporate security. Mike has a background in assisting small to medium-size medical businesses get HIPAA compliant. Mark has an extensive background in large enterprises and has been the go-to for many companies that have been attacked. Listen to Mark and Mike talk about ways to protect your company's data and how you should approach your business' IT Security policy. Special Guests: Mark Clausman and Michael Boland.

The mission of The Indy Startup Challenge is to teach Indiana founders how to practice the best in class startup methodologies that are now commonplace in many startup hubs throughout the country in order to create a wave of lasting startups throughout Indiana. In this episode, we speak to Stephanie Corliss and Thor Wood, co-founders of Snapshyft and Diana Morris, founder of Ladybug Collaborative. These are both startup companies that are building platforms for their respective industries. Joe Albano joins us in discussing the challenges of startups, from development, to funding, to growth. Special Guests: Diana Morris, Joe Albano, PhD, Stephanie Corliss, and Thor Wood.

In preparation for an upcoming training class on Google Analytics, we speak with Indianapolis Analytics expert and "all things Google" Jennifer Denney. Jennifer's company, Elevated Marketing Solutions, has been booking sold-out Google Analytics training for DK New Media since last summer. Analytics - and Google Analytics - is often misunderstood and never fully implemented by companies. Just as important as getting your accounting in order, businesses today should have their analytics in order. Today we review the key takeaways as well as some tips in properly implementing Google Analytics and utilizing the data to make decisions about your business. Special Guest: Jennifer Denney.

We gathered some avid cyclists from in and around Indianapolis to speak to why this city is such an amazing place for bicycling. Tune in to hear from veterans, charities, mechanics, and even a cyclist with a national following! Special Guests: Alison Cole, Anthony Barr, Chris Wiggins, Derek Sitzman, and Jamey McPherson.

It all started when the nuns... introduced Jen to the world of podcasting. It’s true. Jen started out editing their podcast. It was a gateway. Jen fell in love with podcasting and launched The Brassy Broadcast, and set out on a journey to learn everything I could about the medium. Jen is still fascinated with podcasting and excited by the continuous growth she's seen year after year. Jen is a wonderful, positive treasure here in the local community. Her mission is to help the do-gooders of the world make a profound impact by putting them in the ears, heads, and hearts of new audiences with podcasts and other audio content. Special Guest: Jen Edds.

What are the benefits and challenges of being a solopreneur? We share the good, the bad, and the ugly with three new entrepreneurs and some experienced ones here in Indianapolis. Being a solopreneur is not for the faint of heart or soul. Solopreneurs are a different breed of worker, that have cast away the notion of simply "having a job". One day they decided to follow their dreams to create something different for themselves. Their stories are unique, challenging, scary, and exciting (sometimes simultaneously) and they wouldn't have it any other way. Come listen to their stories and see if being a Solopreneur is something you are interested in. Special Guests: Paige Murrell, Robin Lanning, and Weston Hegerfeld.

What began as a movement at TCC, with 3,000 employees and 800 wireless retail locations across the United States, to do good by including employees and customers has grown into its own company to teach others to build their own Culture of Good. Four years and millions of donated items, volunteer hours and dollars later, TCC employees are bringing their souls to work every single day. They make an impact beyond the four walls of their stores. They do more than serve their customers. They want to serve the communities in which TCC conducts business. Under Ryan’s guidance through TCC’s Culture of Good, which enables others to do good in their communities for the value of the investment rather than the return on investment, TCC donated $1 million to Riley Hospital for Children; provided 250,000 backpacks full of school supplies to children; gave away supply packs to 5,000 teachers; and contributed $100,000 in grants to organizations focused on improving the environment. Now Ryan wants to help other organizations engage the hearts of their employees and customers to be passionate about making the changes they wish to see in the world. Ryan created Culture of Good, Inc. to inspire other businesses to create truly altruistic programs that make the world a better place. Tune in to today's interview with Ryan and found out how your business can impact your employees and their communities in remarkable ways. Special Guest: Ryan McCarty.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity which enable these objects to connect and exchange data. As technology continues to advance, virtually any device that users interact with will have local computing capabilities that are connected via the cloud to other services. Indiana is a world leader in growing, making, and moving things. When our most important sectors are combined with the spirit of entrepreneurship and the power or technology, Indiana will have leadership in the Internet of Things. The Indiana IoT Lab facility is designed to bring the emerging IoT sector together as a lab for innovation and collaboration. Entrepreneurs and businesses will have the space they need to bring the four key components of IoT solutions together: ideation, cloud data, edge hardware, and development. Through the Lab, these entrepreneurs and businesses will launch the technology solutions needed to meet the world’s growing tech needs. We're ecstatic to have Cameron Weeks, John Wechsler, and Mayor Scott Fadness on the show to discuss how they're working to position central Indiana as a national leader in the Internet of Things. Special Guests: Cameron Weeks, John Wechsler, and Scott Fadness.

Not too many people realize that we have one of the nation's best fundraising companies here in Indianapolis, Art to Remember (https://arttoremember.com). Art classes are the first budget cut and teachers often are buying supplies out of their own pocket to keep supplies in the classroom. While schools have a ton of fundraisers, few are as successful, easy, and fun as Art to Remember. Art teachers receive the supplies to build a project in their classroom, then send the artwork to Art to Remember. Art to Remember scans and places the artwork on any number of over 40 items purchased by friends and families of the students. A portion of the sales is returned to the school! The result are happy parents, happy students, and a happy school! It's the perfect program for any school. Special Guests: Bill Boncosky and Kelly DeNeal.

Indiana has 4.7 million acres of forestland (just over 20% of IN land base) and 4.6 million acres of timberland. 95% of Indiana's forests are classified as hardwood forest types and more than 635,000 acres have been enrolled in the Classified Forest program. Have you ever wondered why Indiana forests are so amazing? Would you like to keep them amazing? Meet two of the people from organizations fighting to keep and grow our forests plentiful. Anne Laker and Shannon Anderson talk about the importance of saving our forests and what challenges they run into in that battle. Special Guests: Anne Laker and Shannon Anderson.

Blaine Zimmerman of Circle City Vets and Matt Hall, the Indianapolis Mayor's Veteran Service Officer join Harrison and Douglas Karr for an inaugural podcast, Veteran Cast (http://www.veterancast.com). The mission of Veteran Cast is to educate, inform, and improve the lives of Veterans in our community. This episode speaks to the economic impact of Veterans in the region, why Vets make amazing employees, and where Veterans can go and listen to be involved. If you're a Veteran, be sure to subscribe to Veteran Cast. Special Guests: Blaine Zimmerman and Matt Hall.

Does your work inspire you? Does it serve others? Are you changing the world around you? Today, we speak with three female entrepreneurs that left corporate life and the stability of a great paycheck to pursue their passions. We have an amazing conversation with 3 female business owners who have created businesses serving their community. The founders of JenDaisy Boutique, Indiana Originals, and Fatherless Daughters are an inspiration - and we interview them here in Off the Circle. Special Guests: Jen Russell and Mel McMahon Stone.

Michael is a well-respected CEO of an agency in Indianapolis, SpinWeb (https://www.spinweb.net). Like many other agencies, his team struggled with deploying high-performing, compliant, beautiful sites. Existing content management systems are often based on technology and code that's over a decade old. Existing CMSs weren't built for the demands of today, nor for the incredible technology we now have to deploy websites. In this interview, Michael discusses the platform his team has built. Open to power users and agencies, the platform is secure, PCI compliant, HIPAA compliant, and highly performant. Special Guest: Michael Reynolds.

Indianapolis is turning into a hotbed for technology and startups. In 2016, 43 technology companies committed to add over 5,000 full-time jobs. These tech jobs pay twice the median average wage. Two-thirds of the $77 million in 2016 venture capital in Indiana companies went to technology companies (three-quarters of all companies who received VC) and since 2000, $7 billion in acquisitions and IPOs from more than 2 dozen companies has materialized. According to SmartAsset, Indy is ranked the 4th best city for women in tech for gender pay gap, income after housing costs, and women as a percentage of the technology workforce and four-year tech employment growth. Kenzie Academy is a tech apprenticeship school, pioneering a new model in education. We’re developing future tech leaders with the skills, passion, and purpose to meet the demands of growing companies. Founder Chok Ooi was successful - working both on Wall Street and Silicon Valley - but decided to open the Kenzie Academy here in Indianapolis. Here Chok's story and how the Kenzie Academy goes beyond a "Coding School" and prepares its students for full-time technology job with their immersive learning environment. Special Guest: Chok Ooi.

How you handle finances is key to your success at operating a business as well as how you prepare for retirement. Today we talk about personal and business finances, taxes, and how to plan ahead for the highs and lows of owning a business. What should you do when the money is good, and how to plan for seasonal work, when you need to ask for assistance... all on Off the Circle! Special Guests: Dan Rodgers and Ed Gunnell.

Facial Recognition has been in use for years as a means to authenticate. It's often been a bad joke in the tech industry for it's failure to differentiate your face from a picture of your face. Until now. Apple is releasing Face ID with the iPhone X and it's replacing Touch ID which utilizes your fingerprint to unlock your iPhone. On this episode we speak with Seth Wilson, an attorney with Adler, Tesnar & Whalin and talk about what your rights are with this new means of unlocking your phone. Special Guest: Seth Wilson.

Orr Fellowship (http://orrfellowship.org/) has already made an enormous impact in the region's fastest-growing organizations, but what do you know about it? Many of us have had the pleasure of working alongside a Fellow, but didn't understand what the mission was, how it started, what the impact has been, and how to get involved. We were lucky enough to have Executive Director, Karyn Smitson, in our studio along with four current Orr Fellows. They describe what the program is like, how the program differs from any other, and why you should get involved - whether you're a company or a student. Special Guest: Karyn Smitson.

Apple had a special event held at Steve Jobs Theater on September 12, 2017. Since we're all fanboys, we wanted to discuss the product announcements in detail. They announced the iPhone X, iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, Apple Watch 3, watchOS4, Apple TV 4K, watchOS 4, and iOS 11. Doug, Adam, and Ryan got together the day after to give their take on each of the devices, the advancements, the hits, and perhaps a few misses.