The Blue Indy electric-car-sharing service launched in Indianapolis in 2015. It had its detractors, but you couldn’t fault the service’s backers for being timid. Basing Blue Indy on a service that had tens of thousands of subscribers in Paris, they predicted that by 2020 the company would be profitable and have at least 15,000 members, 200 charging stations, and 500 electric cars on the road. Wholeheartedly supported by the Ballard administration, Blue Indy carved out curb-side stations for its ...
Aug 04, 2019•27 min•Ep. 61
This isn’t your just father’s weekend retreat or mother’s opportunity to binge on bridge. Not anymore. Country clubs across the nation are in the midst of a transformation as the latest generation of breadwinners decide how they want to spend their leisure time and disposable incomes. As the conventional wisdom goes, millennials are fiercely independent, burdened by college debt and skeptical of traditional institutions. But research by the golf and country cub industry indicates that some in th...
Jul 28, 2019•25 min•Ep. 60
Husband-and-wife team Kim and Todd Saxton, both professors at the IU Kelley School of Business at IUPUI, have spent a lot of time inside and outside the classroom serving as mentors to startup founders trying to make their way through the choppy waters of entrepreneurship. So they recently teamed up with Michael Cloran, a local entrepreneur and partner at DeveloperTown, to write a book of advice about what NOT to do when you're starting a company. The book—“The Titanic Effect: Successfully Navig...
Jul 22, 2019•25 min•Ep. 59
In residential real estate, the 30-year-mortgage is king. But why? A 15-year mortgage saves you money, reduces your expenses later and helps you be more realistic about how much house you really need, says Peter Dunn, better known as Pete the Planner. Pete talks with guest host Lesley Weidenbener about all things mortgages—determining how much house you can afford, why you shouldn't put down less than 10% and why the idea of starter homes and family homes is silly. And Pete explains why those mo...
Jul 15, 2019•21 min•Ep. 58
Morales Group launched in 2003 with a focus on placing Hispanic workers into jobs, but the company has grown and expanded—both in geography and in the people it serves. Today, about half of the people Morales Group places are migrants, immigrants or refugees. In fact, 37 countries are represented by Morales Group’s internal employees and the associates the company has placed. That means the $100 million firm spends more money upfront to solve language barriers and provide training. But Seth Mora...
Jul 08, 2019•25 min•Ep. 57
Should you avoid red meat? No. Will gum last in your stomach seven years? No way. Should you strive for 10,000 steps a day? Not unless you just want to. So says Dr. Aaron Carroll, a pediatrician and researcher at the Indiana University School of Medicine who sees it as his life’s calling to debunk what he considers health myths and weak medical research. He writes books and a column for The New York Times, hosts " Healthcare Triage " on YouTube and tweets at @aaronecarroll , all with the goal of...
Jul 01, 2019•28 min•Ep. 56
Two-and-a-half years after selling his namesake restaurant chain Scotty's, entrepreneur Scott Wise is launching another eatery. Roots Burger Bar will be located in the same Muncie location as his original restaurant but will have a more casual feel and tighter menu. Wise tells IBJ Podcast host Mason King that he's both emotional and excited about the new start, which he says has been like hitting control-alt-delete on his career. But it hasn't been an easy path. Wise explains why he believed sel...
Jun 24, 2019•30 min•Ep. 55
One of the hottest trends in employee retention and recruitment isn't ping pong table and kegs of beer in the break room; it's giving workers paid time so they can volunteer their time with local charities. Josh Driver, founder of Selfless.ly, which sells cloud-based software for managing corporate social responsibility programs, says volunteer PTO is an increasingly important part of benefits packages. In fact, nearly one quarter of companies now pay employees to spend their time and energy wit...
Jun 17, 2019•25 min•Ep. 54
The Indianapolis Public Library system is in a growth tear—in terms of both its buildings and its programming. Three library branches have recently opened or are under construction and three more are in various planning stages. That's in addition to five branches that have or will soon undergo significant renovations. Host Mason King talks with the library system's CEO, Jackie Nytes, about the construction binge and how it will actually help the library better balance its budget. And Nytes also ...
Jun 10, 2019•23 min•Ep. 53
Science fiction has made many of us cautious about artificial intelligence and what it could mean for our future. But AI is already in use in many industries and could soon be prominent in most. That's why IBJ has made AI the focus of its 2019 Innovation Issue, an annual exploration of disrupters across the business world. In this week's podcast, IBJ Managing Editor Lesley Weidenbener and technology reporter Anthony Schoettle discuss what they learned while researching artificial intelligence, h...
Jun 03, 2019•22 min•Ep. 52
IBJ personal finance columnist Peter Dunn talks with podcast host Mason King about three key components of paying for college: saving in advance, paying some expenses in the moment and preparing your kids to make good choices. All three take planning, Dunn says. And that last one takes some tough and ongoing conversations about choosing an affordable college, the amount you'll be contributing as parents and making good decisions about debt. But his most important piece of advice for parents? Pri...
May 27, 2019•26 min•Ep. 51
Bloomington's Oliver Winery started as a hobby but has grown into the 44th largest winery in the country. And it's done it by playing into an unexpected niche—sweet wines. That's not all Oliver makes, of course. It offers a full range of traditional dry and semi-dry red and white wines as well as specialty products from its Creekbend Collection, which is made from grapes grown at Oliver's vineyard in Ellettsville. The winery expects to produce more than 450,000 cases (1.1 million gallons of wine...
May 20, 2019•22 min•Ep. 50
City officials have approved new rules meant to help people in lower-income neighborhoods access scooters to get to jobs, school, bus stops or other destinations. Scooter companies—Indianapolis now has four firms registered to offer dockless services—would be required to put 10% of their scooters in so-called "access" zones. But the new rules raise lots of questions about whether scooters would actually be a reliable source of transportation and whether the Indy residents most in need of the ser...
May 13, 2019•23 min•Ep. 49
Megan Glover launched 120WaterAudit with two partners in 2016 with the idea of targeting residential consumers nationwide with a water-testing kit that cost $120 every four months. It was a great time for the idea, given the water problems in Flint, Michigan, and other cities. But quickly, Glover realized governments, schools and municipal water utilities were desperate for a modern way to organize their water testing records. And so 120WaterAudit pivoted to building and selling enterprise softw...
May 06, 2019•27 min•Ep. 48
Less than two weeks after the Capital Improvement Board signed a 25-year, $800 million agreement with the Indiana Pacers, the Legislature passed a bill that will fund that deal. But the bill—which is now awaiting Gov. Eric Holcomb's signature—is about much more than just helping to fund a renovation and expansion of the Pacers' home arena, Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The legislation also gives the CIB millions in new dollars to help it make ends meet over the next quarter century. Without that mone...
Apr 29, 2019•21 min•Ep. 47
Three tech entrepreneurs — High Alpha's Eric Tobias and Mobi's Scott Kraege and Andrew Davis — have long been fans of live music. But they've taken that hobby one step further by purchasing the Vogue night club in Broad Ripple. Tobias talks with podcast host Mason King about what the trio plans to change at the 81-year-old venue (think glass barware and a larger green room) — and what they think the club is already doing well. Plus, hear how the new owners want to expand the number of events at ...
Apr 22, 2019•26 min•Ep. 46
The former CEO of Angie's List is using big data and machine learning to try to solve an emerging problem in Indiana—a stagnate and soon-to-be shrinking workforce. Bill Oesterle formed TMap, a startup that just raised $1 million in funding and is focused on finding people who went to school in Indiana but then left the state to pursue their careers. TMap is scouring the web to determine which of those people might be interested in coming back—maybe because they have family in the area or want to...
Apr 15, 2019•25 min•Ep. 45
Max Yoder says his new book — “Do Better Work: Finding Clarity, Camaraderie, and Progress in Work and Life” — is not just another set of lessons about leadership. It's actually just as much about teamwork and relationships — and it's chock full of examples to help readers better understand the concepts. The Lessonly founder and CEO talks with IBJ Podcast host Mason King about why he wrote the book, why vulnerability is the overarching theme and what he learned along the way about his own leaders...
Apr 08, 2019•23 min•Ep. 44
BYD Ltd. won a contact to sell IndyGo electric buses for the Red Line—where service is scheduled begin on Labor Day—with a range of 275 miles on a single charge. That would have allowed the buses to operate for a full day and then charge overnight. But IndyGo has been testing the buses since fall and found they are falling short—way short—of the 275-mile requirement. IBJ reporter Susan Orr talks with host Mason King about how Indy's weather is contributing to the problem, what IndyGo wants BYD t...
Apr 01, 2019•15 min•Ep. 43
Just a few years ago, Fishers-based SteadyServ Technologies was among the most-ballyhooed startups in state history. But the company — which sells data-analytics software for bars and restaurants — has burned through more than $30 million in capital and perennially underachieved, leading it to file for bankruptcy earlier this year. So why is tech veteran David Becker — a serial entrepreneur who serves as CEO of Fishers-based First Internet Bancorp — stepping in to try to save it? IBJ Editor Greg...
Mar 25, 2019•21 min•Ep. 42
Eddie Sahm grew up in his family's restaurant business, but after graduating from college, he didn't want to work for his dad, whom he calls Ed. So Eddie borrowed the money to buy Sahm's Place and set out to prove he could improve and strengthen the eatery. Then, when it was time for a new challenge, Eddie went into business with his father, launching a brew pub—Big Lug Canteen—that grew into a series of pubs and ale houses that all sell Big Lug beers. Eddie talks to host Mason King about growin...
Mar 18, 2019•27 min•Ep. 41
Peter Dunn — who is bringing his Pete the Planner column to IBJ, starting March 15 — is worried about the upper middle class, a group he says makes good money but often lives beyond their means. The rising costs (and sizes) of homes, the expense of youth travel sports, car leases and loans parents take out to pay for their kids' college all contribute to a rocky financial picture that means even those with higher incomes might not be saving enough for retirement. Dunn talks with IBJ Podcast host...
Mar 11, 2019•30 min•Ep. 40
A bill passed by the Indiana Senate would require the Indy Eleven to become an MLS franchise within three years to unlock tax money to build a stadium dedicated to soccer. But is that realistic? IBJ's Anthony Schoettle says it's an uphill climb — but by no means out of the question. He talks to IBJ Podcast host Mason King about the challenges facing Ersal Ozdemir, the local real estate developer who founded the team, and his ownership group. Among them: Making sure that ownership group has enoug...
Mar 04, 2019•21 min•Ep. 39
As the Legislature nears the halfway point of the 2019 session, three Statehouse reporters join podcast host Lesley Weidenbener to talk about which issues are moving forward and which ones are fading away. IBJ's Lindsey Erdody, The Journal Gazette's Niki Kelly and TheStatehouseFile.com columnist Mary Beth Schneider catch us up on hate crimes, teacher pay, stadium upgrades, cigarette taxes, gambling and more. And they share some insight about what might happen going forward. Find out why Schneide...
Feb 25, 2019•27 min•Ep. 38
Renown local chef Greg Hardesty is set to open Studio C in in an out-of-the-way space at 1051 E. 54th St., just off the Monon Trail, with plans to offer private dining, a coffee bar, pop-up meals and more — even a service to supply home chefs with hard-to-find ingredients. In other words, Hardesty plans to try a little of this and a little of that and see what sticks. He talks with host Mason King about why he closed his last restaurant — the acclaimed Recess — two years ago and why he decided n...
Feb 18, 2019•23 min•Ep. 37
Just days after filing a defamation lawsuit seeking more than $25 million from WISH-TV, Derek Daly sits down with IBJ's Anthony Schoettle to discuss what he says the news station got wrong in a story that accused him of using a racial slur. Daly tells IBJ what he wants most is an apology and a retraction from WISH, which fired Daly — its former racing analyst — and broadcast a story that connected him to the use of a racial slur that had led Colts play-by-play announcer Bob Lamey to retire. It's...
Feb 11, 2019•28 min•Ep. 36
The Indiana IoT Lab in Fishers has been open roughly one year and already its membership roster is almost full. Every day, those members—including big companies, small firms and freelancers—are helping manufacturers, farmers and others connect their products to the web and to each other. You may know the internet of things because you have a connected thermostat or home security system. But IoT is about far more than home automation. The real magic is the ability of companies to use connected de...
Feb 04, 2019•29 min•Ep. 35
At least 70 people who were homeless or had recently experienced chronic homelessness died in Indianapolis last year, according to the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention. That was the largest number of deaths recorded by CHIP since it started tracking figures more than a decade ago, and it represented a 20 percent increase from 2017. Illness, injury, homicides and drug overdoses contributed to the number. CHIP Executive Director Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, Horizon House Planning Ma...
Jan 28, 2019•23 min•Ep. 34
Indy Eleven owner Ersal Ozdemir is back at the Statehouse seeking help to build a stadium for the team. But Ozdemir has a new tactic: He's proposing to build a stadium village that would generate the tax revenue needed to pay for the 20,000-seat stadium. Ozdemir sat down with Hayleigh Colombo to talk about the proposal, why he thinks it can be successful and what it could mean for the team's bid to join Major League Soccer. Colombo then talks with IBJ sports business reporter Mickey Shuey for a ...
Jan 21, 2019•27 min•Ep. 33
Not-for-profit education reform group The Mind Trust has received three grants totaling $24.4 million that it will use to continue opening new schools in Indianapolis and supporting those already in existence. The Mind Trust CEO Brandon Brown sat down with host Mason King to explain the group's mission, its cooperation with Indianapolis Public Schools and how the new funding will help it ramp up its work. They get down to the basics, defining terms like charters and innovation schools. But King ...
Jan 14, 2019•25 min•Ep. 32
