Panel: Indiana must do more to nurture tech talent, innovation
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Technology and the spirit of innovation have the potential to transform Indiana’s economy—but the state needs to invest in its people and places to unlock that full potential, panelists said Tuesday morning at an Indiana Technology and Innovation Association event.
Tuesday’s ITIA panel, which was part of the organization’s annual conference, focused on what business and government leaders can do to help advance the state’s tech and innovation economies. The ITIA conference is happening at the Indiana Convention Center alongside the Rally innovation conference. The ITIA event is separate from Rally, but organizers of both events are deliberately cross-promoting each others’ gatherings.
IBJ is providing Rally updates on a dedicated blog over the course of the three-day event.
Tuesday’s panel at the Indiana Convention Center featured Christopher Day, CEO of Indianapolis-based Elevate Ventures; David Becker, CEO of Fishers-based First Internet Bank; TechPoint CEO Ting Gootee and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb. It was moderated by ITIA Executive Director Jennifer Hallowell.
Day said his organization, and others, must do a better job of connecting with students. Elevate Ventures functions as the venture investment arm for the Indiana Economic Development Corp. Elevate Ventures is the organizer of Rally, which is receiving major financial support from the IEDC.
Elevate Ventures focuses on supporting Indiana’s early-stage startups. Day said the organization has begun looking at how it can “really lean into the students and the universities,” looking at young entrepreneurs that Elevate can support with funding to get more early-stage ideas off the ground.
Day also suggested that those in the room could help educate the state’s college students about the collaborations and innovations already happening here.
“People aren’t aware. We must tell our story,” Day said. “We need to more specifically and intentionally share our stories with our young people.”
Becker echoed the idea that outreach to young people is a crucial aspect of talent development. “We have to bring in the students and get them exposed to it.”
He cited the success of the TechPoint Foundation for Youth’s statewide robotics program, which represents an expansion of an initiative originally launched in 2012 by former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard.
More than 50,000 Indiana students participated in the robotics program last year, Becker said, setting the stage for their potential future involvement in science, technology, engineering and math.
On the topic of startup funding, Becker said, Hoosier entrepreneurs now have many more options for funding than when he was a young entrepreneur 40 years ago. At that time, Becker joked, startups’ only funding came from the “friends, family and fools” who invested in them.
What’s still largely missing, Becker said, is funding for the scale-ups—existing companies that need funding so they can grow.
Holcomb said the state recognizes that it also needs to invest in the quality-of-life assets that will attract jobs and workers to the Hoosier state.
Prospective transplants typically already know about Indiana’s low taxes, Holcomb said, but they don’t necessarily know about things like whether an Indiana city has a symphony orchestra, museums or a trail system.
And cities that have these types of assets will be the ones that are most successful attracting talent, Holcomb said. “All of these things matter. We have to make investments.”
Regarding workforce development, Gootee said her organization is seeing good early results from its Mission 41K initiative, which launched in Sept. 2022 with the goal of adding 41,000 jobs to the state’s tech sector by 2030.
Reaching that goal will require the tech industry to grow by about 4% each year, which is double the industry’s historical growth rate. Gootee said Mission 41K actually exceeded that goal in its first year by achieving 5.6% growth in the state’s tech workforce. It did this in part by reaching beyond the four-year universities that have traditionally supplied the bulk of tech talent.
Mission 41K’s strategy includes efforts like adult apprenticeship programs for career changers and encouraging employers to consider hiring qualified candidates who lack a bachelor’s degree.
TechPoint is a not-for-profit organization that works to advance the state’s tech industry.