Episode Details

On today's show I sat down with Scott Dorsey, former CEO/co-founder of ExactTarget and currently the managing partner at High Alpha, about his move from Chicago to Indianapolis to start ExactTarget and build email marketing software with co-founders Peter McCormick and Chris Baggott, the latter also being his brother-in-law.

ExactTarget originated in a Greenfield, Indiana strip mall, where Baggott identified the need while running a dry cleaner. Dorsey looks back on early hires, downtown Indianapolis' evolution, resilience through 9/11, the 2008 crisis, outages and breaches, and leadership practices like ExactTarget's "Orange" culture and a weekly Friday note to keep 2,000 employees connected.

He explains filing for an IPO in 2007, pulling it during the financial crisis, successfully going public in 2012, and selling to Salesforce in 2013 for $2.5 billion after interest from firms including Adobe.

Our conversation highlights civic leadership, Orr Fellowship's impact, the 2012 Super Bowl host committee, and ExactTarget's philanthropy that became Nextech to expand computer science education statewide.

If you like this episode and want to hear more Get IN. episodes where I interview Hoosiers making a difference, visit getindiana.com/podcast.

You are going to learn about:
- How ExactTarget was Founded and Grew to Become a $2.5B Company
- Leadership Practices for Large-Scale Companies
- The Impacts of Orr Fellowship

Thank you to our partners:
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance
Barkeep Vodka

Check out these great clips from the show:
00:00 Startup Doubts Hook
01:32 Guest Introduction: Scott Dorsey, ExactTarget
02:42 Moving to Indy
04:58 Strip Mall Origins
05:45 Early Product Idea
06:58 First Hires Traction
07:42 Downtown Vision
08:58 Angie's List Neighbors
09:41 Scrappy Infrastructure
10:49 Adversity Razor Edge
11:57 Fire Near Data Center
13:29 Why Keep Going
14:30 Staying in Indiana
15:57 Scaling Culture Orange
16:52 Friday Note Ritual
18:18 IPO Filing Stuck
20:28 Going Public Again
21:22 Salesforce Comes Calling
22:09 Bidding War Finale
23:23 After the Exit
24:38 Give First Community
27:17 Super Bowl Host Committee
32:37 Indy Progress Catalysts
34:06 Why Orr Fellowship Matters
36:27 Fellows Advice and Access
37:11 Next Tech Legacy
39:07 Staying Uncomfortable
40:16 IU Commencement Leap
43:47 Indiana Needs Next
45:27 Legacy and Rapid Fire
51:57 Audience Q and Startup Lessons
54:20 Hosting Big Sports Events
56:50 Entrepreneurship as a Muscle
59:08 Closing Thanks

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