Casey Harrison: Welcome to today's episode of see yourself in where you will learn about cool jobs, people and companies in Indiana. Hear about the skills that will help you find success. And most importantly, we hope to inspire you to dream big. I'm Casey Harrison, your host. On today's show, we're going to dive into Indiana's advanced industries and why they're important.
We'll talk about skills that are transferable across jobs and industries, and we'll determine some of the best ways that you can begin exploring these opportunities.
Today, I'm joined by Al Carroll, President and CEO of IndyHub. Al has an incredible story that serves as a testament to cultivating strong relationships and leveraging each opportunity with intentionality.
Al, welcome to See Yourself IN. We are so excited to have you here today. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. We had to have you. As we prepared for this conversation, I learned that you're originally from Florida and I had so many questions. So tell us a little bit about what you do. where you grew up and what your childhood was like.
Al Carroll: Yeah, that's right. I'm born and raised in Titusville, Florida, which is just across the river from Cape Canaveral. So I'm pretty lucky to grow up in a place like that. there were regularly rocket launches. Both my parents and my parents actually met while my dad was working at NASA. My mom was working at the Space Center.
So it was always a big part of our life. That's really what a lot of people in that area did. So from my, my parents who obviously were working there, my grandmother used to replace tiles on the space shuttle. My little league baseball coach was a rocket scientist, right? So they're like, you get some pretty cool experiences.
When I think about all that is that like, I also was very blessed to be able to grow up in an environment where my parents were really focused on making sure that I knew about black achievement. Like I was growing up in an environment where my dad was the CFO of the Kennedy Space Center.
So I was really lucky, again, truly blessed to kind of be in that environment where my dad was wearing suits every day, where he was an executive, where he had people that worked for him, where there were, it was normal , for me to see someone like him in a position like that. So it was always very normal for me to see that, like, Hey, I can do this, right?
I always had a really. very present example in my life. I'm really lucky for that. , so when I think about my childhood, those are the kind of things and I think about, but I also like, I'm really, it's really cool to be able to say I could, I've went to, I've been to a ton of, space shuttle launches.
, I've gotten to go out to the three mile marker and see him from up close, like it's a, pretty cool experience.
Casey Harrison: Yeah, as a fourth grader who visited the Kennedy Space Center, I'm having a lot of FOMO right now. That just sounds incredible.
Al Carroll: Oh, yeah. I mean, it was. I mean, it truly is it's really special.
And I don't, take it for granted, right? My, parents and their friends put people in space. Like, that's a really cool thing to, to be able to say. And to grow up in the space coast of Florida, I think it, helps me at least to be able to see what's possible, right?
To be able to grow up with folks that are literally going to space. . The, the limitations that you put on yourself, I think are a little bit fewer when you're in an environment like that.
Casey Harrison: Oh my gosh. Yeah. So then as you, high school thinking about graduation and life after high school, did you have a linear path of, I want to do this?
Al Carroll: No, not at all. But if you think back to when I was graduating from high school, it's I graduated in 2009. So in 2008, when the financial crisis happened, there were tons of college graduates that were having a hard time getting a job. So what I was most focused on was that, like, when I left, my parents, I wanted to be able to feed myself.
I want to be able to have a job. , that was my primary objective in college. So when I was looking at college, when I was looking, I was looking primarily at business. I wanted to be able to get out and get into a business role, right, somewhere like my dad where I could wear a suit and, , like have, an office , and work in that kind of an environment is what I really was looking for.
And that search brought me onto Butler, , which at the time I don't think they still do. They require two internships to graduate. So in my mind, that was like, okay, this place would help me be more competitive in the greater job market because I've just net out more experience, right? . And even through , the financial crisis, they required and guaranteed that you would get those two internships.
So, , that was part of the reason why they were even on my radar as a kid from Florida. That's a pretty unique offering, nationwide.
Casey Harrison: Yeah well, and you shared with me that you were able to almost make a phone call and get an interview with Butler. Would you tell that story?
Al Carroll: I give a lot of glory to God for where I've ended up in my life but there are just a couple real key moments that were really clear to me that what direction I needed to take and I'd say that Butler experience that you're talking about is definitely one that I think about often as I reflect on like why I'm where I am and how I've been able to be obedient in my life, but, , yeah, I was at a conference and it was actually at the Kennedy Space Center.
It was my senior year of high school. We were hosting a student government conference for folks on the southeastern side of Florida. It was like, it's a district conference. And I was just walking in between sessions with a teacher from West Boca Raton Community High School. I'll never forget.
We just struck up a conversation. She had asked me what some of the schools that I applied to and I just mentioned Butler just in passing, , and she's like Butler University in Indianapolis. I was like, yeah, and she said my son is an admission counselor there , and it's just like one of those moments of like you've got to be kidding me.
, and she's like i'm gonna i'll call him right now , and she called him talked about me. He's like i'll give me an hour , and he called back and, nominated me for a scholarship and for that scholarship that I ended up getting, that Morton Finney Diversity and Leadership Scholarship, it was, truly instrumental in why I was able to be here and I don't know where I'd be if that conversation hadn't happened, but it was pretty clear to me with the way it all came out, that might've been divinely inspired.
Casey Harrison: Yeah. Well, I mean, we're glad that happened and that you landed in Indy, but what does it feel like as all of your connections, all of your network, especially as a young professional are in Florida and then you find yourself in a brand new campus in a brand new state.
I mean, how did you start? Chipping away at building a new network.
Al Carroll: I think that I know I, it's college. So like we all were new, right. And in a sense, like I don't know that I ever really thought about the tactics of getting involved on campus. Right. It's I am from elsewhere, like by just by nature of not having anyone within, 800 miles of me, I need to figure out how to get around, how to interact, how to be with other folks, right? And I think I'm a pretty friendly guy. I think that, while I've learned and grown a lot over the years, I think the core of who Al is hasn't really changed. You know, I'm really a people person and that's who I was at Butler as well.
I'll tell you a really quick story. When I got to Butler, I was really committed to my meal plan, right, getting my money's worth out of my meal plan. So I had an 8 o'clock class, so I would eat before class, before I would go. And one of the coolest things that, one of the cooler stories that I think about from my time at Butler is, like, I used to be, like, one of the only people in the cafeteria at, 7:15 getting ready to go to my 8 o'clock class.
The only other people that were ever in the cafeteria at that time were the basketball team. So this is, fall of 2009. So I'm meeting, every day, and they finally told me, mate, it's a little weird that you're sitting four tables away from us. Why don't you just come over here?
They just invited me in. That's who I ate breakfast with for a semester. And then they got good. , I shouldn't say they got good. They were already good. For the record, they were very good. But I figured out that they were good. It's just someone that was coming up from Florida. I didn't even know about the butler basketball tradition and what that meant and just how good they were.
And I used to eat breakfast with these guys every day and the next thing you know they're in the tournament and they just kept winning and they end up in the Final Four and it's in Indianapolis. Which I still tell people is the coolest experience of my entire life, but part of that reason why it was cool is because I was watching my friends.
These are people that I know that I was walking around campus with, I have classes with that I know who are the folks that were you know they're telling these stories about who are getting these profiles on ESPN or doing these cool things, and that was pretty special, and just before then I mean the Colts were in the Super Bowl, I mean Indianapolis, from the time that I got here.
I was getting the hard sell about just how cool the experience is like the events that come here. So for me,it was that experience my freshman year with the Final Four. Obviously we went back to back. And then my junior year, Indianapolis hosted the Super Bowl, right? So it was, , a pretty, pretty surreal college experience, , to get here right at that time.
I mean, I had three of the best years and I would argue some of the best years in Indianapolis in the last 20 years.
Casey Harrison: Well, and what I love about that, I feel like there are so many people who arrive in Indy and they are separated from families, friends, networks. But it's really easy to plug in here. And I think that your story is absolutely a testament to that.
I mean, and then look at where those connections take you.
Al Carroll: Yeah, I mean, I certainly have leveraged some of those connections from Butler I mean, I think that what's true about that experience. And when things like that happened is that there's a lot of people that are still here from that time period when I was in school, right?
That have stuck around that have bought homes that are, here and growing in their respective businesses , or other still have season tickets to Butler. Right? There's a whole community of folks that graduated in that 2010 to 2013 era, , who are still in town and still growing. And I think that that helps me a lot too.
Casey Harrison: Oh my gosh. Yeah. Well, and that's part of the fabric of what makes Indy different. Right? Yeah. I love that. Okay. So you went to Butler, you graduated Butler. You stayed in Indy. Let's transition a little bit and talk about your professional journey. How did you start thinking about life after college graduation?
Al Carroll: Yeah with the professional journey. I had some really cool opportunities , to get to work in a large organization, right? I started my career at PWC, , did my, internships at PWC. I really thought that that was going to be the environment that I wanted to be in. , and I quickly kind of found out that a, from a personable person like me, , being stuck in an audit room sometimes just wasn't , what was going to rev my engine.
What was also clear to me was that my professional opportunities were going to come in Indianapolis. a lot of those, to your point, a lot of the relationships that I had built, while I was in school, a lot of the people that I knew, , who had seen the work that I'd been able to produce while I was there, they were all here, right?
So, trying to go back home would have been standing up something completely different. It would have been, the challenges would have been a little bit harder. But, I mean, I really am grateful for my time at PWC. They taught me how to work. Right. Really got to understand. I mean, that's really what some of the best advice that I got at PWC that I like to tell folks in that early in their career is this idea of understanding how your company makes money.
, I think in order to be successful and really to understand like to, to grow in a business, , and be eligible for promotion and to be seen as someone that's valuable, as a contributor, you need to understand how your organization makes money and how you contribute to that. And what levers that you can pull as an individual to make sure that you can leverage being more valuable to your organization.
I think PWC taught me that. I'm glad I learned it at that point in my career because I think that I've been able to leverage that into being more effective. But I think that the reason why I've been able to move between industries is because of relationships. I wouldn't say it's any other specific skill set. You know, I'm not a technical person. But I know and remember people. I love people. And for me, that's been a part of why I've been able to be successful.
Casey Harrison: Yeah. Well, so talk about some of the industries that you've worked in. You started at PWC and at some point you were at TechPoint.
Al Carroll: That's right and that transition to TechPoint was fun too. So I knew. from again, I wanted to be in business. I always knew that and part of that is a money motivation I'm not gonna lie to you. Right. part of that is like wanting to , be able to support myself and to have good, have nice things.
I like nice things. Right. So for me, I wanted to be able , to get those things for myself. I wanted to live in a world where I knew if I was willing to work for it, right. Like , they would come to me and PWC gave me that opportunity. But I think TechPoint gave, the reason why I went over to TechPoint was because I wanted to get into entrepreneurship, right? , I knew as someone that was, working in a tech adjacent kind of role in a firm, at an accounting firm, , I knew that there were opportunities in technology and , at the time that I was making my transition, the Exact Target acquisition had just happened.
it's like this stuff is blowing up in Indianapolis. What's going on over here, right? So I wanted to be in the environment that was around people that were doing those kind of things. That were, standing up their own businesses that were entrepreneurs, that were capitalists, if you will.
I wanted to see what that environment was like. You're like the people that you spend time with. I wanted to get into that world so that, if there was an opportunity for me to build something, that I would have the relationships and resources to be able to put, stand it up.
And I learned a ton through that experience, but my time at TechPoint , was so much fun for so many reasons.
Casey Harrison: You made a comment when we were prepping for this podcast that you had to learn how to prove yourself before you could start really taking ownership of your career.
Al Carroll: Yeah, I used to get that advice, early on in my career that you had to own your career, you have to own your career, you have to, no one elseis gonna make those decisions for you and to know what you want.
And for me, I think that it was a struggle, because I wanted to be able to say what I wanted before I really proved that I was valuable. And I think that a lot of us kind of hear that advice and put the cart before the horse because if you, One of the biggest pieces of feedback that I've gotten in my career is the need for consistency.
It's like yeah, we've seen you be awesome, but can you do it again? Can you do it consistently? Can you do it , over the course of some time? And I think that when I was able to prove that, the conversation about the things that I wanted to do next were so much easier to have. I'll give you a quick example of my time at TechPoint.
Part of my objective was, as the university relationship manager, was to, increase the amount of, not only the amount of applications that we got, but the amount of schools that we got applications from. In doing so, to also increase the amount of, diverse representation that we had of students that were participating in those programs.
And when you know what your objectives are, which I give internal credit , to TechPoint for, when you know what the objectives are and when you can achieve and exceed those objectives. And when those are the objectives that the company is communicating out to the world, yeah, you get a little bit of picture that, hey, what I'm doing is valuable.
And what I'm doing is unique. And I don't know that it could be replicated by anyone else in the way that I do it. And in that, I think you unlock some conversations. Right? You get a little bit of confidence and, and it's hey, look, I'm getting good at this, but I also want to learn and grow into other environments.
I want to do something else. Right? And I think that those conversations for me in my career were always uncomfortable until I had the results to back it up. Right? To be able to look back and say, hey, I've actually, I've done this, right? I've done a good job of this. As a matter of fact, this is what you talk about in meetings.
So I think that at the very least, we can have a conversation about what my next step is going to be. Again, I'm blessed to have been engaged in that conversation too, but I do think that In order for you to be able to be embraced in that conversation, you got to be able to prove where you're valuable.
And what I was talking to my dad as I was preparing for this conversation today, right? Like no one ever tells you how long you had to pay your dues for, right? They tell you, you got to pay the dues, but it's not usually laid out like, Hey you got to pay them for five years, you got to pay them for three years.
But I feel like once they're paid, at least from my perspective, whatever that environment is, once they're paid, I think that some of the opportunities open up.
Casey Harrison: Well, and I feel also, in doing that, you gain greater perspective that helps inform what you want to do next.
Al Carroll: Oh my gosh, yes. I mean, I think that that's really where it was unlocked for me, is really when I decided what it was that I wanted to do. I think that I got, if you aren't careful, people will see what your skills are and see where your value is and then place you where they need you in order to accomplish their goals. Right?
If you don't understand what it is that you want to accomplish, it's really easy for people to plug you into things that might look nice, but really may not have anything to do with where you're trying to get to. So what I had to do was decide like, Hey, I know I want to be a CEO. I know I want to run my own thing. and really I thought it was going to be my own thing. I really thought that I would get an opportunity, like I thought that I would, if I wanted an opportunity, it was going to be one I had to make, right? Like I was going to have to find the funding to find the resources and go stand up something on my own.
And I'm really committed to trying to go get the skill set that I would need to go do that. Right. And once I made that decision, it was all like, it immediately made the next choices so much clearer of what skills I needed and what I wanted to do.
Casey Harrison: Sure. Well, and today you're president and CEO of IndyHub. Fantastic organization. But for people listening who might not be familiar, introduce us to IndyHub.
Al Carroll: IndyHub, our mission is to grow, engage, and empower a community of 20 and 30 somethings who are connected to Indianapolis and invested in its future. And we do that through delivering experiences that create advocates for Indianapolis.
So when I think about our work, I think about it in a couple of different ways. We are the welcomers. So for people who are new to our community, if you've been here for less than a year, for example, you've transitioned either from out of college or you're coming in here to work at one of our fantastic organizations We'll help deliver an experience for you that makes you feel like home within the first 90 days that you're here, right?
They do have programming that's going on all the time, and we want to help people get connected to this fantastic city. So we are the place for the newcomers, right? If you really just want to plug in, get to know us, , we're a great place to start. And then for the people who have been here for a bit, right?
Like you've been in Indianapolis, you've kind of got your friend group, you're comfortable in your job, but you also think hey, I could do something a little more. We're also a place for folks to get connected for volunteerism. I really feel like volunteerism is the best way to get to know our city.
And I really feel like there's so many opportunities for folks that are trying to develop in their career to advance in their career through volunteerism. Through some of the responsibilities that you get by, plugging in, whether it's being a board member or an individual contributor to an organization like Big Brothers Big Sisters, those things do a lot to help us develop professionally in addition to filling our cups in other ways, right?
So if you were a person that is, that's been in town for a bit and you're looking for ways to plug in, you want to do more, and you want to find something that aligns with not only like your interests. , but also your skill set, we're a great place to go to find , the organizations in town that are looking for young people to get involved in their work.
And then I think finally, if you are a person who has done , both of those things, right, you're plugged in, you're involved, but , you feel like there's something more that you can do as a leader in this community, like you, there are levers that you yourself can pull. And I think that Indianapolis is a place that's special because of that, right?
If you were someone that decides like, Hey, I want to be a decision maker here. I want to be in the room. where these decisions are made, there are people that are here that are listening to you. There are people that are here that want to engage us in that. and I think Indianapolis for, or excuse me, IndyHub , for what we do is if you are that leader that's trying to figure out that next thing or next place where you can plug in, you want to understand better how the city works and where your place is within it.
We also help those folks find those leadership opportunities to grow their own abilities and influence to make sure that okay, if you want, not only are you, are you killing it at work? I also understand how to fix the potholes on my street I understand who is making decisions about who's gonna put up this stoplight or the stop sign in my neighborhood right? There are real people in town that are making all those things happen and in Indianapolis, even though it's the 12th largest city in the country, it's not all that difficult for you to be able to be in those rooms where, you can have an influence , on what's going on here in the city.
Casey Harrison: Well, and so I'll ask you this. I mean, it's clear that IndyHub has a wealth of resources, but what if I'm listening and I'm super invested in life sciences or technology? Does it make sense that I plug into IndyHub if I've got such a specific area of interest?
Al Carroll: Always. . So I think that, again, I really think that from a skills and experience standpoint, Indianapolis is a place where relationships are important. so getting to know people in all sorts of aspects, are critical. But when I think about if you want to plug in from an industry specific standpoint, these people aren't at work all the time, right?
They all have their own individual outstanding interests. And we have a grand pool of people, right? IndyHub, one of the best things about it maybe how it's a little different than some of the CICP organizations and some of the other work that I've done in my career is that it's not industry specific.
We're talking about there's new people in every industry, at least there should be, right? There's people that are leaders in every demographic, again, at least there should be, right? So, we want to be a place for those people to convene. So I think that if you are a person who wants to get to know people who get things done, I think you want to be at IndyHub.
And I think that you might be surprised at some of the work that they do when you get there. But the other thing that I think is important to recognize is that our sponsors, like IndyHub stuff is all free, and we're so gracious to all of our sponsors who help make that happen. But everything that you do at IndyHub is either free or under about 15 to 20 dollars, right?
So it's like just to make sure that it means enough to you to want to actually show up. So there are all sorts of industries that are supporting that. . So I think that, when we are about connecting people to whatever that might be. So if you get involved with IndyHub, I think that in and of itself, we're getting involved with a number of different industries, whether it's from manufacturing , and logistics to life sciences, to technology, right? Like we have sponsors and organizations that are, bought in from all over the place.
Casey Harrison: I feel like this conversation could go on for hours, but unfortunately we are out of time today. So thank you so much for joining us, Al. If you are listening and want to plug into IndyHub, best way to do that?
Al Carroll: Right. So subscribe, to our newsletter, IndyHub dot org, it's right there up the, up at the top. I think that our IndyHub newsletter is one of the best publications that goes out, here. So I'm obviously I'm biased, but like I say, definitely plug into the IndyHub newsletter. Definitely plug into the IndyHub newsletter. and, yeah. Check out our events. The IndyHub volunteer page is one of my most visited pages on our site. Tons of different organizations here in town and really, they truly are organizations that align with whatever those skills and interests might be.
So, come check us out.
Casey Harrison: Thank you so much for joining us today, Al. This has been a wonderful conversation. We're so glad that you were able to join us today to learn about Indiana's advanced industries and how you can start or enhance your career journey. Until next time, we hope that you'll be able to see yourself in the unlimited opportunities right here in Indiana.