Career Opportunities

It's All Dollars and Sense

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 by Blaine Cooper-Surma

If you've found this blog post, it probably means one of two things - that you're interested in potentially joining the Governor Bob Orr Fellowship and have found yourself wondering how much it pays, or that you've stumbled upon this page because you're looking for a great blog to read. Hopefully I'll be able to satisfy both types of readers today.

The Governor Bob Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship has never had a reputation of attracting students that are driven by financial instant gratification. In fact, the type of student that typically becomes interested in this Indiana Fellowship is one that sees the value in grassroots experience within a small, entrepreneurial company. These students tend to see the value in making a two-year investment that will undoubtedly give them the experiences they need to grow professionally in the years to come after the Fellowship program. There certainly is something to be said about beginning your career at a high-growth start-up. Not only are you forced to learn everything about the operations of a small company, but you're provided with opportunities that many professionals don't get for many years after they've graduated from college. There is no way to put a dollar amount on these valuable opportunities.

Okay, okay - so I still haven't answered your question about how much I make as an Orr Fellow. Well, here I come to take the wind out of your sails... Unfortunately, I'm not going to tell you what that number is today. But here's what I will tell you. As a single adult just out of college, I have enough money to do just about anything I want. I live comfortably, go out and splurge almost every weekend, buy luxuries for myself when I feel the need, and live in a nice house in the heart of Broad Ripple. Honestly, what else could a recent graduate really need?!

In a nutshell, the Orr Fellowship salary is not something that should have anything to do with your decision-making process. The Fellowship program has never tried to coerce its prospects into thinking that they'll be paid more than everyone else because, honestly, that's not the case. What we offer, however, is something much, much more than that. If you care about your career and your professional development, and desire opportunities that will immediately allow you to make enormous impacts on your company/organization, then the Governor Bob Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship might be for you!

Interested in a Career in Business? Then Get to Work!

Friday, February 5, 2010 by Natalie Ciambrone

A struggle for many college undergraduates is deciding between going to work and getting more education after graduation. No matter your personal opinions, this article from CareerRealism.com gives some pretty convincing statistics about why you should invest in your career early – and helped me reaffirm my decision to take the leap and accept my entry level marketing job with WebLink International.

And as though that article wasn’t enough, last night at our Business Leader Meeting, Lorraine Ball of RoundPeg reiterated the point of investing in your career before going to graduate school. The main reason: If you go directly into an MBA program, you have little real-world business experiences from which to draw. Lorraine shared how much more value she got out of graduate school because she worked for a few years between her degrees. Especially in times of 10%+ unemployment rates it’s easy to play it safe, go back to school, and hope things are better when you are ready to enter the workforce; but, as J.D. O’Donnell says in his article, “I wish [students] could talk with all the unemployed MBAs out there right now who are knee-deep in loan debt.”

Joining the Governor Bob Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship is a great way to invest in your career early. The jobs with the Fellowship’s host companies provide Fellows valuable career experience in fast paced jobs – experiences that will allow you to bring more to graduate school discussions and classes (if you decide to go back).

Plus, getting experience in fast growing Indianapolis companies can help make the decision about going back to school easier. Some realize they don’t need an MBA to get where they want to go. Others learn that getting more education is the path they need to take. But no matter what, there is no doubt that during your two years in the Fellowship you will benefit from its unrivaled work experiences and networking opportunities in Indianapolis.

The Orr Fellowship: A Networking Opportunity in Indianapolis

Thursday, February 4, 2010 by Blaine Cooper-Surma

As a young professional in the real world, there are two things that every mentor says will inevitably determine how successful you will be in the long run - "what you know" and "who you know." The Governor Bob Orr Fellowship thrives off of this mentality.

By taking entry-level jobs in entrepreneurial companies, Orr Fellows learn early-on the importance of hard work and quickly come to appreciate grassroots beginnings. Although these recent graduates oftentimes begin their careers doing not-so-glamorous work, one thing that allows them to quickly grow their careers is the exposure they get to some of Indiana's finest business leaders. Orr Fellows, because of the range of responsibilities that they acquire during the beginning of their careers, quickly learn everything there is to know about running small, entrepreneurial companies. This experience speaks to the first aspect that I spoke about - "what you know."

During the first two years of being in the Orr Fellowship, Orr Fellows spend a good of time in environments that force them to become comfortable interacting with a range of business and political leaders throughout Indiana. Because of these experiences, Orr Fellows typically develop meaningful relationships with many of these well-known professionals. Each month, Orr Fellows come together for a Business Leader Meeting where one or two of these leaders speaks to the group about their professional experiences that have helped them to get where they are today. These meetings are discussion-based, meaning that fellows are able to ask questions at any time during the meeting. Orr Fellows enjoy partaking in these events because what's more valuable that receiving advice from those that have succeeded in their profession? Typically, after the speaker is finished, there is plenty of time for networking. For this reason, the Orr Fellowship is the best networking opportunity in Indianapolis.

Today the Orr Fellowship will be meeting with Lorraine Ball, founder of Roundpeg. Roundpeg is a small marketing firm based in Indianapolis, Indiana that helps small business become big businesses with the help of effective marketing. To learn more about Lorraine, check out her website. You can also hear her speak about her passion for local businesses and the impact we make every day with our purchase decisions by clicking here.

It's Hard To Imagine Doing Something You Hate For A Living

Wednesday, January 6, 2010 by Ally Hill

In the past couple months, I've had the chance to take two pretty spectacular vacations. There were two experiences I'm going to share that insanely enough have a lot to do with entrepreneurship opportunities, and they also showed me that there's no way I will end up doing what I hate for a living.

Experience #1: Accidental Tourist
My sister had the pleasure of studying in Florence, Italy for her first semester of her junior year at IU - and I had the pleasure of paying her a visit. My favorite day out of the week was a day we chose to embark on a cooking/wine excursion with a company called Accidental Tourist. Turns out the woman who started the company was the one who took us on the tour. She was so incredibly passionate about what she did it was almost weird (kind of like me and HP printers).

We certainly don't have jobs in Indiana that would come anywhere close to what Accidental Tourist does (mostly because Indiana isn't anything like Italy). Their goal is "to show their beloved Tuscany through the back door, to give you the inside story, to take you inside the beating heart of the private homes of Chianti."

Making pasta and being invited into someone's home gave me an idea of what it would be like to live in Italy. I'm not sure what a similar company in Indianapolis could provide tourists...but my point is that this woman started a company and makes a living based on what she loves doing - drinking wine and cooking. And she made it seem so easy.

Experience #2: Indigo Divers
Over New Years, I went scuba diving in Grand Cayman - and again we ended up with an entrepreneur. This time there were two, Chris and Kate. They started a diving company called Indigo Divers in the Caymans about 5 years ago. Rough life.

Since there are so many diving companies in the Cayman Islands they decided that they:

Didn't want to teach people how to dive
Didn't want to take out more than 6 people at a time

In most cases, diving shops will offer lessons and take out huge boats of people at once, so diving with Indigo was much better than the alternative. Their company is very successful.

My Point: I want to do it too
My two entrepreneurial encounters on vacation made me think about what I love doing. I want to be able to start a company that helps showcase my passions as well as my talents - both Accidental Tourist and Indigo Divers did this. The Orr Fellowship is providing me with the initial experience I need at a small Indiana company. However, I know that my business career in Indianapolis will have to be one that doesn't seem like a career.

So if you happen to come across any entrepreneurial opportunities that have to do with eating and sleeping please let me know...just kidding. But seriously, while you're at it please go to our Tree Luggers website and sign up to recycle that Christmas tree!

Why havent you started a business yet?

Thursday, December 10, 2009 by Trey Buck

I get asked this same question, or some variation of it, a LOT. So many people are interested in the Orr Fellowship and the post-grads' careers that come through the program that this question is almost a staple of any new conversation struck. Similar questions include:

What do you want to do after you finish?
What kind of venture are you interested in? Technology jobs in Indianapolis? Business jobs in Indianapolis?
What's the next step in your entrepreneurial career?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

And the list goes on... and my answer is always the same: I need to wait and see. This sort of answer frustrates most listeners, as it probably should. Even worse, it frustrates me because I WANT to run a high growth start-up, full of all the excitement and wonder these sort of organizations are known for. And Im young. Now is the time to make mistakes, right? Without having to worry about not being able to recover from a bust, with plenty of time to recover my life and my career right?

Yes. But no. A May, 2008 study by the Kauffman Foundation found that twice as many tech saavy entrepreneurs start businesses in their 50's as they do in their 20's, with an average age of start-up founders being 39. Not 20, not 25, not even 30. 39. To me, this says that experience is a great teacher, but more important is the kind of experience; being a former CEO of three failed start-ups at 30 might be great experience to lean on, but it probably isnt as effective as working within and learning how start-ups and small businesses should be run to build successful organizations. There is a proverb that goes something like "yesterday's tracks are tomorrows guides", and this is a perfect example of that; so, the first part of my answer to "why havent you started a business yet?" is: Why make the same mistakes you can learn from watching others?

There is a second part of my answer, that is more complicated but Ill do my best: circumstance. Start-ups, especially technology start-ups, need the right circumstances to survive and grow. The team, the idea, the implementation, the market, everything needs to be well understood and in place before Ill want to touch money. Many a good idea have failed because they were missing a piece of the entrepreneurial puzzle, and all the hard work, long nights, and missed sleep was wasted. The thing is, we usually never hear about these companies, the ones that fail. Thats part of what makes entrepreneurship so attractive: we really only hear about the successes, and so it seems (to the untrainted eye) that starting and owning a business is easy as apple pie.

For me, I will choose my opportunities wisely. And only when I am ready will I become that ever-so-coveted title of "entrepreneur." That could be tomorrow, or it could be never. The numbers (and my own brain) are telling me it will probably be a while. But then again, who knows?

To the Fellowship and Beyond...

Monday, November 23, 2009 by Blaine Cooper-Surma

With Turkey-day quickly approaching and the holiday season nearly upon us, I thought a good focus for this blog would be to discuss what a Fellows' options look like when they've completed their two-year committment of being in the Governor Bob Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship. Ok wait, you're right, holidays and post-Fellowship opportunities have literally nothing to do with one another. Oh well, it's a Monday - give me a break, already!

As I'm sure you can imagine, being in the Orr Fellowship isn't always easy; nor is it glamorous at times. To do well and set yourself up for success you have to spend a lot of time with your nose to the grindstone and your pride in your back pocket. But what happens when you've completed your two years with the Fellowship?

At this point in your career you have an important decision to make. Your first option is to stay on with your current host company. This is probably the most common route that graduating Orr Fellows take, but it is by no means what is expected. Many Fellows decide to go this direction because they've spent the past two years developing a foundation for themselves in their organization. Building relationships and making a name for yourself takes time and a great deal of effort. Also, most of these host companies are fast growing Indianapolis companies. Just by being in the organization for a couple of years, these Fellows have been able to experience accelerated career growth that would most likely not have taken place had they begun their career in a large corporation.

Another option that exists for graduating Orr Fellows is to change companies. Some Fellows decide to move on to completely separate companies, while others stay within the Fellowship family and join a different host company. The Orr Fellowship has a reputation of providing some of the best networking opportunities in Indianapolis, so it's not surprising that connections are made between Fellows and host company executives that result in a career opportunity.

A third option that many Orr Fellows over the years have pursued is graduate school. Typically, Orr Fellows go to either law school or business school, but there have been many others that have gone on to receive a range of different graduate degrees. This path has become more and more common among Fellows as they're often considered to be life-long learners. They appreciate learning new things and are curious about what they lack knowledge in.

The last option for graduating Orr Fellows is to pursue personal business ventures. There have been several Fellows that have built entrepreneurial companies in Indianapolis on their own, while several others have teamed-up with their fellow Orr Fellows to create high growth start-ups together.

Although these several options are available for Orr Fellows after they complete their two-year stint with the Governor Bob Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship, one thing that all Fellows involuntarily do is join the list of successful Orr Fellow alumni that came before them. Many stay active in Fellowship events/activities, but this is something that we're working to improve upon. It is important to keep the Orr Fellowship as tight as possible and the alumni network as strong as ever. It certainly is a blessing to have so many young, successful business leaders in our network that are more than happy to help out if you just reach out to them.

This is just another reason why the Orr Fellowship is one of the best places to work in Indiana!

Creating a Shared Experience

Monday, November 23, 2009 by Nate Bullock

This American Life is a radio program out of WBEZ in Chicago that attempts to display what it is like to live an ‘American life’, complete with its dullness as well as its luster. Reporting is not done in the way we see on television or hear on more traditional radio. Rather, the producers attempt to place us into the culture of the topic area; the sounds bites are not ‘bites’ at all. They are actual, full, complete stories that connect the listener to a new set of experiences. This American Life attempts to make the events that mold our being (whatever that means), which makes understanding the experience more transparent. The radio program, at it's core, is about manufacturing an experience.

For example, attempting to paint the picture of Rome to my friends and family when I returned from a tour of Europe was excruciating. My pictures of Trevi’s Fountain did not nearly do it justice. My explanations of the white cliffs of Dover were juvenile. The only way in which my friends could understand the awesomeness of my trip would have been for them to experience it for themselves. In the absence of a shared “experience,” the narrative loses a little bit of sincerity.

The Orr Fellowship strives to create entrepreneurship careers that do more than simply provide post-graduate networking, entre-level jobs in startups, and an Indianapolis job opportunity; The Orr Fellowship strives to create a shared experience among Orr Fellows. Distinguished post-grad jobs are often about putting in time quietly on the sidelines while you wait your turn to play in the game.

This business fellowship is different. Jumping into fast growing Indianapolis companies is not something that most entry-level jobs in Indiana afford a fresh graduate. But entreprenurial companies need driven graduates to help contribute immediately. These companies look to Orr Fellows to help fulfill that need, providing a shared entreprenurial experience in the process.

Click here to find out how you can be included in this experience!

Who is the Orr Fellowship For?

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 by Bryan Povlinski

As we near Finalist Day when the class of 2010 Orr Fellows will make their decisions on whether to accept an offer to join the Fellowship, I think it's worth looking at who the Orr Fellowship is for. Working with high growth start-ups takes a certain kind of person, and it's certainly not for everyone. Here are a few characteristics that you might want to keep in mind.

The Orr Fellowship might be a good fit if you…

- Are graduating from an Indiana college or you’re originally from Indiana, and you have a strong GPA (preferably 3.5 and above)

- Enjoy working with smaller companies where everything is usually fast paced and everyone has to be willing to help out on various projects and different functional areas like marketing, finance, etc.

- Are someone that is eager to take initiative and make things happen rather than waiting to be told what job you need to do everyday

- Are interested in working in a variety of different roles. Many Orr Fellows rotate through different departments or work for a company that’s small enough to require every employee to be multi-dimensional.

- Would like to have a network of like-minded peers that you can work on potential business ideas with and get together socially

- Want to work for a fast growing Indianapolis company, and have the ability to get to know executives from other high growth start-ups

- Want to define your own career path by taking on big responsibilities in a small company rather than being a number in an entry level program at a large corporation

The Orr Fellowship might NOT be the right program if you…

- Are hoping to travel and have opportunities to work abroad right away. Although many Orr Fellows will have the opportunity to take smaller trips through the course of their job, the program is not designed to be travel intensive

- Need a boss to tell you exactly what to do every day. The most successful Orr Fellows are the ones who take initiative and execute beyond what they’re expected to do

- Expect to be in charge of the most important projects from Day 1. As an Orr Fellow you will likely have some less than glamorous projects at some point. However, they’re only opportunities to over deliver and build your reputation so that you can lead major projects in the future

- Base your job search on finding the highest possible starting salary. If you make it through the Orr Fellowship recruiting process you can find a better paying entry level job in Indiana or elsewhere. The Orr Fellowship is not for people who are looking for the money now, but for students that are more interested in learning, establishing a network, and getting a great experience so they can advance their careers more quickly in the long term.

This is not a comprehensive list of characteristics that define the Orr Fellowship. Hopefully it does give you at least a slightly better idea about whether or not the program is right for you. Among business jobs in Indianapolis, the Orr Fellowship may be one of the best opportunities for college graduates.

Learning Lessons

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 by Katie Veatch

You may ask – what am I learning? Well, I’ve been learning a lot of new things, but most recently, that you can’t trust a Wabash boy!! Yes, Blaine stole my picture to use in his blog. So, in response, here is another picture. Notice how Blaine isn’t fighting back in this one.

Something else I learned over the last week is to not take the people in your life for granted. I met some amazing people at DePauw, and over my four years there, they became like family. It is easy to think that those people will always be around, and then after graduation everyone splits off in different directions. Being back together with everyone at the Monon Bell game really made us all appreciate the time we have together. That weekend was one of the best experiences I’ve had.

The transition from the college “bubble” to working in your first full time job in the “real world” can be tough, and now I’m realizing how important the Governor Bob Orr Fellowship has been in that process. At the Orr Fellowship Reception on the Circle last week, I was asked several times what my favorite part of the Fellowship is. My answer is simple: the people. Being a part of the Fellowship opened up more connections than I ever thought possible. It helps ease that difficult transition by surrounding you with friendship, guidance, and unique opportunities. The current Fellows have already become a social network and support system. We are all working in high-growth Indianapolis companies and can share our experiences and learn from each other. The alumni offer their experience and advice. The executives and directors are accessible and volunteer their time and energy to contribute to our personal and professional development. When I joined the Orr Fellowship, I was welcomed with open arms into this fantastic new group of people.

All of the candidates I met last week at the Reception on the Circle were incredibly intelligent and motivated individuals, and it was great to have a chance to get to know them. I’m looking forward to see who moves on to Finalist Day. And I can’t wait to meet my new group of friends… I mean the new class of Fellows.

So despite the fact that we’ve been trained to be enemies during our college careers and we might not like to admit it, Blaine, Ty, Natalie and I are all actually friends. Maybe sometime I’ll put up a picture where we are all being cordial. If only we can get Blaine to agree to take one…

Orr Fellowship Recruiting Secrets Unveiled

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 by Blaine Cooper-Surma

So you've heard about the Governor Bob Orr Indiana Entrepreneurial Fellowship, but one thought that may have crossed your mind is, "how do I get noticed by the Orr Fellowship, and what types of attributes/experiences are they looking for in their candidates?" For the next couple of minutes I'm going to share with you some of our recruiting secrets that will undoubtedly make you a more attractive candidate for this prestigious Fellowship opportunity in Indianapolis.

First and foremost, we firmly believe that the most valuable experience that one can attain while in college is leadership experience. Now that I've said this, let's take a minute to try and better understand what I'm talking about. When we're going through Orr Fellow candidate applications, having a candidate that was a "member" of twelve different clubs on campus in no way compares to a candidate that was president of two or three reputable clubs on their campus. To take this one step further, having a title means nothing if you didn't have any notable achievements while holding that particular position. We want to see that you were elected by your peers for a leadership position, but it is much more important that you made a positive impact to your organization during your tenure as officer. Leadership experience can be gained in many different ways, so there's no excuse for a lack of leadership on your resume.

The next piece of information from your resume that we find extremely important is your GPA. This may come as no surprise, but the easiest way to demonstrate your intelligence is by getting good grades. Being that you're looking for Indiana jobs out of college, much like thousands of other students in their senior year of studies, this is one of the only standardized means of measurement that we can use to juxtapose you with the rest of the candidate base. So what if your GPA isn't as good as you'd like it to be? If this is the case for you, it in no way means that your chances of getting into the Orr Fellowship are gone. What you do have to figure out at this point, however, is how you're able to justify your lower GPA, in addition to being able to describe what qualities/experiences you have that make you a perfect fit for this distinguished entrepreneurial fellowship.

Another attribute that we look for in our candidates is their ability to demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit in their lives. One of the inherent qualities that all Orr Fellowship host companies possess is a strong sense of entrepreneurship. In fact, it is critical that our Fellows hold that same entrepreneurial attitude so that they can seamlessly integrate themselves into these high-growth Indianapolis companies. As history has shown, joining the Fellowship often leads to entrepreurial opportunities after the two-year committment of being in the Orr Fellowship has been completed. Since this is the case, candidates that demonstrate this entrepreneurial attitude in their own lives prior to joining the Orr Fellowship typically find themselves fitting in well within the Fellowship and their respective host companies.

So what are the most important attributes/experiences that the Orr Fellowship looks for when evaluating their candidates each and every year? We are looking for hard-workers, well-rounded students (being a college athlete is a nice bonus), and intelligent people. More specifically, though, we are seeking people that have great life stories and are passionate about our organization. We truly believe that what you've done in your life defines who you are today. In addition, being passionate about the Fellowship and what it stands for is something that is necessary for all Orr Fellows - choosing to join the Orr Fellowship is making an investment in the future of your career, and it takes a certain kind of person to be willing to take the "leap of faith" and join the Orr Fellowship.

Now that you know what kind of people the Orr Fellowship is looking for, do you think you have what it takes? Do you fit any or all of these criterion? If so, and you're looking to secure one of the most distinguished post-grad jobs in Indianapolis in 2011, apply today on the Governor Bob Orr Indiana Entrepreneurial Fellowship Homepage.

A Day in the Life of an Orr Fellow

Thursday, November 12, 2009 by Blaine Cooper-Surma

One of the questions that I commonly receive from Orr Fellowship candidates is, "What types of things do you do at work?" For most Orr Fellows this is a straight-forward question, but for me, the answer is a bit more long-winded.

When I accepted my offer with the Orr Fellowship, I also accepted an offer with ExactTarget. ExactTarget has participated as an Orr Fellowship host company for many years now. It differs from the rest, though, in that it offers a particular program for recent college graduates - the Catapult Rotational Program. The Catapult Program is designed to provide college graduates the opportunity to rotate through three departments within ExactTarget. It allows you to develop your professional skill-set while obtaining cross-functional experiences. Upon completion of the three two-month rotations, "Catapulters" are placed in a permanent position that allows them to deeply impact the success of both their department and ExactTarget as a whole.

Now, back to the question that I was previously talking about. When answering the posed question about my typical day at work, I generally describe my current and past rotations. My first rotation at ExactTarget was in the Human Resources department. I then transitioned to Customer Relationship Management. My third, and current rotation, is in Sales Operations. So what types of things am I doing during my time at the office? I'm currently preparing to lead a portion of our Sales Training On-boarding class that is now taking place. When a salesperson joins the team at ExactTarget, they go through a rigorous, two-week long training course. Within the first two days in my current rotation, my manager asked me to learn everything I possibly could about our Salesforce Integration application through AppExchange, while creating the presentaton from scratch, in order to set myself up to teach the group of new hires. Needless to say, I feel ready to go for next Tuesday's class!

After I've shared my experiences with these college seniors, I like to turn the focus on them. I ask them if there are other career opportunities that they're pursuing that allow them to join a company and immediately be able to make an impact within the organization. The answer is almost always a resounding "no."

So why do Orr Fellows get the leg-up when it comes to career-growth opportunities? From talking to several different employers and upper-level management, the overall consensus is that the Orr Fellowship has a reputation of supplying high-growth Indianapolis companies with talented, hardworking employees. I consistently hear these business leaders talk about how comfortable they feel putting these Fellows in a sink-or-swim environment because they always know that these young professionals will find a way to come out on top.

So when considering your first full-time job out of college, think about what I've said. If you're looking to grow professionally while making a positive impact in your organization, the Governor Bob Orr Indiana Entrepreneurial Fellowship might be for you!

My Path to the Orr Fellowship

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 by Blaine Cooper-Surma

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, and Christmas around the block, it's difficult to believe that I've been working in the real world for just over four months now. I can remember like it was yesterday what it was like to look for a job while still in college. I remember how confused I was as an Economics major who knew I wanted to be in business someday, but you and I both know how vague of a career path business really is. So what did I look for and how did I get to be where I am today?

Luckily for me, as a senior in college I knew that the economy was beginning to look grim and that the market was probably going to get rough. To prepare myself for the tough situation, I did my due-diligence and began looking for a quality job opportunity to kick off my new career. I realized that I lacked specific skills that most large companies would be looking for, and also that I would be looking for an entry level job just like the rest of my graduating class. However, I knew that I wanted to live and work in Indianapolis as it has emerged a growing hub for small, technology start-ups. One of my other interests throughout college was entrepreneurship, so I then began looking for entrepreneurial fellowships in the Indianapolis area. What I soon stumbled upon was the Governor Bob Orr Indiana Entrepreneurial Fellowship. To learn more about this graduate fellowship, I connected with current Orr fellows to learn more about what the program has to offer.

So why did I choose to pursue the Orr Fellowship? There were several reasons, but here are a few:

the presence of a network of young professionals like myself to share ideas, concerns, successes, etc.
the pipeline of Indiana business leaders that fellows are given the opportunity to interact and build relationships with
the position and ability to join a small, start-up company and, through hard work, be able to make an impact within the organization
knowing that I'm making a good investment in my career by being in an environment that forces me to learn as much as possible about running a small business

So has my first few months in the working world provided me with the opportunities and experiences that were promised to me by the Orr Fellowship? The answer to this question is a confident "YES!"