Well hello there. From the looks of our situation, it appears that you've stumbled upon my brand new blog. To introduce myself, my name is Blaine Cooper-Surma and I'm an Orr Fellow. The thought that has probably jumped into your head at this point is, "What in the world is an Orr Fellow?" Well, I'm a recent college graduate who just happens to have had the opportunity to join an Indianapolis-based fellowship known as the Governor Bob Orr Indiana Entrepreneurial Fellowship. Why does this make me special? My answer, I have been provided the resources to network with some of the most successful, young professionals of my age, meet and build relationships with many of the most influential business leaders of Indiana, and experience accelerated career growth from within a small, entrepreneurial, Indianapolis-based, start-up tech company.
As an Orr Fellow, I've been fortunate enough to be able to join ExactTarget. ExactTarget is a leading provider of on-demand email marketing software solutions. The company’s suite of on-demand one-to-one marketing applications enable clients to send business-critical and event triggered communications to increase sales, optimize marketing investments, and strengthen customer relationships.
On a more personal level, I'm originally from Free Soil, Michigan. I was able to find Indiana with the help of Wabash College, my alma mater. In college I swam on the varsity swim team, joined a fraternity, and got involved with as many clubs and organizations as possible. My interests are sports, running, hiking, camping, and fishing. Overall, I love the outdoors and look forward to having the opportunity to travel in the near future.
This blog serves to allow readers, like you, to have the opportunity to gain an inside look at what it's really like to be an Orr Fellow. Although I may not be the most typical fellow, as none of us are truly normal individuals (normal is boring though, right?), I like to think that I do have some insight to share with you. Either way, I hope you enjoy this blog and frequent it to see what I've been up to.
Cheers!
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.
If you've had a chance to keep up with the news, one of the recent headlines is Pepsi's decision to strategically re-focus its advertising dollars that have typically been budgeted for the NFL Super Bowl. Like Budweiser, Coca Cola, and GoDaddy.com, Pepsi has been known to spend millions of dollars in advertisements during this spectacle that reaches millions of viewers every single year. So where will these dollars be spent this year? As you might have guessed, this year Pepsi is going with Social Media!According to the Wall Street Journal, Pepsi plans to focus its advertising strategy on a "marketing platform" rather than blitzing viewers with commercials during this single event. So, by using social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to reach consumers, Pepsi will be tapping into a virtual world of endless advertising possibilities. On Facebook, for example, Pepsi can issue invitations to its followers to participate in a poll. When someone votes, a message will get posted on their personal Facebook page that says they participated in the poll. This my friends, is what we are referring to when we talk about viral advertising.
According to one report, Facebook is a virtual treasure trove for advertisers wishing to target 18 to 49-year olds. Twitter's numbers are a little lower, but impressive, nonetheless. Social Media Today, however, noted that 19 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 have used Twitter or something like it, 20 percent between ages 25 and 34, and 10 percent between ages 35 and 44. These numbers are the reason that Pepsi has reconsidered their advertising strategy.
So how does this relate to the Bob Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship? Well, it just so happens that the majority of our host companies in this entrepreneurial fellowship are start-up technology companies. Thus, Orr Fellows are taking entry level technology jobs in some of the fastest growing Indianapolis companies. So what types of things are some of these host companies doing in the social media world? Well, a 2010 host company, Formspring, has recently reached new heights with their social media application called Formspring.me. This application is a free, simple service that allows you to create anonymous question boxes for all of your social networks.
Pepsi's migration away from televised Super Bowl ads is a trend we can expect other big companies to follow. There is far more bang for the buck in advertising online rather than producing and paying for 30 seconds of airtime during one of the most expensive televised events of the year.For those that don't know much about the Governor Bob Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship, it is an Indiana-based non-profit organization that provides jobs for recent graduates in fast growing Indianapolis companies. Whether you're looking to start a marketing career, an entrepreneurship career, or maybe just a career in business, this is one unique fellowship program like no other.
It's that time of year again; the Holiday Season has passed and in a short amount of time you'll find yourself taking down those holiday decorations that probably cover your entire house. After you've mustered up enough motivation to finally begin this lengthy process, the last struggle is always the disposal of the family Christmas tree. However, that's not going to be the case for you this year - the Orr Fellows are here to help!
As a non-profit organization, the Governor Bob Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship places a strong emphasis on community outreach, civic responsibility, and self-sustainability. As such, one of our annual fundraisers is called "Tree Luggers" in which we travel around the Indianapolis community collecting and disposing of Christmas trees while collecting donations. But how does this fundraiser actually benefit the community? Well, first, we are providing a service that for many people is extremely helpful. More importantly, though, we offer an incentive to local churches and other non-profit entities that promote our fundraiser to their members. For all money that is donated to the Governor Bob Orr Fellowship during Tree Luggers, half of the proceeds are given to the specific non-profit that created the referral. In this way, we are able to assist Indianapolis-based non-profits in funding their efforts.
One of the most important values that the Indiana-based Orr Fellowship promotes is entrepreneurship. Tree Luggers is a great example of entrepreneurship in action as the Orr Fellows carefully organize, plan, and execute the fundraiser from start to finish. So what goes into Tree Luggers to ensure its success year in and year out? Many of the Orr Fellows are "luggers," or those that travel to homes, collect the trees, and then later dispose of the holiday conifers. Several others use their marketing expertise to help spread the word through social media like Twitter and Facebook, strategically placed fliers in the Indianapolis community, and specified email lists owned by several Orr Fellowship host companies. We also have fellows that help create partnerships with churches and other non-profit organizations. Lastly, a couple of fellows take on a financial role so that all donations and referrals are carefully recorded. To participate in this fundraiser, and save yourself a great deal of time and effort, please sign-up here. Remaining pick-up dates are:
Saturday, January 16th
Saturday, January 23rd
For those that don't know much about the Governor Bob Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship, it is an Indiana-based non-profit organization that provides jobs for recent graduates in fast growing Indianapolis companies. Whether you're looking to start a marketing career, an entrepreneurship career, or maybe just a career in business, this is one unique fellowship program like no other.
We've all talked about our host companies and what makes ours better than the rest, but how are these companies chosen, and why would someone want to work for an entrepreneurial company in Indianapolis? In order to shed some light on the Orr Fellowship host companies, I have given the information in a question/answer format.
Q: What is a host company's role in the Orr Fellowship?
A: Orr Fellowship host companies have the responsibility of providing their Fellow(s) with a unique experience that cannot be found anywhere else. We want these companies to give their Fellows important projects that help them learn and grow as a working professional. In addition, we require these companies to provide their Fellows with ample exposure to executive-level management so that they can become more comfortable in that type of an environment (this is exactly what we're talking about when we say that the Orr Fellowship is one of the best networking opportunities in Indianapolis).
Q: How are host companies selected to be involved in the Orr Fellowship?
A: Although this process may seem unscientific at times, that's probably because it is. However, host companies are invited to join the Orr Fellowship if they've successfully demonstrated their ability to move at a fast rate of growth, created an environment that is conducive for great learning experiences, and have emerged with a product/service that has the ability to thrive in a changing society for years to come. Overall, we seek out companies that we're confident will provide our Fellows with a wonderful two years of experiences coupled with strong promise of job security with that particular company.
Q: How long are host companies allowed to be involved in the Orr Fellowship?
A: There really isn't a straight-forward answer to this question. There have been companies like ExactTarget and Angie's List that have been a part of the Fellowship essentially since the beginning. However, some companies participate for a year or two while others take Orr Fellows for four, five, and even six years. We typically allow host companies to be in the Orr Fellowship until they've grown out of the stage of being a small, entrepreneurial start-up or until they've shown that they no longer are a suitable company for an Orr Fellow to work in.
This year the Governor Bob Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship has agreed to allow twenty host companies to participate in our program. Over the years we've made a conscious effort to grow the organization - and this year we've finally made the decision to double the size of next year's class. So why have we decided to take so many more Fellows? With an increase in name recognition in Indiana, and the development of a strong reputation among business leaders, we've experienced a tremendous growth in the amount of applications that we've received. It's because of this recognition that the Orr Fellowship has proven itself to be one of the best places to work in Indiana. With that, I want to go ahead and congratulate those candidates that have moved on to the final round of recruitment. You've managed to set yourselves apart from the rest of the competition and have proven yourselves over and over again. Good luck to you all on Friday and I look forward to meeting the Orr Fellowship Class of 2010!
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!
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.
While many of you out there are suffering from a case of the Mondays, I, on the other hand, am coming off a weekend buzz that will surely last me for the rest of the year. What happened that was so great, you ask? Well, on Saturday the Little Giants of Wabash College defeated, smashed, and slaughtered (I think you get the idea) the little Tigers of DePauw University in the annual Monon Bell football game. The prize - the infamous Monon Bell that has been passed from victor to victor for the past 116 years.
As Natalie Ciambrone, a fellow Fellow of mine, so eloquently noted in her post regarding the Monon Bell game last week, this unique tradition does bring people together from both sides of the rivalry. In fact, many of the Orr Fellows were able to meet up this year for some friendly trash-talking before the game. You can see what went down from the picture below (that's Katie Veatch and myself, in case you were wondering). With both schools well-represented in the Orr Fellowship, this little rivalry will certainly remain a topic of conversation for many years to come.
Ok, ok, so it's about that time in the post that I have to say something enlightening and at least half-related to the Orr Fellowship. Well, here's my valiant attempt at doing so. Historically, many Wabash College and DePauw University students have been successful in securing their place in the Orr Fellowship. But how are these liberal arts students even remotely prepared to take jobs in these fast growing Indianapolis companies that inherently require experienced employees with a great deal of business-related knowledge? The answer is simple, really. These two universities do a tremendous job at teaching their students how to think and learn effectively. In a sense, working in a start-up company is extremely similar to getting a liberal arts education. While at Wabash, I remember taking classes in Theater, Art, Music, Economics, Math, English, and Religion (just to name a few). In a way, it was extremely difficult to develop a way of thinking that was sharpened to be single-discipline minded. It is this flexibilty and broad way of thinking that permeates within a entrepreneurial business which often requires its employees to wear many different hats while performing day-to-day operations.
So why do I think that liberal arts students make great Orr Fellows? They make great fellows because of their ability to think critically while still keeping all interests of the business in mind. This, I propose, is an invaluable skill that every business, whether small or large, needs to look for when it comes to hiring. So, no matter what your background is in school, or what discipline you ended up studying, just remember - the Orr Fellowship is looking for students that can fill a variety of roles within a company, while working hard and learning to thrive, no matter what they end up doing.
On a lighter note - ding, dong, ding, dong, ding, dong...
Sorry Dannies, that's the Monon Bell that will be ringing in Crawfordsville for at least the next 363 days... Better luck next year!
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.
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!
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
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