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From a Strip Mall to a $2.5 Billion Sale | Scott Dorsey, ExactTarget
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 Get IN. is brought to you by our friends at Sweetwater. Whether you are looking to start a podcast or level up your current show you need to hit them up.
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