Indianapolis, IN: Home of the Driven
The Indy 500 epitomizes relentless pursuit. From the drivers behind the wheel to the pit crews and the broader teams, everyone involved in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing must remain driven to achieve, to push limits, to win.
But this driven spirit doesn’t stop at the gates of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It extends across the metro area and manifests itself in residents who are ready to seize career opportunities, according to Joe Pellman, the Indy Chamber’s executive director of regional image marketing.
“This is a place where you can take an idea and make it great, with a support network to help you make that happen,” Pellman says. “This inner drive among our residents creates an atmosphere that benefits everyone.”
Opportunities abound across multiple sectors in Indianapolis, with a growing market share going to innovators. The stories of some notable Indy residents show how even if you’re new to the area, driven individuals can succeed.
Accelerating Growth in Key Industries
Several industries provide foundational support to the city’s economy. In life sciences, for example, pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and health care company Roche have long been global players. Meanwhile, numerous medtech startups specializing in radiopharmacology and other areas have chosen Indy as their home base.
The city remains a leader in logistics, with the second-largest FedEx hub. In addition to massive distribution centers for Walmart, Amazon and Target, the metro is home to numerous equipment manufacturers serving that market.
“You don’t get the nickname ‘Crossroads of America’ by accident. We can ship things just about anywhere very quickly, and that’s a big selling point for many industries, like radiopharmacology,” Pellman says. “Because we’re centrally located and have such a diverse population, Indy provides an ideal location to bring an idea to market, so you can test it, scale it and ship it to the world.”
Using tools from the many software as a service (SaaS) companies in Indy, you can hopefully market your ideas to a larger audience. Headquartered in Salesforce Tower right off Monument Circle, Salesforce Marketing Cloud is the most recognizable player, but it’s not the only marketing tech company in the city.
As these platforms continue to grow in Indianapolis, so does the local creative economy. More marketing agencies, PR firms, freelance copywriters, designers and social media gurus have flocked to Indy for the opportunity to make their mark. That’s translated into a more vibrant arts scene, as well.
“There’s only one or two degrees of separation from whatever opportunity you’re looking for here,” Pellman says. “Everyone is willing to sit down for coffee, even if it’s the head of the organization you’re trying to connect with. I think that gives us a competitive advantage.”
Showcasing Indy’s Driven
So who are some standout Hoosiers who’ve made Indianapolis their home? Pellman points to three who provide perfect examples of Indy being the home of the driven.
First is Tamika Catchings, an all-time WNBA great. After growing up with speech, hearing and vision challenges, she rose to become an Olympic medalist and Hall of Fame inductee. Catchings spent her lauded professional basketball career from 2001-2016 with the Indiana Fever. She then played an important role as vice president of basketball operations and general manager of the Fever.
Catchings launched the Catch the Stars Foundation, a nonprofit focused on youth literacy, fitness and mentorship, in 2004. In 2017, she purchased Tea’s Me Cafe and expanded it to three Indianapolis-area stores to provide loose leaf teas and community-focused programming.
“When you think about pursuing your dreams, it’s all about having a goal and working hard to achieve it,” says Catchings, speaking with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana. “…You have to put the work in, and you have to go at it with a passion and a determination that you won’t fail …”
Next, Maurice Broaddus is a middle school teacher, librarian, resident Afrofuturist at the Kheprw Institute and well-known science fiction author. Born in London, Broaddus grew up in the Hoosier state and studied biology at Purdue University. He worked for two decades as an environmental toxicologist before his drive steered him in a different direction.
Broaddus has published numerous short stories and books, including “The Knights of Breton Court,” “Pimp My Airship,” and several middle-grade detective novels. Most recently, Marvel Comics hired him to write “Black Panther: T’Challa Declassified” – a standalone story that takes place in Wakanda, the high-tech African kingdom depicted in the movie franchise.
“There’s a cultural wellspring that Wakanda and Black Panther taps into this idea of Afrofuturism; this whole idea [of] Black people creating the future that we want to see and we want to be a part of,” Broaddus told the Indianapolis Star. “I’m a kid who grew up reading comic books; so the fact I get to write any superhero, much less my favorite superhero, that’s a dream come true.”
Finally, there’s John Green, who is a New York Times bestselling author. Green is relentless in his pursuit of storytelling. His works include “Looking for Alaska,” “The Fault in Our Stars,” and “Turtles All the Way Down,” as well as an essay collection, “The Anthropocene Reviewed.” He hosts a vlog series that celebrates nerd culture with his brother, Hank.
Green grew up in Orlando and lived in New York City before moving to Indianapolis in 2007. When returning their U-Haul after a stressful move, Green and his wife, Sarah, asked an employee what he thought about life in Indy. The response, detailed in “The Anthropocene Reviewed,” was a less-than-enthusiastic “Well, you gotta live somewhere.”
But as the Greens settled in, made friends, and discovered all the community had to offer, the writer’s perspective changed. And he became driven to not just tell moving stories, but to show Indy and what he loves about it in the stories. “… I think what people like about those books is Indianapolis,” he says in the same essay, echoing a quote from the novelist Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
The list of people goes on, but it’s important to note why Indianapolis is the “home of the driven.”
“It’s because we have the social and professional infrastructure that allows for that passion to thrive,” Pellman says. “The success story looks so unique for everybody, but that’s also what makes this driven mindset so universal.”
This article was sponsored by Life in Indy.
