Mira Winner's Studio | Welcome Interview with Ting Gootee

Gerry Dick: It's the 24th year for the Mira Awards. It's hard to believe coming up on a quarter of a century. But what does this, in your view, what does this event mean? I mean, it's a big event, it's a fun event, but there's, I think, probably some added meaning to that and impact on the tech community.

Ting Gootee: Thank you for having us here today Gerry, for being our guest, that you guys have been a longtime partner to our Mira Awards. Yeah. Excellent question. Techpoint is all about growing Indiana's digital innovation economy. So we're really thrilled to have this award platform to really celebrate both tech talent and digital innovation, which are economic growth drivers. You think about it really across all the sectors. Yeah. Today's event, we're really diving deep into those categories. And tonight's winners represent companies and organizations that's tackle challenges in talent, innovation, entrepreneurship.

Gerry Dick: As you look at the interest in this event, the entries where they came from, the statewide aspect of it, talk a little bit about that and how much interest there is in, in the Mira Awards.

Ting Gootee: Yeah, I ask some question. We are so thrilled to have record number of entries, and we also were able to expand award categories to 18, reflecting both talent side as well as digital innovation side. And these companies represent big revenue impact on our economy. Mm-Hmm. and including Tactile Engineering... Tactile Engineering, Glassboard and digital innovation corporate partners like Allegion that's in the Mission41K talent category and gener8tor in the entrepreneurial services.

Gerry Dick: To have an event like this where you get people, again, a big crowd, 1200 people, there's a net... There's a celebration aspect, but also a networking aspect. Is that important in building the tech community?

Ting Gootee: Yes, absolutely. That's right, right in line with our three E strategy enhancing talent pipeline... Expanding talent pipeline, enhancing connectivity, and elevating industry, which is this words is really all about tell storytelling, celebrating what we accomplished together.

Gerry Dick: How about any lot of award winners, 18 award winners tonight? Any, any ones you'd like to, you know, mention of noteworthy that are getting awards tonight?

Ting Gootee: Well, they're all big winners. I know you all gonna read their stories and they're very moving stories in very aspect and we'll look forward to hear hearing their stories directly. Yeah.

Gerry Dick: How many again, 24 years for, for the Mira Awards is there, can you give us a kind of a state of the technology sector in Indiana now? How, heading in, we're already in obviously to 2023. What's the state of the technology?

Ting Gootee: So when you think about tech sector, we're now bring together communities that's much bigger than the traditional core sector that you will think about. Right now, the Indiana's tech sectors at GDP impact is roughly around 51 billion. So there's one seventh of Indiana's GDP and we released that very ambitious goal was trying to add nine more billion, get to 60 by 2030.

Gerry Dick: Do you sense there's a, a, a bit of momentum behind the technology sector in the state. When you see developments you know, the talk of the high, the hardtech corridor between downtown Indiana and Purdue and the leap innovation, there are a number of things happening around technology. Do you sense that's creating any momentum?

Ting Gootee: Yeah. Uh there's not only there's momentum, the momentum actually accelerating. Most excitingly, a very other key industry in industries is driving economic growth, productivity growth, transforming business, improving standard living, and impacting lives.