Morales Group launched in 2003 with a focus on placing Hispanic workers into jobs, but the company has grown and expanded—both in geography and in the people it serves. Today, about half of the people Morales Group places are migrants, immigrants or refugees. In fact, 37 countries are represented by Morales Group’s internal employees and the associates the company has placed. That means the $100 million firm spends more money upfront to solve language barriers and provide training. But Seth Morales—the company's president and the son of the founder—says that investment pays off later for the workers, Morales Group and the manufacturers, distributors and other companies that are its clients. Morales talks to podcast host Mason King about the company's culture and mission, the challenges and opportunities presented by the tight labor market, and how his standout college football career at Purdue University impacted his career. To read more about Morales Group, check out this story by IBJ's Sorell Grow.  IBJ photo/Eric Learned This episode of the IBJ Podcast is sponsored by Krieg DeVault.    

Should you avoid red meat? No. Will gum last in your stomach seven years? No way. Should you strive for 10,000 steps a day? Not unless you just want to. So says Dr. Aaron Carroll, a pediatrician and researcher at the Indiana University School of Medicine who sees it as his life’s calling to debunk what he considers health myths and weak medical research. He writes books and a column for The New York Times, hosts "Healthcare Triage" on YouTube and tweets at @aaronecarroll, all with the goal of educating the public about health issues.  Dr. Carroll answers questions from podcast host Mason King about probiotics, sodium, sunscreen, marijuana and more, and he explains why we all—doctors included—misinterpret health care research. To learn more about Dr. Carroll, read IBJ reporter John Russell's profile at IBJ.com. IBJ photo by Daniel Axler This episode of the IBJ Podcast is sponsored by Krieg DeVault.    

Two-and-a-half years after selling his namesake restaurant chain Scotty's, entrepreneur Scott Wise is launching another eatery. Roots Burger Bar will be located in the same Muncie location as his original restaurant but will have a more casual feel and tighter menu. Wise tells IBJ Podcast host Mason King that he's both emotional and excited about the new start, which he says has been like hitting control-alt-delete on his career. But it hasn't been an easy path. Wise explains why he believed selling Scotty's was a good move, why he planned to stay with the company that bought it for five years and what happened to make him leave so quickly. He also talks about the impact his parents and a near-death experience had on his life. Scotty’s Holdings LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December and has closed several restaurants, did not return a request for comment about Wise's comments in the podcast.  IBJ reporter Susan Orr has more about Wise's new Roots restaurant.  This edition of the IBJ Podcast is sponsored by the Office of Minority and Women Business Development.    

One of the hottest trends in employee retention and recruitment isn't ping pong table and kegs of beer in the break room; it's giving workers paid time so they can volunteer their time with local charities. Josh Driver, founder of Selfless.ly, which sells cloud-based software for managing corporate social responsibility programs, says volunteer PTO is an increasingly important part of benefits packages. In fact, nearly one quarter of companies now pay employees to spend their time and energy with a not-for-profit. Host Mason King talks with Driver about why workers—especially millennials—are so interested in volunteer PTO and why it's good for companies, too. Plus, he offers tips for setting up a volunteer PTO program and says no company is too small to do it. You can learn more about corporate volunteerism in IBJ's latest Impact Indiana section. The photo for this week's podcast is courtesy of Pepper Construction. This edition of the IBJ Podcast is sponsored by the Office of Minority and Women Business Development.    

The Indianapolis Public Library system is in a growth tear—in terms of both its buildings and its programming. Three library branches have recently opened or are under construction and three more are in various planning stages. That's in addition to five branches that have or will soon undergo significant renovations. Host Mason King talks with the library system's CEO, Jackie Nytes, about the construction binge and how it will actually help the library better balance its budget. And Nytes also describes the how the new buildings and renovations better support the needs of neighborhoods and the people who live there. The books are still there of course. But Indy libraries are about much more: Think job training, video streaming, live animals and a seed library. King and Nytes get into all the details in this week's episode. If you need even more, check out IBJ reporter Hayleigh Colombo's story about the library changes.      

Science fiction has made many of us cautious about artificial intelligence and what it could mean for our future. But AI is already in use in many industries and could soon be prominent in most. That's why IBJ has made AI the focus of its 2019 Innovation Issue, an annual exploration of disrupters across the business world. In this week's podcast, IBJ Managing Editor Lesley Weidenbener and technology reporter Anthony Schoettle discuss what they learned while researching artificial intelligence, how it could change industries such as transportation and health care and why the technology raises so many ethical questions. The podcast also explores other stories in the issue—which cover Indiana's role in developing hypersonic weapons, what entrepreneurs learn from failure and how The Heritage Group has developed a culture of innovation by focusing on people. Plus, Weidenbener explains why IBJ publishes an Innovation Issue at all. Check out the full issue at www.IBJ.com/innovation-2019. Music in this episode—"Also Sprach Zarathustra," composed by Richard Strauss—is from Kevin MacLeod and licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. A different version of the song was the theme of AI-inspired film "2001: A Space Odyssey."    

IBJ personal finance columnist Peter Dunn talks with podcast host Mason King about three key components of paying for college: saving in advance, paying some expenses in the moment and preparing your kids to make good choices. All three take planning, Dunn says. And that last one takes some tough and ongoing conversations about choosing an affordable college, the amount you'll be contributing as parents and making good decisions about debt. But his most important piece of advice for parents? Prioritize saving for retirement over saving for your kids' college costs—no matter what your heart is telling you. Read more from Pete the Planner at IBJ.com.

Bloomington's Oliver Winery started as a hobby but has grown into the 44th largest winery in the country. And it's done it by playing into an unexpected niche—sweet wines. That's not all Oliver makes, of course. It offers a full range of traditional dry and semi-dry red and white wines as well as specialty products from its Creekbend Collection, which is made from grapes grown at Oliver's vineyard in Ellettsville.  The winery expects to produce more than 450,000 cases (1.1 million gallons of wine) this year and expects to ship as many as 1 million cases in five years. This summer, it will put the finishing touches on an $8 million, 28,000-square-foot building that will help make room for that expansion. CEO Bill Oliver, the son of the founder, talks with host Mason King about the winery's beginnings and its future and explains how its distribution has grown to 27 states. For more information, see reporter Samm Stall's story.   This episode of the IBJ Podcast is sponsored by nimboIP, your solutions in the cloud.  

City officials have approved new rules meant to help people in lower-income neighborhoods access scooters to get to jobs, school, bus stops or other destinations. Scooter companies—Indianapolis now has four firms registered to offer dockless services—would be required to put 10% of their scooters in so-called "access" zones. But the new rules raise lots of questions about whether scooters would actually be a reliable source of transportation and whether the Indy residents most in need of the service actually have the tools (think smart phones and credit cards) needed to use them.  Host Mason King and IBJ reporter Hayleigh Colombo explore the issues in an episode that also features comments from Sonya Seeder, administrator of the city’s license and permit services. To learn more, check out Hayleigh's story in the latest issue of IBJ.   This episode of the IBJ Podcast is sponsored by nimboIP, your solutions in the cloud.

Megan Glover launched 120WaterAudit with two partners in 2016 with the idea of targeting residential consumers nationwide with a water-testing kit that cost $120 every four months.  It was a great time for the idea, given the water problems in Flint, Michigan, and other cities. But quickly, Glover realized governments, schools and municipal water utilities were desperate for a modern way to organize their water testing records. And so 120WaterAudit pivoted to building and selling enterprise software—a move that helped it generate $2.4 million last year.  Now 120WaterAudit is aiming to raise at least $5 million so it can expand its customer base and roll out new software options, with the goal of becoming profitable. Podcast host Mason King talks with Glover about the challenges of raising money and whether being based in Indianapolis helps or hurts those efforts. Her answer may surprise you! Music credit: Underwater Bloom by Budapest BluesBoy (c) copyright 2006. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.  News credits: WISN-TV Channel 12, KDFW-TV Channel 4 and CBS This Morning   This episode of the IBJ Podcast is sponsored by nimboIP, your solutions in the cloud.

Less than two weeks after the Capital Improvement Board signed a 25-year, $800 million agreement with the Indiana Pacers, the Legislature passed a bill that will fund that deal. But the bill—which is now awaiting Gov. Eric Holcomb's signature—is about much more than just helping to fund a renovation and expansion of the Pacers' home arena, Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The legislation also gives the CIB millions in new dollars to help it make ends meet over the next quarter century. Without that money, the CIB would be headed to insolvency. Podcast host Mason King talks with IBJ reporters Lindsey Erdody and Mickey Shuey about the legislation, the Pacers deal and what the changes at the fieldhouse will look like. To learn more about the legislation and how it impacts the CIB, read Erdody's story here. To learn more about the public plaza that will be included in the Bankers Life Fieldhouse project, read Shuey's story here. News clips courtesy of WTHR-TV Channel 13 and WISH-TV Channel 8. This episode of the IBJ Podcast is sponsored by nimboIP, your solutions in the cloud.

Three tech entrepreneurs — High Alpha's Eric Tobias and Mobi's Scott Kraege and Andrew Davis — have long been fans of live music. But they've taken that hobby one step further by purchasing the Vogue night club in Broad Ripple. Tobias talks with podcast host Mason King about what the trio plans to change at the 81-year-old venue (think glass barware and a larger green room) — and what they think the club is already doing well. Plus, hear how the new owners want to expand the number of events at the Vogue by expanding the types of programming to include things like live podcasts.  For more information, see IBJ reporter Susan Orr's story about the Vogue's ownership change. And thanks to Cody Diekhoff — who performs as Chicago Farmer — for giving us permission to use audio from his 2018 show at the Vogue in this week's podcast.

The former CEO of Angie's List is using big data and machine learning to try to solve an emerging problem in Indiana—a stagnate and soon-to-be shrinking workforce. Bill Oesterle formed TMap, a startup that just raised $1 million in funding and is focused on finding people who went to school in Indiana but then left the state to pursue their careers. TMap is scouring the web to determine which of those people might be interested in coming back—maybe because they have family in the area or want to raise their kids in an affordable community. Already, TMap has identified thousands of people it says are interested in returning to Indiana for the right opportunity—and the firm is trying to match them with jobs. Podcast host Mason King talks with Oesterle about what motivated him to start the company (his former boss, Mitch Daniels, had a lot to do with it) and how the effort is going so far. To learn more about TMap and hear from someone who was recruited back to Indiana, read Anthony Schoettle's story at IBJ.com.   

Max Yoder says his new book — “Do Better Work: Finding Clarity, Camaraderie, and Progress in Work and Life” — is not just another set of lessons about leadership. It's actually just as much about teamwork and relationships — and it's chock full of examples to help readers better understand the concepts. The Lessonly founder and CEO talks with IBJ Podcast host Mason King about why he wrote the book, why vulnerability is the overarching theme and what he learned along the way about his own leadership. To learn more about the book, read IBJ's story here.

BYD Ltd. won a contact to sell IndyGo electric buses for the Red Line—where service is scheduled begin on Labor Day—with a range of 275 miles on a single charge. That would have allowed the buses to operate for a full day and then charge overnight. But IndyGo has been testing the buses since fall and found they are falling short—way short—of the 275-mile requirement. IBJ reporter Susan Orr talks with host Mason King about how Indy's weather is contributing to the problem, what IndyGo wants BYD to do about it and what other city got so fed up it sent its buses back to the company. Learn even more by reading Susan's story at IBJ.com.

Just a few years ago, Fishers-based SteadyServ Technologies was among the most-ballyhooed startups in state history. But the company — which sells data-analytics software for bars and restaurants — has burned through more than $30 million in capital and perennially underachieved, leading it to file for bankruptcy earlier this year. So why is tech veteran David Becker — a serial entrepreneur who serves as CEO of Fishers-based First Internet Bancorp — stepping in to try to save it? IBJ Editor Greg Andrews dives into the story, explaining what Becker sees in SteadyServ — where he's now the co-CEO — and why one of the company's biggest, long-term investors is skeptical about its new direction. You can read more details in Andrew's story in this week's IBJ.  

Eddie Sahm grew up in his family's restaurant business, but after graduating from college, he didn't want to work for his dad, whom he calls Ed. So Eddie borrowed the money to buy Sahm's Place and set out to prove he could improve and strengthen the eatery. Then, when it was time for a new challenge, Eddie went into business with his father, launching a brew pub—Big Lug Canteen—that grew into a series of pubs and ale houses that all sell Big Lug beers. Eddie talks to host Mason King about growing up in restaurants, his parents' expectations for his career and how his skills differ from his father's. Read more about the father and son duo in Susan Orr's story at IBJ.com.

Peter Dunn — who is bringing his Pete the Planner column to IBJ, starting March 15 — is worried about the upper middle class, a group he says makes good money but often lives beyond their means.  The rising costs (and sizes) of homes, the expense of youth travel sports, car leases and loans parents take out to pay for their kids' college all contribute to a rocky financial picture that means even those with higher incomes might not be saving enough for retirement. Dunn talks with IBJ Podcast host Mason King about how these concerns led him to start writing and broadcasting about money problems — and how finding solutions to those problems led to his current business model. Look for the Pete the Planner column in IBJ and at IBJ.com.

A bill passed by the Indiana Senate would require the Indy Eleven to become an MLS franchise within three years to unlock tax money to build a stadium dedicated to soccer. But is that realistic? IBJ's Anthony Schoettle says it's an uphill climb — but by no means out of the question. He talks to IBJ Podcast host Mason King about the challenges facing Ersal Ozdemir, the local real estate developer who founded the team, and his ownership group. Among them: Making sure that ownership group has enough money, finding a place to build the stadium (and an associated mixed-use development), winning strong support from city and state leaders and, of course, getting that legislation signed into law. Anthony wrote about the issue in the March 1 issue of IBJ and expands on some of the key questions in the podcast.      

As the Legislature nears the halfway point of the 2019 session, three Statehouse reporters join podcast host Lesley Weidenbener to talk about which issues are moving forward and which ones are fading away. IBJ's Lindsey Erdody, The Journal Gazette's Niki Kelly and TheStatehouseFile.com columnist Mary Beth Schneider catch us up on hate crimes, teacher pay, stadium upgrades, cigarette taxes, gambling and more. And they share some insight about what might happen going forward. Find out why Schneider says lawmakers acted like "lumps on a log" and what Kelly says is getting missed in the hate crimes debate. Plus Erdody details the latest in the debate about sports stadiums. For up-to-the-minute news from the Statehouse, you can follow all three of these reporters on twitter at @lerdody, @nkellyatJG and @marybschneider.  

Renown local chef Greg Hardesty is set to open Studio C in in an out-of-the-way space at 1051 E. 54th St., just off the Monon Trail, with plans to offer private dining, a coffee bar, pop-up meals and more — even a service to supply home chefs with hard-to-find ingredients. In other words, Hardesty plans to try a little of this and a little of that and see what sticks. He talks with host Mason King about why he closed his last restaurant — the acclaimed Recess — two years ago and why he decided not to open another traditional restaurant. But this is no hobby. Studio C will be Hardesty's livelihood and he hopes to make it work for the long term. To read more about the project, check out reporter Susan Orr's story at IBJ.com.

Just days after filing a defamation lawsuit seeking more than $25 million from WISH-TV, Derek Daly sits down with IBJ's Anthony Schoettle to discuss what he says the news station got wrong in a story that accused him of using a racial slur. Daly tells IBJ what he wants most is an apology and a retraction from WISH, which fired Daly — its former racing analyst — and broadcast a story that connected him to the use of a racial slur that had led Colts play-by-play announcer Bob Lamey to retire. It's a complicated situation, but Anthony draws out the details from Daly. And then he talks with Steve Key, the executive director of the Hoosier State Press Association, about whether Daly has a case. You can get more details about the lawsuit from Anthony's Feb. 7 story. Note: After this episode was recorded and posted, Daly amended his lawsuit and removed the $25 million figure. Read more about the change here. 

The Indiana IoT Lab in Fishers has been open roughly one year and already its membership roster is almost full. Every day, those members—including big companies, small firms and freelancers—are helping manufacturers, farmers and others connect their products to the web and to each other. You may know the internet of things because you have a connected thermostat or home security system. But IoT is about far more than home automation. The real magic is the ability of companies to use connected devices to collect data, monitor their systems and take action. In this week's podcast, host Mason King interviews IoT Lab CEO John Wechsler and Clear Object CEO John McDonald about why Indiana companies must start thinking about how to integrate IoT into their production or processes or risk becoming obsolete. And they explain the role the Indiana IoT Lab is playing in helping Indiana and Hoosier businesses through the transition.

At least 70 people who were homeless or had recently experienced chronic homelessness died in Indianapolis last year, according to the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention. That was the largest number of deaths recorded by CHIP since it started tracking figures more than a decade ago, and it represented a 20 percent increase from 2017. Illness, injury, homicides and drug overdoses contributed to the number. CHIP Executive Director Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, Horizon House Planning Manager Melissa Burgess and IBJ reporter Hayleigh Colombo join host Mason King for a discussion about the numbers and what might be done to stem the trend. And Colombo has more details about the problem in a story for IBJ.  

Indy Eleven owner Ersal Ozdemir is back at the Statehouse seeking help to build a stadium for the team. But Ozdemir has a new tactic: He's proposing to build a stadium village that would generate the tax revenue needed to pay for the 20,000-seat stadium. Ozdemir sat down with Hayleigh Colombo to talk about the proposal, why he thinks it can be successful and what it could mean for the team's bid to join Major League Soccer. Colombo then talks with IBJ sports business reporter Mickey Shuey for a few thoughts about the project. You can read more about where the project might be located in Shuey's story in this week's IBJ.