After graduating in 2010 from Butler University, Abby Dorsett —originally a Terre Haute native ― left Indianapolis to start her career in Chicago, Illinois. Flourishing in jobs at Groupon, Locallife, and LinkedIn, Abby loved the Windy City, but she always knew that she would come back to Indianapolis one day.

Abby Dorsett

Abby DorsettAccount Executive

“Ultimately, I knew I would head back to my home state of Indiana at some point. I always loved this city,” said Dorsett. “But it was a personal dream of mine to live in the Windy City. After graduating, I immediately packed up my belongings and moved to Chicago.”

While she only expected to spend a few years there, Abby ended up spending seven years in Chicago. “I absolutely loved living out my 20s in Chicago,” said Dorsett. “I made amazing friends and established my career at LinkedIn.”

However, Abby’s priorities began to shift as she moved into the latter half of her 20s. “It became more important to be closer to family and establish roots in a thriving tech community,” said Dorsett. At the beginning of 2016, Abby started to consider moving back to Indianapolis.

“Around a year ago, I started to think about ‘life in Indy’ vs. ‘live in Chicago’,” said Dorsett. “In the Fall of 2016, I began reaching out to my network on LinkedIn and inquiring about sales jobs in Indianapolis. I had just turned 29, my sister told my family she was pregnant with her first child, and I really began to think about what and where the next five years of my life would be.”

After grabbing coffee with Kevin Vanes, VP of Sales at Sigstr, in November of 2016, Abby had a job offer with the company before Christmas. She accepted.

“After speaking with Kevin about the growth Sigstr was experiencing and meeting the founder Dan Hanrahan and the team, I knew this quickly was the place for me,” said Dorsett. “I was so excited about the the rocketship that is Sigstr and knew I could assist in growing the customer base.“

While she didn’t have many reservations about moving back, Abby knew that her day-to-day life would be a little different. “I knew my day-to-day would be a little disrupted in terms of my routine when I moved to Indianapolis,” said Dorsett. “I used to be able to walk to and from work, I had the ability to let my pup out during lunch, and I had a workout facility and regimen I loved.  When I moved to Indy, I wanted more home and green space, which landed me in downtown Carmel. I love it there, but I’m still getting used to being in the car all the time and the commute.”

Overall, though, Abby has been impressed by the tech community in Indiana and the hospitality of the city. “I love the warm welcome I’ve received from being back in Indy,” said Dorsett. “I think of Indiana, specifically Indy, as the Tech Capital of the Midwest. It’s so exciting to see all of the growth here and I’m glad to be a part of it.”

While Chicago is the third largest city and Indianapolis is the fourteenth, Abby said Indianapolis seemed “comparable” to Chicago in terms of startups.

“I was so surprised and blown away by the tech community here,” said Dorsett. “Our tallest building is now Salesforce Tower ― an international brand ―and there is so much opportunity for us to grow. Given how successful Indy is in tech, I hope we start making the ‘top 20 cities for millennials’ lists.”

When asked if she would do it all over again and move to Indiana, Abby’s response was resolute. “Yes, I would absolutely move here again,” said Dorsett. “I heard the quote years ago, which now rings true more than ever: ‘It’s not where you are, it’s who you are with.’ Being close to family, my boyfriend and working with a company I can love just as much as LinkedIn has made for such a smooth transition.”

Starting her position at Sigstr in March, Abby wants to continue helping the company grow. “I’m excited by what the company is doing, and I believe we’re going to be the marketing system of record for employee email. I want to help catapult their success.”