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Iowa Tech Podcast

Iowa Tech Podcast

Von: Iowa Tech Podcast
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 Welcome to the Iowa Tech Podcast, your gateway to the vibrant world of technology and innovation right here in Iowa. Each week, we dive into the dynamic landscape of Iowa's tech industry, showcasing the brilliant minds, groundbreaking startups, and transformative ideas that are shaping the future. Join our host, Kaylee Williams, as we sit down with tech entrepreneurs, industry experts, and thought leaders who are driving change and pushing boundaries in fields ranging from artificial intelligence and cybersecurity to agtech and clean energy. Whether you're a seasoned professional, a budding innovator, or simply tech-curious, the Iowa Tech Podcast offers insider insights, inspiring stories, and practical advice to keep you at the forefront of the digital revolution. Tune in to explore how Iowa is making waves on the global tech stage and discover how you can be a part of this exciting journey.2024
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  • Building products people touch (and having fun doing it) with Derek Brooks

    Building products people touch (and having fun doing it) with Derek Brooks
    Mar 24 2026

    Des Moines-based technologist and builder, Derek Brooks has a career that spans Fortune 100 roles, scrappy startups, and high-stakes political tech for the Obama campaign. Broox, as his friends know him, traces his path from growing up in eastern Iowa and discovering software at Cornell College to early work at Pioneer (now Corteva), a pivotal stint at Red 5 Interactive, and becoming a remote engineer before it was cool.

    💡 Find this show on your favorite app: https://iowapodcast.com/derek-brooks
    🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's: https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq

    Brooks shares inside stories from the Obama 2012 campaign—building integrations and the high-pressure Call Tool used for millions of voter contacts—and how that experience led to a post-campaign startup in "contextual commerce" that was acquired by PayPal. He pulls back the curtain on acquisition realities, his time across PayPal/Braintree/Venmo, and why seeing products people actually touch fuels his work.

    Chapters:
    00:00 - Meet Derek Brooks
    01:57 - Midwest Roots to Remote Work
    05:00 - Obama Campaign to PayPal
    16:06 - Early Web Hustles
    17:34 - Sabbatical Reset
    20:12 - Rocket AI Advice
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    33 Min.
  • Building Siouxland's Startup Ecosystem with Anastasia Williams (Iowa's West Coast Initiative)

    Building Siouxland's Startup Ecosystem with Anastasia Williams (Iowa's West Coast Initiative)
    Mar 17 2026

    Host Kaylee welcomes Anastasia Williams, the entrepreneurial community navigator at Iowa's West Coast Initiative, for a candid look at building a rural startup ecosystem across Monona, Plymouth, and Woodbury counties. Anastasia describes her "concierge" role connecting founders to resources, and how she's catalyzing a grassroots, founder-led community that now meets weekly to share roadblocks, surface values, and co-design support. They spotlight impressive student pitches at Morningside—supercharged by AI—and unpack West Coast Iowa's unique challenges: dispersed geography, tight-knit dynamics, and the need to lean into local strengths rather than copy larger hubs. Anastasia discusses integrating college talent, addressing brain drain through holistic community building (schools, wages, amenities), and draws inspiration from Norfolk, Nebraska's comprehensive retention playbook.

    💡 Find this show on your favorite player: https://iowapodcast.com/iowa-west-coast
    🗞️ Be first to get new interviews: https://iowapodcast.com/subscribe/
    🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's BBQ: https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq

    Anastasia also shares her entrepreneurial journey—from a dog bakery and tutoring company to a yarn venture—where she discovered a passion for relationship marketing and collective success. Her core advice for rural founders: don't be your own labor. Prioritize revenue-generating hires, partner creatively, and consider bartering expertise within the founder network to offload key functions. Most of all, come out of the "basement"—community is a force multiplier. To connect, learn about events, or get involved, visit iawestcoast.com (and find Anastasia out in the ecosystem).
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    32 Min.
  • Inside ISU's Startup Continuum: From Startup Factory to Iowa G2M with Hannah Kirkendall

    Inside ISU's Startup Continuum: From Startup Factory to Iowa G2M with Hannah Kirkendall
    Mar 10 2026
    Host Kaylee Williams welcomes ISU Startup Continuum program manager Hannah Kirkendall to the Iowa Tech Podcast from the Jethro's Barbecue Studio (yes, the giant Jethro cutout still looms). Hannah breaks down ISU's "continuum" of founder support under the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship: the ISU Startup Factory (an incubator focused on commercialization plans and milestone mapping), the ISU Venture Mentoring Service (team-based mentorship modeled on MIT's VMS with mutual opt-in mentor teams), and the Iowa Go-to-Market Accelerator (G2M), a tailored, cohort-based program helping companies tighten messaging, pitches, finances, and either land first revenue or raise initial capital. The programs are industry-agnostic but tech-enabled and scalable by design; they're open to any Iowa startup (no ISU affiliation required), are delivered almost entirely virtually, and are free—founders invest time and effort rather than cash or equity. Key timelines: Startup Factory cohorts align with semesters (next starts in early August), VMS onboards on a rolling basis, and G2M runs two six-month cohorts annually (next starting mid-April, then October), in partnership with VentureNet Iowa and BioConnect Iowa. 💡 Find this show on your favorite player: https://iowapodcast.com/ISU-startup-continuum-program 🗞️ Be first to get new interviews: https://iowapodcast.com/subscribe/ 🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's BBQ: https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq Hannah shares her path from nonprofit development in Portland to Techstars Iowa and Techstars Anywhere, then home to Iowa to help build founder-focused programs. She highlights trends like AI permeating new solutions and exciting deep-tech from ISU in materials and battery technology, while celebrating Iowa's collaborative culture—founders paying it forward and programs coordinating behind the scenes. Her advice to early-stage founders: be candid about what you don't know, ask for help, and engage—"you get out what you put in." Links to apply and connect with Hannah are in the show notes, and there may still be time for founders ready to jump into the upcoming G2M cohort. Chapters: 00:00 - Welcome and Introduction 00:56 - Startup Continuum Overview 01:58 - How Programs Progress 03:36 - Venture Mentoring Model 05:28 - Who Can Participate 07:27 - Standout Startup Tech 08:51 - Go To Market Accelerator 10:54 - Program Cost and Equity 11:28 - Virtual Pivot and Reach 12:08 - Applications and Key Dates 13:41 - Hannahs Startup Journey 15:42 - Skills from Nonprofit Work 16:15 - Trends AI and Founder Culture 18:13 - Wrap up and Closing
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    21 Min.
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