In a recent episode of the Iowa Tech podcast, host Kaylee Williams interviewed Alyssa Nolte, CEO and founder of TruVue, who shared her entrepreneurial journey. Alyssa described herself as an “accidental entrepreneur,” diverging from her initial corporate career plans after being captivated by a professor’s eye-tracking technology at the University of Northern Iowa. Despite having no customers or funding, Alyssa fearlessly embraced a commission-only role, driven by advice from her father, who encouraged her to take risks.
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Alyssa’s journey was marked by significant challenges, including earning only $1,200 in her first year while bootstrapping her startup. However, her perseverance paid off as she secured customers like Salesforce and Duracell, ultimately leading to the acquisition of her company by a California consulting firm, Lyft, in 2020. Alyssa reflected on this acquisition, emphasizing the importance of slowing down the process and thoroughly understanding both parties involved.
After the acquisition, Alyssa founded TruVue, leveraging AI to automate research processes. TruVue emerged from a need to scale research capabilities, leading to the creation of a Brand Health Score that links brand sentiment to financial outcomes. The company spun out from Lyft after Alyssa negotiated to take the intellectual property and form a new entity. TruVue now offers insights typically reserved for larger companies to smaller businesses.
Alyssa shared her experiences with the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Cedar Falls, highlighting the support from the University of Northern Iowa’s business incubator and local community. She also discussed the challenges of raising venture capital, contrasting Midwest and West Coast VCs, and the importance of flexibility and open-mindedness in negotiations.
Alyssa concluded with a motivating story about securing Salesforce as a client, emphasizing the necessity of taking initiative and seizing opportunities. Her journey underscores resilience, adaptability, and the power of community support in entrepreneurship.