Iowa Tech Podcast
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The Athletic Director’s Secret Weapon: Behind Bound’s Explosive Growth
Kaylee Williams hosts Natalie Merrill, COO and CFO of Bound, a high school athletics scheduling and ticketing platform experiencing remarkable growth. In just one year, Bound expanded from 600 to nearly 1,200 schools across the Midwest and beyond, nearly tripling its user base. The company is now launching its Series A funding round, marking a…
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From Media to Market: Storytelling Secrets for Ag Startups
Kaylee interviews Jeff Caldwell, Vice President of Strategy and Content at Stratovation Group , a research-driven consulting firm specializing in go-to-market strategies for agriculture and ag tech companies. Jeff explains the fundamental difference between successful and failed market approaches: most companies take a “shotgun blast” approach, treating all farmers as identical, when they should instead…
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Why You Should Attend EntreFest 2026
In this episode, host Kaylee Williams speaks with Jan Finlayson, Director of Events at NewBoCo, about EntreFest—Iowa’s 14-year-old entrepreneurship conference. After pivoting through COVID, EntreFest has emerged stronger, offering over 70 speakers across 33 sessions plus 3 keynote programs designed to deliver instant, actionable takeaways for attendees. The conference features diverse programming, including an AI…
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Breaking Down the 7(a) and 504: Inside the SBA Loan Programs Built for Growth
Kaylee Williams sits down with Ryan Lincoln, District Director for the Small Business Administration in Iowa, to explore the SBA’s role in supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners across the state. After 21 years serving in the Marine Corps, Ryan transitioned into public service because of his deep belief in American small business—shaped by watching…
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Building for Impact: Matt Ostanik on Startups and Giving Back
In this episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee Williams interviews serial entrepreneur Matt Ostanik about his 20-year journey building four startups and his evolution from chasing profit to creating social impact. Matt begins by sharing his origin story: after studying architecture at Iowa State, he launched Submittal Exchange in 2003 – a SaaS…
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Knowing and Growing Economic Power: Joey Beech on Angel Investing and Financial Literacy
In this episode, Kaylee Williams interviews Joey Beech, the Financial Lit Lady, whose career has been defined by a single mission: helping people know and grow their economic power. From teaching financial literacy at Ankeny high schools to writing A Girl’s Guide to Personal Finance and leading Ankeny Angels, Joey has become a cornerstone of…
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The Kid from Mitchellville: Nick Leeper on Startups, AI, and Betting on People
Nick Leeper‘s career embodies the Iowa tech ecosystem at its best. Starting as a software engineer at Pioneer (now Corteva), Nick spent nearly a decade building research lab software before catching the startup bug. In 2008, he and close friend Derek Brooks made a pivotal leap together to Chicago to work on the Obama campaign—a…
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Iowa Startup Week
What is Iowa Startup Week? Kaylee is joined by Safiya Lee-Evans and Tej Dhawan, co-organizers of Iowa’s inaugural Startup Week, taking place September 29 through October 1st in Des Moines. The three discuss the vision, structure, and significance of bringing a Startup Week model to Iowa for the very first time. Tej explains why the…
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Building products people touch (and having fun doing it) with Derek Brooks
Host Kaylee welcomes Derek Brooks, a Des Moines-based technologist and builder, to discuss his winding career across startups, big tech, campaigns, and fintech. Raised in eastern Iowa, Brooks took an intro web class at Cornell College that sparked everything: he launched hobby websites and even monetized early mobile wallpapers. After college, he joined Pioneer (now…
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Building Siouxland’s Startup Ecosystem (Iowa’s West Coast Initiative)
Host Kaylee interviews Anastasia Williams, the entrepreneurial community navigator for Iowa’s West Coast Initiative, a nonprofit serving Monona, Plymouth, and Woodbury counties from Sioux City. The initiative connects entrepreneurs and small business owners to resources and people, with a growing focus on building a grassroots entrepreneurial ecosystem so founders don’t feel they must leave to…