Iowa Tech Podcast
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Women’s Entrepreneurship, NAWBO, and the Power of Place w/ Rachel Formaro
Interview Transcript This transcript was created with help from Ai. Please report errors to us and always refer to the video as your primary source. Kaylee Williams: Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the Iowa Tech podcast. I’m your host, Kaylee, and today I am in the Jethro’s BBQ Studio with Rachel Formaro. Hi, Rachel. Hi.…
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How Music League Is Turning Playlists into a Global Social Platform with Eric West
In this episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee Williams sits down with Eric West, founder and CEO of Music League, a competitive music discovery game that’s quietly grown to over 1.1 million registered users, starting from a handful of people in a break room. West breaks down how Music League works: players submit…
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From NFL Running Back to Tech Founder: Trevor Bowlers on Belief, Pivots, and Product-Market Fit
Former NFL running back and University of Iowa Hawkeye Trevor Bowlers joins host Kaylee Williams to share his journey from immigrant kid in Guyana to professional athlete to founder and CEO of Letter B Global Technologies. Trevor talks about the “impossible” moments that shaped him—from his father’s leap of faith moving their family to Canada,…
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Building in the How Local Conversations, AI, and Basic Hygiene Protect Every Iowan
How does cybersecurity affects everyday Iowans? Doug Jacobson, professor of cybersecurity at Iowa State University, and Corey Munson, Vice President at PC Matic share a decades-long mission to “teach every Iowan to be safe online” and explains how cybersecurity has evolved from a niche, tech-only concern to a people-centered challenge that touches schools, churches, small…
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Building in the Age of AI: Grant Jameson on Startups, Apps, and Experimentation
Grant Jameson, an AI engineer and entrepreneur from Des Moines, traces his journey from a curious kid obsessed with coding and hacking to a career in software, cybersecurity, and ultimately AI engineering. Jameson talks about growing up in Johnston, Iowa, studying computer science at the University of Iowa, and earning security certifications before moving into…
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Building Startups in Iowa: Alex Taylor on Entrepreneurship, Growth & Community
In this episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee Williams sits down with Alex Taylor, Director of Entrepreneurship at NewBoCo, to explore what it takes to build and grow a successful business in Iowa. Drawing on decades of experience as an entrepreneur, educator, consultant, nonprofit leader, and small business owner, Alex shares practical insights…
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Sen. Joni Ernst on Entrepreneurship, AI, and Biotech
At the Ernst Entrepreneurship Expo, hosted at Iowa State University, host Kaylee Williams sat down with Senator Joni Ernst to discuss the state of entrepreneurship, technology, and innovation in Iowa. Ernst opened by pointing to the Working Families Tax Cuts Act as a driver of new investment in small businesses, paired with Iowa’s strong base…
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The Intersection of Security & Creativity: A Conversation with Erin Rollenhagen
In this episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee Williams interviews Erin Rollenhagen, founder of People Friendly Tech and author of Love at First Launch, a custom software consulting company that specializes in high-stakes projects requiring both security and exceptional design. With nearly 20 years in business, Erin shares her journey from developing corrections…
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Building Iowa’s Tech Community: Inside TechFuse Des Moines
In this episode, host Kaylee Williams interviews Amy Lindberg and Bo Schatzberg, co-founders of TechFuse Des Moines, a newly rebranded technology conference that merges two decades of community events into one unified platform. What began as separate conferences, Agile Iowa (founded in 2014) and DevOps Days Des Moines (started in 2018), has evolved into TechFuse,…
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The Anti-Marketer Marketer: Building GTI Consulting on Trust & Diagnostics
Sam Andrus, CEO of GTI Consulting, shares his journey from northern Minnesota to becoming one of the state’s most trusted business consultants. Growing up in an entrepreneurial household where his father ran painting, drywall, and log home restoration companies, Sam witnessed both success and catastrophic failure during the 2008 financial crisis – a pivotal experience…