Entrepreneurship
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Iowa Startup Week
What is Iowa Startup Week? Kaylee is joined by Safia 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…
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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…
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Strengthening the Heart of Iowa’s Rural Ecosystem: Insights from Kelly Prickett
In the latest episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee sits down with Kelly Prickett, the Director of Economic Development and Entrepreneurship at Indian Hills Community College. Representing the Iowa Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Kelly shares a passionate look at how rural entrepreneurship serves as the vital heartbeat of Iowa’s ecosystem. The Power…
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Inside the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program with Jacki Boldt
In the latest episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee Williams sits down with Jacki Boldt, the Executive Director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program in Iowa. Since its arrival eight years ago, the program has evolved from a “pop-up” initiative into a cornerstone of Iowa’s economic development landscape. More Than Just…
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Insurance in an Era of Possibilities: Julie Pearce on the Global Insurance Symposium
In this episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee welcomes Julie Pearce, co-chair of the 12th Global Insurance Symposium, to preview this year’s event happening April 14–15 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. The program is designed by industry executives for industry professionals. Making the theme “Insurance in an Era of Possibilities,”…
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Uniting Iowa’s Private Colleges on Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and AI in Northwest Iowa
On this episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee sits down with Dr. Paula Kueter, professor at Morningside University and director of the Joan and Larry Arnold Entrepreneurship Center. Paula shares her journey across Iowa’s private colleges and her mission to elevate entrepreneurship beyond the state’s flagship institutions, spotlighting smart, creative students who often…
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A healthcare-focused venture studio based in Iowa
Host Kaylee welcomes Krista Martin, Partner at Novy (Novy Ventures), a healthcare-focused venture studio based in Iowa. Krista shares her path from product management and growth leadership in Iowa and Indianapolis to hands-on company building at a studio—crediting exposure to High Alpha’s model for inspiring Novy’s approach and community mindset. Inside Novy’s model Company’s First…
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Poking Holes in Tradition: ReEnvision Ag’s Seed Spike and the Future of Precision Planting
Jayson Ryner, founder and CEO of ReEnvision Ag and entrepreneurship professor at NIACC, explains the Seed Spike planter—the first ultra–low soil disturbance planter built for the soil-health era. How Seed Spike Works Ryner explains how the simple “poke-and-place” mechanism lets farmers plant earlier with less power, improves emergence and spacing, and thrives in no-till and…
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Building an Entrepreneurial Culture at Drake University with Chase Spencer
Audio version: Host Kaylee welcomes Drake University’s Chase Spencer to the Iowa Tech Podcast from the Jethro’s Barbecue Studio. Chase, a Drake alum and newly appointed program manager for entrepreneurship, shares his journey from aspiring Disney Imagineer to political science student to founder and now ecosystem builder. Chase recounts graduating high school in 2020, pivoting…