Iowa Tech Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Women's Entrepreneurship, NAWBO, and the Power of Place w/ Rachel Formaro Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

Rachel Formaro is CEO and Founder of Collabry and newly named president of NAWBO Iowa. She traces her journey from ad agencies in Toronto to corporate life in San Francisco, and finally to building a purposefully designed consultancy in Des Moines.

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Rachel shares how moving to Iowa created the financial runway to start her company in her early 40s, why intention matters more the second (or third) time you become a founder, and what she learned from saying "yes" to the wrong clients, building a flexible collective model, and eventually hiring her husband into the business.

How Music League Is Turning Playlists into a Global Social Platform with Eric West Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

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.

💡 Find this show on your favorite player: https://iowapodcast.com/music-league-eric-west/ 🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's BBQ: https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq

West breaks down how Music League works: players submit songs around a theme, listen to an anonymous playlist, and then vote - creating winners, losers, and a surprising amount of nostalgia, discovery, and community along the way. He explains the power of open leagues connecting players across the globe and why labels are obsessed with catalog rediscovery, from forgotten deep cuts to songs that suddenly go viral again.

Connectify HR: How a People-First PEO Powers Iowa's Growing Companies" Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, Kaylee sits down with Connectify HR's leadership team, CEO Melissa Ness and COO Krista Turner, to unpack how a modern, people-first PEO can radically simplify HR for growing companies.

💡 Find this show on your favorite player: https://iowapodcast.com/connectify-hr 🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's BBQ: https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq

From payroll and benefits to compliance and employee experience, they share how Connectify HR is helping small and midsize businesses get enterprise-level HR support without losing the personal touch. You'll hear how their complementary leadership styles shape the company's culture, why they chose to build as a locally owned Iowa firm, and what they're seeing on the ground with founders and operators across the region.

From NFL Running Back to Tech Founder: Trevor Bowlers on Belief, Pivots, and Product-Market Fit Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

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.

💡 Find this show on your favorite player: https://iowapodcast.com/trevor-bollers 🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's BBQ: https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq

Trevor talks about the "impossible" moments that shaped him—from his father's leap of faith moving their family to Canada, to grinding four years on the bench before finally starting for the Hawkeyes and earning a shot in the NFL. He connects those experiences to entrepreneurship, emphasizing belief in yourself, relentless preparation, and surviving in a world where someone is always being groomed to take your spot—just like in pro sports.

How Local Conversations, AI, and Basic Hygiene Protect Every Iowan Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

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 businesses, critical infrastructure, and families.

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Munson complements this perspective by describing how PC Matic approaches security from home users all the way to the federal government, and why hyper-local, trusted relationships are essential to helping people feel safe enough to ask "basic" questions about cyber risks without shame or fear.

Building in the Age of AI: Grant Jameson on Startups, Apps, and Experimentation Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

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.

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Jameson talks about growing up in Johnston, Iowa, studying computer science at the University of Iowa, and earning security certifications before moving into his current AI role. He shares candid takes on the true costs of AI, including how token-based pricing models are reshaping the industry, and why he believes AI is powerful but far from an existential threat (at least, not yet).

Building Startups in Iowa: Alex Taylor on Entrepreneurship, Growth & Community Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, Kaylee Williams sits down with Alex Taylor, Director of Entrepreneurship at NewBoCo, to discuss what it really takes to build a successful business in Iowa.

💡 Find this show on your favorite player: https://iowapodcast.com/alex-taylor 🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's BBQ: https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq

Alex shares lessons from his own entrepreneurial journey, offers practical advice for early-stage founders on customer discovery, financial discipline, and building the right advisory team, and explains why Iowa's collaborative startup ecosystem is one of its greatest competitive advantages. The conversation also explores AI, startup funding, small business growth, and the resources available to entrepreneurs across the state.

Building Iowa's Future: Senator Joni Ernst on Entrepreneurship, AI, and Biotech Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

At the Ernst Entrepreneurship Expo, held at Iowa State University, Senator Joni Ernst discussed why Iowa is well-positioned for entrepreneurship right now, citing the Working Families Tax Cuts Act's incentives for small businesses and the state's pipeline of skilled workers.

💡 Find this show on your favorite player: https://iowapodcast.com/joni-ernst-working-families-tax/ 🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's BBQ: https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq Enrst emphasized building a workforce that can analyze problems and create solutions, starting early in education. On AI, Ernst rejected the idea of moratoriums, arguing they'd let adversaries pull ahead, and instead favored flexible "guardrails" that protect consumers and national security while allowing innovation—pointing to Iowa examples like precision agriculture (targeted herbicide spraying) and cancer research advances.

The Intersection of Security & Creativity: A Conversation with Erin Rollenhagen Jul 14, 2026

Show notes

Erin Rollenhagen, founder of People-Friendly Tech (formerly Entrepreneurial Technologies), sits down with host Kaylee Williams to discuss 20 years of building custom software for startups and enterprises.

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From her early days developing corrections software to creating a 3D educational game for Iowa State, Erin shares the philosophy behind her company's "sweet spot" - the intersection of things that need to be really secure and really beautiful.

The conversation covers her journey starting the company in 2007 on the cusp of the Great Recession, early sales lessons about proposal speed and close rates, and how she's grown her team from zero to 20 employees while maintaining a focus on meaningful projects.

As AI reshapes the software development landscape, Erin offers a nuanced perspective on how her team uses AI tools to reduce costs and improve user experience, while cautioning against intellectual laziness.

Rollenhagen reflects on how her creative pursuits - painting and writing - inform her approach to building products, and shares hard-won wisdom about the importance of understanding your business finances from day one. Erin also explains the logic behind her company's recent rebrand and discusses how diversity of thought and creative problem-solving drive better outcomes in tech.

Building Iowa's Tech Community: Inside TechFuse Des Moines - Amy Lindberg and Bo Schatzberg Jul 07, 2026

Show notes

Join host Kaylee Williams as she sits down with Amy Lindberg and Bo Schatzberg, co-founders of TechFuse Des Moines, to explore the evolution of Iowa's premier technology conference.

💡 Find this show on your favorite player: https://iowapodcast.com/tech-fuse 🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's BBQ: https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq

What started as two separate events, Agile Iowa (2014) and DevOps Days Des Moines (2018), has merged into TechFuse, a unified conference designed for IT and technology practitioners in central Iowa. Amy and Bo share how community feedback shaped the event's transformation, the introduction of new workshop tracks, and the conference's commitment to blending national speakers with local talent. They discuss the 4.5 tracks covering engineering, product leadership, AI, and hands-on workshops, all designed to give practitioners actionable insights they can take back to their jobs.

Beyond the logistics, this episode dives into why Amy and Bo volunteer their time to run this nonprofit event, how AI is reshaping the tech industry and the conference's programming, and whether in-person events are making a comeback post-COVID. With nearly 200 early bird tickets already sold for a 500-person capacity, TechFuse is on track to be a major success. Whether you're an engineer, developer, architect, product manager, or simply curious about the future of AI in your career, this conversation offers valuable perspective on building community and staying ahead in a rapidly evolving tech landscape. TechFuse Des Moines takes place October 15-16 at the Community Choice Convention Center in downtown Des Moines.

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