Iowa Tech Podcast

On this episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee sits down with Krista Martin, Partner at Novy, a healthcare-focused venture studio building software companies from the ground up. Krista shares her path from Iowa-born product leader to venture studio operator, influenced by her time in Indianapolis and exposure to High Alpha's model. She breaks down Novy's six-stage approach—ideation, validation, creation, and growth at its co...

On this episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee Williams welcomes back Dr. Tony Vanden Bush, CEO of Syntherna, for a candid look at how the biotech startup has navigated a shifting market. Since their last chat in August 2024, attitudes toward RNA vaccines have cooled and animal-health regulatory timelines have lengthened - two forces outside the company's control. Tony explains Syntherna's dual pivot: opening th...

In this New Year's kickoff episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee welcomes back Dan Israel, Managing Director of the Global Insurance Accelerator (GIA), to preview their most international cohort yet. Six startups selected from roughly 75 applicants have descended on Des Moines for "day 2 of 100," with founders hailing from Sweden, the UK, Germany, Wales, Canada, and across the U.S. Dan explains how AI has shif...

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.

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Chapters:

01:42 - Reenvision Ag: Revolutio...

Host Kaylee welcomes Drake University's Chase Spencer to the Iowa Tech Podcast from the Jethro's Barbecue Studio for a lively conversation about cultivating entrepreneurs in Iowa. Chase shares his path from Monroe, Iowa to Drake—pivoting during 2020 from a dream of theme park design to politics, and ultimately to entrepreneurship after a formative class sparked his venture "Chasing Cars," a QR-code storytelling tool fo...

In this episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee welcomes back Jeff Johnston, founder and CEO of Brighton, for a candid conversation about loss, purpose, and building a mental wellness company. Jeff shares the deeply personal journey that led him from a successful 32-year wealth management career to advocacy after losing his son to fentanyl and, later, his wife—ultimately inspiring Brighton, named in honor of his ...

Host Kaylee welcomes back guest Diana Wright, Startup Community Builder at the Greater Des Moines Partnership, to recap the Iowa Angel Investor Summit. They cover what angel investing is, when founders should seek it (typically very early), and why Iowa's investor base is broader than many realize—even if many stay humble and private. Diana shares how this year's Summit expanded to a full-day program with a fundamental...

Tara Seible, founder of In the Green Marketing, joins the Iowa Tech Podcast to share how she transitioned from the traditional media world to launching a fast-growing digital agency serving community banks. She reveals how burnout from corporate life became the catalyst for entrepreneurship, and why community banking—despite its conservative roots—is ripe for digital transformation.

In this episode, Tara o...

On this episode of the Iowa Tech podcast, host Kaylee Williams welcomes Proaction CEO and co-founder Drake Bauer to unpack the startup's rebrand (formerly Flete) and its mission to modernize fleet management. Drake shares how Proaction streamlines asset operations - inspections, maintenance, compliance, and reporting - into a single pane of glass, replacing a tangle of spreadsheets, sticky notes, and legacy tools. He c...

The Iowa Tech Podcast is hitting pause as host Kaylee Williams takes a step back to reflect on the journey so far and reimagine the future of the show. After many conversations with founders, innovators, and community builders across Iowa, it's clear there's no shortage of compelling stories to tell. This moment of reassessment is a chance to ensure those stories continue to be told with the depth, creativity, and clar...

In this episode of the Iowa Tech podcast, host Kaylee Williams dives into an insightful conversation with Paul MacDonald, co-founder and managing director of the Bio Innovations Midwest conference. Paul shares the origin story of the conference, which initially began in Europe as World Bio Markets before transitioning to Bio Innovations Europe. He discusses how the Nebraska Department of Economic Development played a c...

The Iowa Tech podcast recently featured an insightful discussion with Anuj Sharma, the founder of Coltie, a tech company operating out of Ames, Iowa. Coltie aims to enhance the academic experience for students by bridging the gap between them and their potential faculty advisors. Anuj, a professor at Iowa State University, shared his personal journey and motivation for founding Coltie, highlighting his own experiences ...

The latest episode of the Iowa Tech podcast, hosted by Micah Walker, features a heartfelt and inspirational conversation with Jeffrey Johnson, the founder of Brightn—a mental wellness startup. The episode delves into Jeffrey's personal journey, which led to the creation of Brightn. It all began with a tragic turn of events when Jeffrey lost his son to an overdose and subsequently, his wife to grief and substance abuse....

The recent episode of the Iowa Tech podcast, hosted by Micah Walker, features an engaging conversation with Zach Krawiec from Legible AI. The podcast, recorded at the Jethro's Barbecue Studio, delves into the origin and mission of Legible AI, a company co-founded by Zach and Casey, who met as legislative interns at the Iowa State House. The duo leveraged their deep understanding of the legislative process to develop an...

In the latest episode of the Iowa Tech podcast, host Micah Walker sits down with Joun Lee, the founder of PaniClean, a woman-owned company that originated from the University of Iowa's Chemical Engineering Department. PaniClean is tackling the pressing issue of nitrate pollution, particularly in North America, by developing innovative, economically viable solutions for water purification. The company's roots trace back...

The Iowa Tech Podcast, hosted by Micah Walker, recently featured an engaging episode with Cole and Cam from Spock Sanctuary, an exotic animal rescue startup. Originating as a project during their time at Iowa State University, Spock Sanctuary has grown into the largest reptile rescue in Iowa. The duo shared their journey from a college apartment operation to a full-fledged sanctuary, highlighting the challenges of spac...

In the latest episode of the Iowa Tech podcast, hosted by Micah Walker, listeners are introduced to Joe Sweeney, a fractional leader from Jennings Kallen Advisory, currently associated with BioAxis. Sweeney, who grew up on a family farm in North Central Iowa and attended Iowa State for ag business, shares his journey into fractional leadership, highlighting the influence of his entrepreneurial parents. His career traje...

In a recent episode of the Iowa Tech podcast, host Micah Walker welcomed Roberta from Layer One Ag, a promising startup in the agricultural insurance space, to discuss their innovative approach to managing crop risk. Recorded from the Jethro's Barbecue Studio, the episode delved into how Layer One Ag is leveraging AI to reimagine risk assessment at the farm and field level, enabling precision underwriting for farms tha...

In a recent episode of the Iowa Tech podcast, host Micah Walker engaged in a compelling conversation with Nigel Reuel, the founder of Zymosense, a pioneering company emerging from Iowa State University. Nigel, an innovator and entrepreneur at heart, shared his journey of establishing Zymosense to revolutionize enzyme activity measurement. With a robust background in chemical and biological engineering, Nigel explained ...