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

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

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.

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. 💡 Find this show on your favorite player: https://iowapodcast.com/Sam-Andrus-GTI-Consulting [https://iowapodcast.com/Sam-Andrus-GTI-Consulting] 🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's BBQ: https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq [https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq] 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 that shaped his understanding of business resilience. After high school, he joined the Air Force for six years, working in fuel logistics and aircraft maintenance. This military background proved foundational to his consulting philosophy: before implementing solutions, diagnose the problem methodically. GTI Consulting, co-founded with Gary (an aircraft maintenance officer Sam met in the University of Iowa's Executive MBA program), helps small businesses under $50 million run their operations more efficiently. Rather than hiring traditional consultants, Sam and Gary serve as fractional COOs, CFOs, and CMOs: addressing the reality that blue-collar business owners never trained to be financial forecasters or marketing strategists. Remarkably, 90% of their clients come through referrals, and they maintain an 85-90% retention rate. A self-described "anti-marketer marketer," Sam challenges the conventional wisdom that businesses should simply throw money at marketing problems. Instead, GTI evaluates each client holistically, often discovering that what looks like a marketing issue is actually a pricing, operational, or financial forecasting problem. He emphasizes the importance of understanding your P&L intimately, leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude for business analysis, and building authentic relationships with clients: even if that means taking 2 AM calls when payroll is in jeopardy. The episode concludes with details about GTI's upcoming July 23rd "Lunch and Learn" event at Glen Oaks Country Club, where Sam and Kaylee will host a candid conversation about cutting through marketing nonsense and building sustainable, profitable businesses.

The Athletic Director's Secret Weapon: Behind Bound's Explosive Growth

In this episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee Williams sits down with Natalie Merrill, COO and CFO of Bound, to discuss the company's explosive growth trajectory. Bound, a scheduling and ticketing platform for high school athletics, has nearly tripled its school adoption in the past year—jumping from 600 schools to nearly 1,200—and is preparing to launch its Series A funding round. 💡 Find this show on your favorite player: https://iowapodcast.com/Natalie-Merrill [https://iowapodcast.com/Natalie-Merrill] 🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's BBQ: https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq [https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq] Natalie shares her unique perspective as someone who's navigated the full spectrum of startup and corporate life: building a renewable energy company that went public, experiencing a Fortune 100 acquisition by Chevron, and now operating as a key executive at a rapidly scaling scale-up. The conversation digs into the operational and financial lessons she's learned along the way, from managing cash flow and forecasting to balancing the tension between perfection and progress. Beyond the business metrics, Natalie and Kaylee explore what makes Bound resonate with its customers—a combination of smart product features, deep relationships with athletic directors, and a mission-driven culture focused on helping student-athletes. They discuss how AI is transforming both Bound's product and Natalie's own work as a CFO, the surprising correlation between athletic participation and executive success, and the grit required to thrive in the startup world. As Bound prepares for its next chapter, Natalie offers candid advice for founders and operators: done is better than perfect, policies exist to protect people, and sometimes the best leaders come from unexpected places.

From Media to Market: Storytelling Secrets for Ag Startups

In this episode, Kaylee sits down with Jeff Caldwell, Vice President of Strategy and Content at Stratovation Group, to explore what separates winning go-to-market strategies from failing ones in agriculture. 💡 Find this show on your favorite player: https://iowapodcast.com/jeff-caldwell [https://iowapodcast.com/jeff-caldwell] 🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's BBQ: https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq [https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq] Jeff breaks down the difference between a "shotgun blast" approach—lumping all farmers together—and a precision "sniper shot" strategy that accounts for geography, farm size, financial standing, and individual farmer psychology. Through his 15+ years in ag media and current work consulting early-stage ag tech companies, Jeff reveals why most startups struggle: they either fail to clearly define the problem they're solving, or they can't communicate their solution in a way that resonates with their target customer in seconds, not paragraphs. The conversation dives deep into the art of selling to farmers, a uniquely challenging market because farmers are sellers and buyers every day, and they have finely tuned "bullshit detectors." Jeff shares actionable storytelling frameworks drawn from author Stephen King's narrative techniques, explains why word choice and industry language matter more than most founders realize, and challenges the conventional wisdom around AI adoption in agriculture. Whether you're building an ag tech startup, raising capital, or simply curious about how to win in one of America's most competitive industries, this episode offers hard-won insights from someone who speaks both the language of innovation and the language of the farm.

Why You Should Attend EntreFest 2026

In this episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, we dive into what's new and exciting at EntreFest [https://entrefest.com/], Iowa's premier entrepreneurship conference. Hosted in Iowa City's vibrant pedestrian mall, EntreFest is celebrating its 14th year with an expanded lineup of 70+ speakers across 33 sessions and 3 keynote programs. 💡 Find this show on your favorite player: https://iowapodcast.com/jan-findlayson [https://iowapodcast.com/jan-findlayson] ⚖️ Hurt at work? Talk to Nate Boulton for free: https://workerslawyers.com [https://workerslawyers.com] 🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's BBQ: https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq [https://iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq] Our guest, Jan Finlayson, Director of Events at NewBoCo, walks us through a packed agenda that goes beyond traditional business talks—from an AI roundtable with practical takeaways for entrepreneurs, to a sports entrepreneurship panel featuring current and former University of Iowa athletes, to an intimate discussion on women, work, and entrepreneurship in rural Iowa. Whether you're an early-stage founder or an established business owner, EntreFest promises hands-on workshops, unexpected "surprises and delights," and plenty of networking opportunities designed to help you leave with real connections and actionable insights. But EntreFest isn't just about the content: it's about the experience. With complimentary lunches, coffee, and cocktail hours strategically built into the schedule, plus three pitch competitions offering up to $20,000 in prize money, the event is meticulously designed to foster genuine human connection. Jan shares her philosophy of being the "hostess with the mostest," ensuring attendees feel taken care of while uncovering the stories and innovations happening across Iowa. We also explore NewBoCo's broader vision of bringing entrepreneurial support and events like EntreFest to smaller communities across the state, recognizing that incredible ideas and entrepreneurs aren't limited to its metropolitan hubs. Whether you're building in rural Iowa or a major metro area, this episode reminds you why you should be tuning in, and why you should plan to attend this one-of-a-kind conference.