Mike Draper

The Midwest: God's Gift To Planet Earth,
an Entrepreneur's Journey
(Keynote Speaker)

Born and raised in Van Meter, Mike Draper left Iowa in 2000. He studied history at the University of Pennsylvania and acquired a wife while spending a year in the United Kingdom. In 2005, Mike and the future Mrs. Mike moved to Des Moines. The fall of that year, Mike opened RAYGUN, a t-shirt company based in Des Moines that has since developed a cult following for its Iowa-themed apparel with its own quirky and unique sense of humor. In cooperation with Raygun, Mike recently published a coffee table book, "The Midwest: God's Gift To Planet Earth."

The company has expanded from $60,000 annual sales in 2005 to over $3m in 2013. But at the heart, it is a clothing store that hopes to make people laugh and save America from 10,000 years of darkness.

Christian Renaud

Building In Iowa
(Keynote Speaker)

Christian Renaud is a serial entrepreneur and technologist and the co-founder of Startup Iowa, and principal and mentor-in-residence at StartupCity Des Moines, an early stage tech incubator that anchors Des Moines' "Silicon Sixth," a stretch of 6th Ave in Downtown Des Moines that has become a major hub for entrepreneurial and startup activity in the Midwest.

Christian previously served as CEO of Palisade Systems, CEO of the Technology Intelligence Group, and Chief Architect of Networked Virtual Environments for Cisco Systems.  Christian holds advisory and board positions with venture funds, European Commission projects and a number of technology startups.

Mary Quass

My Entrepreneurial Journey In Radio
(Keynote Speaker)

Mary Quass will tell her entrepreneurial story and the lessons she's learned during her keynote talk on Day 1 of Entrefest. Mary purchased her first radio station with bank loans and now Cedar Rapids-based NRG Media is the 7th largest radio network in the US.

Quass has practically seen and lived through it all when it comes to radio over the past three decades, buying her first station in 1988, at the age of 37 with bank loans. Quass dabbled in Internet radio years before it would become a legitimate force and in 2002 she decided to get back in the broadcast radio game by starting NRG Media, which owns 45 radio stations throughout Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Illinois. Mary received her BA Degree from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Mary serves as a board member on the National Association of Broadcasters, United Fire & Casualty Company, US Bank, Mercy Medical Center and other local boards in Cedar Rapids.

In 2010, Mary was six times honored by Radio Ink Magazine when she was named to the lists of The 40 Most Powerful People in Radio and The 50 Most Influential Women in Radio.

Curtis Nelson

I’ve Got An Idea, Now What: A Recipe For Success
Startup Communities: Success Stories
(Breakout Session Speaker & Panelist)

With over thirty years of successful national and international business creation and leadership experience, Curtis Nelson has directed the development and successful launch of over 45 new businesses and more than 300 new products for the communications, IT, military, transportation, medical, health, food and gardening industries worldwide. Nelson is a seasoned public speaker, entrepreneur, investor, consultant, and three-time veteran of Inc. Magazine's 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies® list. 

A 1974 graduate of the University of Iowa, Nelson is the author of The Recipe for Business Success, a handbook for entrepreneurs and business leaders. Nelson currently serves as President & CEO of EDC, Inc., a nationally-recognized business accelerator. He is the managing member of CRN LLC, a business consulting organization, and AccelerateIT, LLC; manager of Iowa Seed Fund, LLC, a seed-stage investment fund.

Josh Cramer

Lean Startup Methodology
(Breakout Session Speaker)

Josh Cramer is a serial tech entrepreneur and the CEO and Founder of Cramer Development, headquartered in Iowa City, which is one of the nation's top boutique startup-focused web development shops. Starting from humble beginnings in a small home office, Josh has steadily and iteratively grown Cramer Dev into a dynamic and talented team capable of producing world class web and mobile applications. He is a thought leader in lean startup methodology and business model generation and frequently speaks about technology and entrepreneurship to business people and innovators both regionally and nationally. His talks have been included in conferences like SXSW Interactive and Future Insights Live.

An engineer by training, Josh applies problem solving and design skills both in the software and business model design spaces. In addition to helping clients create new businesses through ideation and technical services, Josh has co-founded several other successful businesses including a wireless internet service provider, IT consulting firm, and a mobile payments & marketing platform.

Julie Zielinski

Building a Strong Brand That Sells
(Breakout Session Speaker)

Julie Zielinski serves as the Vice President of Marketing and Strategy at The Entrepreneurial Development Center (EDC) in Cedar Rapids. In her position, she helps entrepreneurs identify key market growth opportunities and then translate these strategies into executable business plans to build their brand’s unique competitive advantage in the marketplace.  Prior to joining the EDC, Julie served as Director of the Marketing Academy for the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business MBA program and President of Zielinski Consulting, where she worked with local, national, and global businesses to identify unique competitive brand advantage and pursue creative and actionable growth
strategies.

Julie's current work follows a 15-year corporate marketing and strategy career in marketing research, product management, branding, new product development, and strategy. In her most recent executive roles with Allsteel, a global contract office furniture brand, she managed multi-million dollar product lines and cross-functional work teams of marketing, industrial design, and engineering to identify strategic growth opportunities and develop new product solutions for entry into these markets. She was responsible for all aspects of strategic market planning, branding, and implementation. 

Julie is also an adjunct lecturer at the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business and has served on the Marketing Advisory Council for the University of Iowa Marketing Department and on the Board of Advisors for the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business School of Management. She currently serves on the Board of the Iowa City Shelter House and volunteers her time locally with the Iowa City Community Schools. 

Julie has a BA from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Iowa.

Steve West

Taking The Family Business Global
(Breakout Session Speaker)

After graduating from the University of Iowa in 1969, Steve West joined his father at West Music, a musical instrument repair shop in Iowa City that Pearl West started in 1941. Since then, Steve has grown West Music Company to five retail music stores in Iowa and Illinois, a national musical education catalog, twelve e-commerce websites specializing in elementary music, music therapy, professional flutes and percussion, and the North American distributor of high-end Miyazawa Flutes. Today, Steve serves as the company's Chairman and concentrates mostly on the company’s international distribution business. His son Ryan, joined the company full-time as Senior Vice President in 2008.

John LaMarche

Pitching Your Business & Pitch Perfect Workshop
(Breakout Session Speaker)

John is currently a principal in VentureNet Iowa, a company that connects ideas to resources, management and investors to create jobs and build businesses in Iowa. VentureNet’s focus is on early-stage innovative technology companies that include bio/life science, IT, value-added agriculture, advanced manufacturing and renewable energy opportunities. Working in conjunction with a wide array resources from around the state, VentureNet assists the companies in the evaluation of their market opportunity and helps them to identify mentors, advisers, consultants and management.

In addition, John serves on the board of four companies, is a part-time CFO for a technology startup and also serves as a mentor to several companies. He was previously involved with Emerging Growth Group and prior to that was COO with two start-ups: a medical device technology company and a health care IT venture.

Bruce Nuzum

Right Resources, Right Time
(Breakout Session Speaker) 

Bruce Nuzum is Vice President of Finance at the Iowa Area Development Group (IADG) in Des Moines. IADG does marketing and economic development on behalf of its member rural electric cooperatives, municipal electric companies, and independent telephone companies throughout the State of Iowa. 

Bruce joined IADG in 1997, and his primary responsibilities include project assistance through financial packaging. During his tenure at IADG, Bruce has authored 137 successful USDA REDL&G applications securing $47 million for Iowa’s regional electric cooperatives, their communities and businesses. Almost $24 million of these awards were for the benefit of local revolving loan funds. 

Bruce received his business degree from the University of Iowa and his MBA from Drake University. He is a Past President of the Professional Developers of Iowa and a Certified Economic Development Finance Professional.

Lisa Shimkat

The Big Payoff: Exiting Your Business
(Breakout Session Speaker)

Lisa Shimkat is the regional director of the North Central Iowa Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Her scope of work is focused on both helping existing businesses expand and new businesses start-up by utilizing existing and community loan programs in partnership with federal programs. The NCI Small Business Development Center provides business counseling for entrepreneurs in all areas of starting, operating and expanding a business.

Lisa has an MBA from Iowa State University, is a Certified Business Adviser from University of Toledo and has also obtained Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) certification through the National Development Council.

Kristen Monroe

Getting Things Done: Time Management In A 24/7 Job
(Breakout Session Speaker)

Kristen Monroe is the owner of Ultimate Web Design and a Microsoft Office Specialist Master Instructor.  As a business owner, creative, instructor and avid community volunteer, Kristen wears many hats and still manages to make it all fit in a 24-hour day.  Kristen will share her research and proven time management techniques that are built around the extremely popular Getting Things Done (GTD) time management methodology, developed by productivity consultant David Allen.  Kristen's session will help entrepreneurs of all types get more things done in less time.

Kristen sits on the Marshalltown Community College Business and Computer Applications Advisory Committee, the Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce Membership Committee, the Marshalltown Young Professionals Connect Committee and the Youth and Shelter Services of Marshalltown Advisory Board.  She was one of 2007's Times Republican 30 Under 40 and was awarded the 2008 Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award.

Kristen graduated from Marshalltown Community College.

Kris Gulick

Bootstrapping to Venture Capital: Show Me The Money
(Breakout Session Speaker)

Kris Gulick is the manager of Kris G. Gulick, CPA, PLC, and President of Entrepreneurial Services Group, LLC, specializing in providing CPA and CFO-level services to entrepreneurs and high-tech businesses. He has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1988 and has 12 years of accounting experience with Big Five and other regional and national firms, and seven years in private industry performing accounting and financial management functions as CFO.

Kris provides accounting and consulting for clients in a variety of industries and also provides litigation support engagements involving valuation of closely held business interests and calculations of lost profits and monetary damages. In addition to being an adjunct professor in accounting for the University of Iowa, Mt. Mercy College and the University of Northern Iowa, Kris is a member of the Cedar Rapids City Council.

Chuck Peters

Innovating Inside An Existing Company: A CEO's Perspective
(Breakout Session Speaker)

Chuck is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Gazette Company, a company owned by a trust for the benefit of the employees (ESOP), and doing business as Iowa SourceMedia Group, consisting of The Gazette newspaper, KCRG – TV9, an ABC affiliate, Hoopla, and numerous online sites; Fusionfarm, a digital services agency and ColorWeb Printers. He is on the board of directors of the Newspaper Association of America. Chuck is leading a team attempting to create C3 – Complete Community Connection, and blogs about that project at http://chuckpeters.iowa.com and www.communitybuilding.us.

A lawyer by training, graduating from the University of Iowa College of Law, Chuck spent a decade in the appliance business, five years as President of Amana Refrigeration and until 1998 as Vice President – Administration of Maytag. Between appliance assignments, he was the CEO of Breakthrough, an Iowa City start-up software and consulting company engaged in developing effective early literacy programs for school systems. Chuck is one of the founding directors of Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust, is a trustee at Coe College, is a director of Swift Communications, Inc. and is active in many civic and charitable organizations, including United Way, the Hall- Perrine Foundation and Junior Achievement.

John Casko

David Sells Goliath: Landing Your First Fortune 500 Customer
(Breakout Session Speaker)

John Casko, founder and CEO of BFS Consulting, which helps small early stage and seed level technology based companies find and establish loyal, high margin and repeat early adopting customers in the form of Fortune 500 and worldwide market segment leaders.  John’s expertise lies in helping innovative companies make their first sale.  John will share a methodology he has developed in over a decade in the field through work with more than two dozen companies in a wide range of fields. 

Though this session’s methodology is primarily designed for business-to-business (B2B) companies, all types of entrepreneurs will take something away from John's presentation that will help them sell their first product.

Scott Lewellen, Gina Adam and Brian Sauer

Beyond the Brand: From Promise to Practice
(Breakout Session Speakers)

Determined to launch a creative ad shop focused solely on the big idea, factory foremen Scott Lewellen, Gina Adam and Brian Sauer opened Saturday Mfg. in 2009. In four years they’ve proven themselves to be big thinkers with finely crafted executions. In 2010, Saturday Mfg. won more than 20 awards and 3 Best of Category honors at the local American Advertising Federation ADDY Awards. And, in just their second year they earned several Gold and Silver ADDY Awards along with the Best of Show honor for their work for Hy-Line International. 

Scott and Gina bring broadcast production and wordsmithery expertise to the team while Brian focuses on art direction, design and nitpicking even the smallest of details. Together, the team offers more than 55 years of experience helping international and local clients create their identities and engage with consumers—all while making time to enjoy delicious flapjacks on occasion.

Iowa Tech Chicks

It’s Finally Time To Build Your Website
(Hands-On Workshop Facilitator)

Iowa Tech Chicks is an Iowa City-based community group that strives to connect and educate women who are working in tech and/or interested in learning new skills, from the basics of creating a Wordpress website to programming in Python or Ruby on Rails.  Iowa Tech Chick's activities are currently centered in Iowa City, though the group is interested in connecting with women in tech throughout Iowa.

Andrea Flemming, Rachel Stewart, Rachael Carlson and Breahna Galbreath, members of The Tech Chicks will be leading participating Entrefest attendees (both guys and gals) through a two session Wordpress workshop, to finally build that website for your business that you've always been talking about.  No website building experience necessary.

Josh Krakauer

Social Media 201: Demystifying Facebook Ads
(Breakout Session Speaker)

Josh Krakauer, has a small (ok, huge) obsession with the social web. Over the past few years, he has led online marketing initiatives for a variety of Iowa-based startups and emerging brands, bolstering a passion for entrepreneurship in the digital space.

A certified gear head in his teenage years, today Josh turns the wrenches at Sculpt, a social media agency that builds, manages and monitors online communities for regional and web-based brands. Josh leads Sculpt's growing team of tweet-crafting, twenty-somethings out of the company’s headquarters in the Iowa City CoLab.

Tim McDougall

Innovating Inside A Big Company: From The Trenches
(Breakout Session Speaker)

Tim McDougall is Vice-President of Products for SourceMedia Group and Publisher of The Gazette. Tim has spent over 20 years in multiple marketing disciplines, including packaged goods, sports marketing, agency management, new product development, retail marketing and media.

Tim previously led the marketing divisions of PF Chang’s Restaurants, The New Orleans Hornets, The Houston Rockets and The Miller Brewing Company, and recently co-founded FusionFarm, a groundbreaking digital marketing startup...housed inside a 130-year old media company! 

Tim will talk about the challenges faced and the lessons learned while trying to stoke the entrepreneurial spirit inside a large, often reluctant-to-change, existing company.

Theresa Bornbach

Making It All Fit: Having A Life Outside Your Business
(Breakout Session Speaker)

As an experienced corporate executive, entrepreneur, nonprofit manager and business coach, Theresa Bornback has seen it all. From serving as a Vice-President at Alliant Energy to coaching high-level executives to currently owning and operating four different small businesses, Theresa brings an engaging personality and energy you won't soon forget, mixed with down-to-earth practical advice that she's gained from her own entrepreneurial experiences.

As a small business owner she knows what it is like to worry about the day-to-day survival of your business and making the amount of money you need to run your business and personal life. She understands what it’s like to put in long hours and wonder what happened to the dreams and visions you had for your life and future, and will provide some insight on how you can balance the needs of your business with the needs of your spouse, children, family and friends.

Dr. Trace Pickering

Design Thinking Workshop
(Hands-on Workshop Facilitator)

Dr. Trace Pickering is an educational entrepreneur and currently serves as director of community building for SourceMedia Group in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Pickering also serves as an adjunct professor in the MBA program at Mt Mercy. Previously, he was coordinator of innovation and organizational effectiveness at the Grant Wood Area Education Agency in Cedar Rapids. He has also served as a classroom teacher, a school administrator, an entrepreneur and a private businessman.

Trace's passion lies in the study and implementation of sociocultural systems designed to build strong communities and organizations. A significant amount of his work today focuses on helping communities, organizations, and leaders understand and implement methodologies for designing organizations to be more innovative, community-focused, and future-relevant.

Amanda Styron

Startup Communities: Entrepreneurial Leaders
Startup Communities: Success Stories
(Breakout Panel Moderator)

Amanda Styron is co-founder and CEO of Seed Here Studio, a media and marketing agency dedicated to building a stronger community of entrepreneurs and creatives in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area. She leads strategy and production of multiple community building efforts including events, programs, websites, coworking spaces and the region’s branding initiative. She blogs about her community building methods and experiences at CommunityBuilding.us.

Styron earned a degree in economics at the University of Iowa. While in college she co-founded the Iowa City non-profit community building organization The James Gang and launched a student engagement program called The 10,000 Hours Show that went on to be acquired and expanded by United Way Worldwide. After college, she worked with creative class expert Richard Florida and the Knight Foundation to support mid-size cities around the country with their creative community building efforts.

Macy Koch

Social Media 101: Followers, Likes, Check-ins and Pins
(Breakout Session Speaker)

Macy Koch is the Director of Social Strategy at Brand Driven Digital. As a marketing strategist, Macy can spot opportunities to strengthen brands and businesses alike. She’s been called “the bees-knees” by Foursquare founder, Dennis Crowley, and has access at any time to over 20 business social accounts. Macy has spoken at conferences and on panels with content regarding branding, social media, and marketing, and has worked with small and large businesses, as well as startups and non-profits. Macy is deeply immersed in the startup culture in the midwest, having helped found RecBob, and continues to contribute to the regional startup and tech focused publication, Silicon Prairie News. 

Geoff Wood

Startup Communities: Success Stories
(Breakout Session Panelist)

Geoff Wood is the Chief Operating Offices and main connection point in Iowa for Silicon Prairie News (SPN), an organization working to increase the notability of the Silicon Prairie region – Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas City and surrounding area – as an innovation center and startup hub. In addition to putting out the premier technology publication in the area, the SPN team also produces events Big Des Moines, Big Omaha and Big Kansas City.

Geoff has co-founded several startups, including VolunteerLocal, Eggcrates, and CampusAuthority. He earned a B. Sc. from Iowa State University and an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

Rob Williams

Money, Research, Office Space, Networking & More - It's all Here!
(Breakout Session Speaker)

Rob Williams is a Business Analyst and Lead IASourceLink Liaison to the Iowa Economic Development Authority with the University of Northern Iowa. He is a certified Market Research & Social Media Specialist with the National Economic Gardening Center, a 2010 graduate of the Heartland Economic Development Course, and an active member of the Professional Developers of Iowa.

Brad Feld (via ThincIowa)

Startup Communities: The Boulder Thesis w/ Brad Feld (video)
(breakout session video)

This year at EntreFest we will be screening a recording of a talk given in October of 2012 by famed entrepreneur-turned-venture capitalist Brad Feld, at the most recent ThincIowa, a Des Moines-based conference for entrepreneurs. 

Brad Feld is one of the managing directors at Foundry Group, a venture capital firm that invests in early stage software and Internet companies throughout the US. He is also the co-founder of TechStars, a mentor-driven accelerator, author of several books and blogs, and a marathon runner.

In his talk, Brad discusses one of his most recent books, Startup Communities, which documents the startup communities that are popping up everywhere, in cities from New Orelans to Portland to Des Moines. Brad talks about how these types of entrepreneurial ecosystems are driving innovation and small business energy worldwide. Brad's book documents the buzz, strategy, long-term perspective, and dynamics of building communities of entrepreneurs in any city or region.

This talk has a lot of application for economic developers trying to grow more entrepreneurs in their communities, as well as any entrepreneurs who want to make it easier to succeed in their hometowns.

This talk is being provided by Silicon Prairie News. You can attend the next ThincIowa Conference, which will be renamed Big Des Moines this year, on Oct 9-11, 2013.

Troy Miller

Bootstrapping to Venture Capital: Show Me The Money
(Breakout Session Panelist)

Troy is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor who over the past 16 years has worked in multiple fields, including as a wireless telecom professional, a junior high teacher, the founder of two successful food businesses, a multi-million dollar fundraiser, as well as a consultant for cloud-based tech startups. His most recent brainchild was to take cutting-edge electronic payments and build value-added merchant tools on top. That product, Koala Pay, is built by a merchant, for a merchant. A teacher by training, Troy enjoys working with people to achieve mutually beneficial goals.

Sculpt

Build Your Business's Facebook Page Worskshop
(Hand's on Workshop Facilitator)

Sculpt is a full-service Social Media Marketing Agency based in Iowa City that specializes in social media consulting; training and education; online community management and digital campaigns. From the social media novice, looking to establish and grow an active fan base, to the well-versed retailer in search of an integrated promotional campaign Sculpt's social media team can help.  The crew from Sculpt will be leading a small group of EntreFest workshop that will have attendees building a Facebook Page for their business, right at the conference (for free)!  Attendees of this workshop may also wish to attend Social Media 101 in Breakout Session #1 and Social Media 201 (lead by Sculpt's Josh Krakauer) during Breakout Session #3.

Wade Steenhoek

Business Model Generation
(Breakout Session Speaker)

Wade Steenhoek has turned traditional entrepreneurial education on its head at Central College. Instead of lectures, textbooks and tests, entrepreneurial students discover the beliefs, habits, and activities of successful entrepreneurs and use this mindset to launch real businesses in a 16 week “Startup Semester”.  Students use the lab as a classroom, mentors as coaches, and meetings with real customers as market research “consultants”. Couple this with best practices such as the Business Model Canvas/Customer Discovery approach, and students experience the pressures and decisions of running a real startup, all in a semi-controlled, supportive environment.  In addition to his role at Central College, Steenhoek owns two other small businesses that he operates when away from campus. Prior to his role at Central, Steenhoek was a successful executive at a leading insurance company where he spent sixteen years before venturing out on his own. He also serves as a City Councilor in Ankeny, Iowa, our state’s fastest growing city.

Lt Governor Kim Reynolds

Dream Big, Grow Here Pitch Off Celebrity Emcee

Kim Reynolds is the 47th and current Lieutenant Governor of Iowa and will serve as the Celebrity Emcee of The 2013 Dream Big Grow Here Finals on Day 1 of EntreFest!

Kim Reynolds grew up in St. Charles, Iowa and began her work in the public sector as a motor vehicle clerk in the Clarke County Treasurer’s Office. She was elected Clarke County Treasurer in 1994 and was re-elected three times.  In 2008, Reynolds successfully ran for the Iowa Senate and in 2010, she was elected lieutenant governor of the State of Iowa, working along side Iowa Governor Terry Branstad.

Mark Nolte

Startup Communities: Success Stories
(Breakout Session Panelist)

Mark Nolte is the President of the Iowa City Area Development Group (ICAD) and provides business development assistance to existing and merging companies. Before joining ICAD Group, Mark served as a senior manager and training consultant for The Abilities Fund, a nationwide community developer targeted to advance entrepreneurial opportunities for Americans with disabilities and organizations that serve them. An Iowa native and a University of Iowa graduate, Mark served as an Americorps VISTA supervisor and an Iowa City Housing Authority Advisory Panel volunteer. He serves on the Englert Theatre Board of Directors and co-owns Nolte Academy of Dance in Coralville with his wife, Leslie.

Andy Stoll

Startup Communities: Entrepreneurial Leaders
Startup Communities: Success Stories
(Breakout Panel Moderator)

Andy Stoll is a social entrepreneur and media producer. Andy recently co-founded Seed Here Studio, a media and marketing agency dedicated to building a stronger community of entrepreneurs and creatives in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area; co-founded Startup Iowa, the 8th region to join the White House initiated Startup America Partnership; and he serves in advisory roles with a number of startups. Andy previously co-founded The James Gang, a community-building creativity- and social entrepreneurial-incubator that was named the Iowa City Press Citizen ‘Person of the Year’, as the individual or group that had the largest impact on the community. Andy holds a BA in film production and a BBA in Business Management from The University of Iowa, as well as a Masters Degree in Media Cultures from The City University of Hong Kong. Andy recently completed a 4-year, 40-country solo trip-around-the-world, and moonlights as a photographer, sometimes chef and occasional cooking class instructor.

Josh Moore

Bootstrapping to Venture Capital: Show Me The Money (Breakout Session Panelist) Josh Moore has been with the Bankers Trust team since 2007 as a Vice President in Commercial Banking. He has over 13 years of commercial banking experience in the Cedar Rapids area. Prior to moving to Cedar Rapids in 1999, Josh spent several years working in the mortgage banking and consumer loan services industry in his hometown of Annapolis, Maryland.  Josh presently serves as Chair of the East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) Revolving Loan Fund Committee and earned a BS in Economics from Penn State and his MBA from the University of Iowa.

David Tominsky

Startup Communities: The Boulder Thesis
Startup Communities: Entrepreneurial Leaders
(Breakout Session Panelist) 

David is a 14-year veteran of the technical staffing industry: 10 years with the largest IT staffing company in the country, the next 1.5 with a startup HR consultancy, and the past 2.5 as an independent recruiter focused on software applications, web, and embedded engineering. A father and entrepreneur passionate about education and finding innovative ways to develop critical skills through events that are fun, engaging, and beyond awesome.  David has helped to organize a number of events in The Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Startup Community including New Bo Open Coffee and Vault Coworking's Startup Community Reading Club.

Lynn Allendorf

Startup Communities: Success Stories
(Breakout Session Panelist)

Lynn Allendorf is acting director of the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center at University of Iowa. She also runs the Bedell Entrepreneurship Learning Laboratory, a student business incubator, and teaches in the undergraduate and MBA programs in the Tippie College of Business.

 

Previously she served as vice president of product development for The Learning Company's Parsons Technology Division where she managed the development and marketing of the company's $30 million productivity division including the Quicken Family Lawyer product line, serving the company in various capacities before founding her own company, 215 Technology Inc. in 1999. Her extensive experience in software development also includes the Silicon Valley companies Intuit and Broderbund as well as Rockwell Collins. Her expertise is in consumer product marketing, both direct and retail, software development, team building and entrepreneurship.

 

Lynn has a BS in Mathematics, Computer Science, and Economics, as well as an MBA, from The University of Iowa.

 

Al Beach

Identifying Small-Business Loan Sources
(Breakout Session Speaker)

Al Beach is the Regional Director of the Kirkwood Small Business Development Center. He provides free, confidential counseling to current and future businesses in Linn, Benton and Jones counties. Al holds a BBA in Marketing from the University of Iowa and was named to his current position after a 35-year career in telecommunications, including 10 years of owning or directing successful startups and 15 years as a consultant to new ventures.

After years of direct success as an exec or owner of high-growth businesses, Al now enjoys a more rewarding type of success - helping small-business owners develop their ventures. Al counsels about 200 clients a year. His assistance ranges from strategic to tactical, including financial, marketing and operational disciplines spanning a wide assortment of industries.

Lydia Brown

Startup Communities: Entrepreneurial Leaders
(Breakout Session Panelist)

After a successful career in sales and sales management, Lydia put her strong interpersonal skills to work in her own businesses. LLB Executive Partners, an executive search firm she founded in 2002, continues to place key sales, sales management, and executive talent into organizations across the country. In 2008, LLB Executive Partners joined forces with Human Capital Solutions of Cedar Rapids to create Skywalk Group, a professional services organization specializing in human resources consulting, organizational development, and recruiting. Skywalk Group has been repeatedly recognized as one of the fastest growing businesses in the Eastern Iowa business corridor.

In 2012, Lydia founded Ascent, a unique nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women business owners overcome the unique challenges women face today. Ascent’s mission is to provide strategic direction, access to resources, and customized professional and personal development to ensure that women innovators become the driving force in Iowa’s 21 st century economy. Lydia and her husband Mike have three children and reside in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Andy Stoll

Startup Communities: Entrepreneurial Leaders
Startup Communities: Success Stories
(EntreFest! Emcee & Breakout Panel Moderator)

Andy Stoll is a social entrepreneur and media producer.

Andy recently co-founded Seed Here Studio, a media and marketing agency dedicated to building a stronger community of entrepreneurs and creatives in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area; co-founded Startup Iowa, the 8th region to join the White House initiated Startup America Partnership; and he serves in advisory roles with a number of startups.

Andy previously co-founded The James Gang, a community-building creativity- and social entrepreneurial-incubator that was named the Iowa City Press Citizen ‘Person of the Year’, as the individual or group that had the largest impact on the community.

Andy holds a BA in film production and a BBA in Business Management from The University of Iowa, as well as a Masters Degree in Media Cultures from The City University of Hong Kong. Andy recently completed a 4-year, 40-country solo trip-around-the-world, and moonlights as a photographer, sometimes chef and occasional cooking class instructor.

Karl Becker

Startup Communities: Entrepreneurial Leaders
(breakout session panelist)

Karl Becker has spent his life learning about technology and how to apply it to solve big and small problems. He started programming at 11 years old, focusing on websites for educational organizations. After graduating with a Computer Engineering degree from North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND, Karl went to Iowa to work on helicopter cockpits for Rockwell Collins.

Once the iPhone came out in 2008, Karl was ignited with the vision of the entire world soon carrying powerful internet-connected computers in their pocket. After 5 years at Rockwell, Karl became full-time self-employed as the President of KB Productions, focusing on building productive iOS apps for various industries, including education, automobile maintenance, and sports management. Karl is also CTO and Co-Founder of Third Iron, a technology company dedicated to bringing next-generation technologies to libraries.

Karl organizes and runs a number of developer-focused meetup groups in Cedar Rapids, including The Iowa Mobile Developers Group, and Iowa Web Designers & Developers.

Michael Ott

Bootstrapping To Venture Capital: Show Me The Money
(Breakout Session Panelist)

Michael Ott is an Entrepreneur In Residence for Nidus Investment Partners and the founder of Terra Biologics.  Terra Biologics is a startup algae company providing solutions for disturbed soil restoration.  Michael has been responsible for fundraising, experimental design, field trials and business development. 

Michael Ott was the Executive Director of BIOWA  where he was responsible for converting the organization from a bio-based products trade group to a consulting group for renewable energy technologies.  Additionally, he raised over $150 million from investors for traditional biofuel production facilities, advanced biofuels, windpower, biomass power, waste-to-energy and bio-based product companies.  He has been the first employee at 6 different businesses.  

Michael Ott received a B.S. in Chemistry from Simpson College in Iowa and a M.S. in Bioinorganic Chemistry from the University of Iowa.

Joe Jennison

Startup Communities: Success Stories
(Breakout Session Panelist)

Joe Jennison is the Director of Main Street and Marketing for the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group. He works with two City Councils, 350 businesses, two School Districts, one College and 450 volunteers to “promote and develop the businesses and organizations of Mount Vernon and Lisbon, and enhance the quality of life.” The organization’s mission is fulfilled through 14 annual festivals and events that bring more than 100,000 people per year to these communities; and ten community-betterment projects all managed by volunteers.

Mount Vernon-Lisbon’s latest project is called Project Bright Idea, which is offering a beautifully restored Main Street building to the winning entrepreneur for up to two years rent free, plus a $300 per month utility stipend. Mount Vernon is a Main Street Community that believes in Economic Development through Historic Preservation.