Building the World's Biggest Company with Brad Dwyer, CTO and Co-Founder of Roboflow
Release Date: 11/26/2024
Poking Holes in Tradition: ReEnvision Ag’s Seed Spike and the Future of Precision Planting
Iowa Tech Podcast
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. 🗞️ Be first to get new interviews: 🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's BBQ: 💡 Find this show on your favorite player: Chapters: 01:42 - Reenvision Ag: Revolutionizing Planting 08:50 - Challenges and Innovations in Agriculture 20:26 - Challenges and Opportunities in Market Gardening 23:46 - Innovations in Agricultural Technology 28:55 - Future Vision and Business Strategy...
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Building an Entrepreneurial Culture at Drake University with Chase Spencer
Iowa Tech Podcast
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 for classic car owners now used by hundreds across the country. He explains his evolution at Drake from contractor to program manager overseeing entrepreneurship...
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Mental Health, AI and Turning Tragedy into Purpose with Jeff Johnston of Brightn
Iowa Tech Podcast
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 granddaughter. He explains Brighton’s unique approach to “mental wellness planning,” translating principles from financial planning into a human portfolio of health,...
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Angels in the Krause (House) with Diana Wright
Iowa Tech Podcast
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 fundamentals workshop the night before, drawing about 50 attendees. The event balanced investor education with founder energy: a keynote from Billy Asmus of Repaint Tray (fresh off...
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Inside the Digital Transformation of Community Banking with Tara Seible
Iowa Tech Podcast
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 outlines the power of combining sales expertise with strategic problem-solving, offers insight into her agency's hybrid team model, and teases her next big move: a software platform...
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The Midwest Startup Taking on Billion-Dollar FMCs with Donuts and AI
Iowa Tech Podcast
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 credits early traction to obsessive customer service and “doing things that don’t scale,” from overnight fixes to mapping clients’ workflows on-site. The team’s...
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Taking a Beat - Re-Envisioning the Iowa Tech Podcast
Iowa Tech Podcast
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 clarity they deserve. As the landscape of Iowa’s startup ecosystem evolves, so too will the way we share it. During this hiatus, Kaylee will be exploring new formats,...
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An Interview with Paul MacDonald, the Cofounder & Managing Director of Bio Innovations Midwest
Iowa Tech Podcast
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 crucial role in bringing the event to the Midwest. The podcast explores the unique format of Bio Innovations Midwest, emphasizing pre-arranged one-to-one meetings that facilitate...
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Unlocking Academic Success: How Coltie Bridges the Graduate Education Gap with Innovative AI Solutions
Iowa Tech Podcast
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 in academia where matching with the right mentor was crucial for success. Coltie is designed as an integrated platform that connects various stakeholders in academia—students,...
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Triumph Over Tragedy: How a Cedar Rapids Startup is Revolutionizing Mental Wellness
Iowa Tech Podcast
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. These painful experiences propelled him to start a nonprofit, Living Undeterred Project, and eventually Brightn, an app aimed at shifting the focus from crisis intervention to...
info_outlineIn the latest episode of the Iowa Tech Podcast, host Kaylee sits down with Brad Dwyer, the Co-Founder and CTO of Roboflow, to delve into the exciting world of computer vision technology. Roboflow, a company dedicated to giving computers the sense of sight through AI models, has already garnered over one million users, spanning from hobbyists to Fortune 100 companies. The discussion highlights Roboflow’s journey from a hackathon project to a key player in the AI industry, underscoring the transformative potential of computer vision technology in various sectors, from augmented reality apps to advanced security systems. Brad shares insights into how Roboflow empowers developers—even redefines the term "developer"—to harness AI for diverse applications, reflecting on how the company pivoted from creating augmented reality apps to focusing on developer tools.
As the conversation progresses, Brad reveals the strategic moves that have propelled Roboflow’s growth, including its recent $40 million Series B round led by Google Ventures (GV). The dialogue touches on the company’s innovative hiring practices and its efforts to democratize computer vision through platforms like Roboflow Universe, which allows users to share and utilize open-source datasets and models. Brad’s narrative is not only a testament to Roboflow’s success but also a broader reflection on the evolving AI landscape. The episode concludes with Brad offering valuable advice to aspiring entrepreneurs on the importance of thinking big and aligning with the right partners to achieve ambitious goals, while also emphasizing the role of community and continuous learning in his entrepreneurial journey.
Hear the full show: https://iowapodcast.com/brad-dwyer-roboflow