Trevor Carlson visited 50+ countries in 5 years! He's also a friend, founder, content creator, and below-average salsa dancer. Pack your bag and ride along as we wind through an extended episode with wild stories from around the globe, a narrated break, writing fiction, thoughts on the future of You Don't Need This Podcast , experiential wisdom brewed to keep us building together, and bonus footage where Ben shares what he wants from life. BONUS MATERIALS Full Episode on YouTube https://lostandl...
Jul 16, 2025•1 hr 28 min•Season 2Ep. 99
Abena Sankofa is an unrelenting author, founder, and fellow podcaster who hosts Black & Privileged in America . This leader celebrates Africana, challenges historical narratives, and advocates for a just world. Together, we share time on a Tuesday by chatting about reading, writing, podcasting, and building a healthy bookshelf. After another narrated break, we update the "minority" business owner narrative, discuss ways to leverage resources geared just for you, and explore the perceived rel...
Jul 09, 2025•46 min•Season 2Ep. 98
Dan Knoup and Brandon Patterson lead the Home Builders Association of Greater Des Moines . We break ground by hearing how these two leaders got into residential construction. We then hit on the hands-on nature of entrepreneurs who start (or acquire) a skilled trade or home building business. After the break, we explore the tech-flavored frontiers of the home building industry, like AI in construction, online tools to enhance collaboration, smart homes, material science, and evolving talent. We t...
Jul 02, 2025•56 min•Season 2Ep. 97
Jack Chimbetete learned to make others feel charismatic as a young leader in Zimbabwe. After this film maker experienced the Mandela Washington Fellowship , he forged a new path by moving to Iowa. We chat about growing up in Africa, producing content for TV, the African Live Network , tips for migration, and how to sequence storytelling to enhance any adventure. After a euphoric break, Jack and Ben talk about what's easy to do, but hard to maintain. They discuss being optimistic, while staying r...
Jun 25, 2025•47 min•Season 2Ep. 96
Ben was back at UW Stevens Point , speaking and collaborating inside the UW Stevens Point Center for Entrepreneurship . During his time on campus, Alex Suscha and Haley Densow joined him for another "In The Wild" jam session. Hear how these two college student founders are building beyond the classroom by embracing the tension of going beyond the status quo. We speak about building a company while balancing school work, how to win pitch contests, and growing up in the connected era. For leaders ...
Jun 18, 2025•51 min•Season 2Ep. 95
Eric Engelmann builds stuff. Let's cheers to this leader's early entrepreneurial experiences and the origins of so many projects (see bonus materials) that have paved different paths for fellow founders. We also discuss when teams need to raise financial capital and how to manage a board of advisors, then explore leveraging large clients, finding co-founders in a startup community, and being honest with the end game in mind. After the break, we hear how Eric wants to be remembered and riff on if...
Jun 11, 2025•44 min•Season 2Ep. 94
Just in time for the NBA Finals! Sit courtside with Drew Van Meeteren , the President of Business Operations for the Iowa Wolves . The G League connects professional basketball players and leaders to each team in the NBA. EP93 is packed with fast-paced collisions that will leave you wanting OT. The Minnesota Timberwolves had a remarkable season and Ben occasionally sits courtside at the Iowa Wolves, who also had another howling good minor league season. The entertainment business of sports is BI...
Jun 04, 2025•45 min•Season 2Ep. 93
Bill Adamowski is a technologist, founder, and educator who strengthens the web for understanding customers, solving the right problems, and sequencing human-centered design to grow revenue. We explore this catalyst's journey from early interest in AI at Syracuse University , building/exiting his own business, helping large companies scale, shifting into higher education, establishing the ISU Startup Factory , and now inside Drake University (Bulldogs) as the Executive Director of Innovation, En...
May 28, 2025•55 min•Season 2Ep. 92
Based in Lincoln, Nebraska, Devon Seacrest is a tech founder who helps entrepreneurs surf through early moves that test the desirability, feasibly, and profitability of new ideas. He visiting Des Moines to lead the discussion at a web3dsm gathering, leveled up with an unplanned pinball lesson, and presenting at 1MC Des Moines the next morning. We then hit the studio to talk about ways a minimum viable product ("MVP") can activate the smallest viable audience and how to support progress with ongo...
May 21, 2025•49 min•Season 2Ep. 91
Nathan T. Wright is an artist. He has origins in the early days of social media, made impact inside corporate marketing, and now illustates remarkable art with drawings, cartoons, murals, and more. Ben and Nathan jam on The Adventures of Fatberg , the early (fun) days of social media, the speeds in-house at a large company, leading a creative process with clients, real skills for studying the arts, and understanding the business of being a full-time artist. After the break that features a readin...
May 14, 2025•44 min•Season 2Ep. 90
Derreck Stratton is a military veteran and startup founder who connects doers to odd jobs. Instead of asking "who do you know" for a task around the house, the HUDU team built an easier way to find handy folks looking for side hustles nearby. Like ride sharing, this episode highlights more examples of how the gig economy is evolving. We chat about trust within a two-sided marketplaces, building as a non-technical founder, content creation, and paving a path to go far with activities that look li...
May 07, 2025•42 min•Season 2Ep. 89
Rachel Abel and Melissa Carlson are leaders who show up to build brands that are brewed through storytelling that rhymes. Together, we toast to experiential design, friends within the food & beverage industry, product labeling, and staying in-tune with industry regulations to provide effeciency for customers. After the break, we discuss how to stay creative by activating the senses and adding digital depth to extend how a target audience experiences your brand. If you're building with friend...
Apr 30, 2025•45 min•Season 2Ep. 88
Alongside a career in finance, Steve Walsh is an investor and wrote Make the 10X Leap to help founders scale. We talk about choosing to push through the storm, raising strategic financial capital, collaborating with investors, signals for when it might be time to scale, and all that goes into writing your first book. BONUS MATERIALS https://BisonEquityGroup.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Bison http://Push-Through.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com Roasted Reflections Break: Winds of Outrage ...
Apr 23, 2025•43 min•Season 2Ep. 87
Taufeek Shah brings the heat! We pour on the sauce and dip into salsa as we hear how Lola's Fine Sauces delivers spicy goodness in 22,000+ locations worldwide. Taufeek and Ben discuss the science of edible product development, freshness in a distributed supply chain, and physical experiences with digital depth. BONUS MATERIALS Capsaicin 🌶️ TRPV1 https://LolasFineHotSauce.com http://Red-Jalapeno.YouDontNeedThisPodcast.com Roasted Reflections Break: Isochronal EP28 – Let's Get Phygital 🎙️ Sachin...
Apr 16, 2025•48 min•Season 2Ep. 86
Jacob Kruse invests corporate innovation funds. Corporate venture capital is a growing trend, so let's chat through how founders can interact with corporate partners and how internal innovation teams can leverage their position within an entrepreneurial ecosystem. As an intrapreneur within the insurance industry, listen how to co-create with founders and stay in-tune with a startup community. Large companies must stay thirsty to stay ahead of the innovation curve and EP85 is brewed to help indis...
Apr 09, 2025•48 min•Season 2Ep. 85
Join us at base camp as Jon Kallen builds a mountain for us to climb. We lean into the pain and carry our own gear with stories from Aconcagua , Denali , Kilimanjaro , and more high altitudes worldwide. When he's not craving gummy worms on snow capped peaks above the clouds, this impactful leader mentors founders commercializing business strategies. We reflect on this leadership alongside our closing message to the mountains. https://JenningsKallen.com https://AlgaeBiomass.org http://Base-Camp.Y...
Apr 02, 2025•44 min•Season 2Ep. 84
Ehrich Pakala is a mathematician, software engineer, and founder who uses machine learning to unlock data-driven understandings. His team at Emigrait leverages insight to find future home buyers and sellers for real estate professionals. While they play chess in-studio, hear Ben and Ehrich chat about avoiding the measurement trap , Ehrich's favorite math equation, machine learning, and predictive modeling in real estate. The nerdery continues with mathematics in the real world, then Ben narrates...
Mar 26, 2025•47 min•Season 2Ep. 83
Rachelle Keck is the 14th president of Grand View University . Students join us in-studio as we discuss the energy of leadership. We also talk about writing a book and how to leverage an adapttitude, which is an attitude that fosters an aptitude for adaptation. After an extended break that celebrates Playforce Principles and Seth Godin's Real Skills , we navigate the ROI of higher education, cosmic curiosity, and what's worth sacrificing to achieve progress. We close with a viking story from Rac...
Mar 19, 2025•51 min•Season 2Ep. 82
Put your laser eyes on as Carl Lippert swings through the studio to brew some technology soup. Together, we compile Carl's global hackathon tour to hear how such curiosity paired with initiative helped this small town technologist explore the world. From farming to AI, to blockchain networks, to prototyping, to nomading, to atoms , cryptography, and truth, EP81 is loaded with tactics and innovative energy to optimize your time and environments. As Ben and Carl discuss, when technology is inheren...
Mar 12, 2025•51 min•Season 2Ep. 81
scottrepreneur is a nerd you need to know. How does blockchain layering work? What can composability provide? What's the value of money being mechanized? Can you translate the difference between centralized, protocol, and blockchain networks? Maybe you're exploring ways to add digital depth to existing products? So many questions, here are some answers! After the 10 Commandments of UX are echoed in the break, we talk about how blockchain can support state management and sourcing truth alongside ...
Mar 05, 2025•46 min•Season 2Ep. 80
Max Schaeffer is an Iowa Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame Inductee jamming on a new kind of mic. EP79 features a friend and professional conversationalist sharing insight from 40+ years in radio! This influencer is also an award-winning theatrical director, actor, and producer. Ben and Maxwell discuss timely vs. evergreen content, regulations of radio, metrics that matter vs. opinions of estimates, and curating dollowers beyond passive followers. After the break, we explore how to lead by doing, radica...
Feb 26, 2025•45 min•Season 2Ep. 79
Sarah Oyibo is a friendly founder and creative content creator. This influencer explores the realities of an entrepreneurial lifestyle by teaching others how to efficiently create lead magnets built on pillars of content. In EP78, we hear how Sarah introduced herself to digital design as a student, then escaped a cubicle by leveraging paying clients to start her business. Ben and Sarah keep building with timeless insight on content creation , balancing a personal brand, and how creative initiati...
Feb 19, 2025•47 min•Season 2Ep. 78
Gerald Beranek is an executionist and a professional problem solver who helps others bring product ideas to life. We talk product design, manufacturing, business, and his new quest. We get reps in on financial modeling, pain relievers vs. vitamins , leadership, and enjoying the process as well. Thanks to Gerald for making the trip to join us in-studio! The results is EP77, which brews timeless value for anyone building a product or leading a team. Cheers! BONUS MATERIALS https://BeratekIndustrie...
Feb 12, 2025•43 min•Season 2Ep. 77
Manufacturing and business geek, Mike O'Donnell is inside Iowa State University. He leads the Center for Industrial Research and Service ( CIRAS ), which helps small- to medium-sized industry compete and win in the modern world. EP76 is light and fun, but rich in now value. Manufacturing is the largest industry in Iowa. We talk manufacturing types, environmental complexities, manufacturing 4.0, exoskeletons, talent matching, and future effeciencies. If manufacturing means something to you, if yo...
Feb 05, 2025•43 min•Season 2Ep. 76
Tiffany Tauscheck is the President & CEO of Greater Des Moines Partnership ! This special episode highlights the results of Tiffany's recent 11-county listening tour with 23 different chambers of commerces and how different communities can collaborate even when environmental factors are different. We then shift gears to discuss leadership within transitional times, data-driven storytelling, and the future of the Des Moines metro. After you refill your mug, Ben and Tiffany talk about evolving...
Jan 29, 2025•43 min•Season 2Ep. 75
Erik Dominguez equips leaders to confidently communicate. He transforms fears into fuel and speaks nationwide. Whether you're interested in paid public speaking or working to unite a team, EP74 will inspire you to pause, listen, then come off mute. After your friendly host narrates Anticipation within another classic break without commercials, Ben and Erik share a handful of specific terms to avoid, assets to extend your reach, and how to cut things to create space for storytelling to land. If y...
Jan 22, 2025•45 min•Season 2Ep. 74
Dr. Jon Van Der Veer took a path less traveled. He shifted gears later in his practice as a doctor, and Examplar Care has since activated a direct primary care experience brewed to provide patients more personalized healthcare. We chat about transparency, affordability, access, and convenience in healthcare, but also get nerdy with zero knowledge proofs, DNA computing, and life extension. After a quick break that invites you to enjoy the feel of finished with the Collector Hardback Edition of Yo...
Jan 15, 2025•37 min•Season 2Ep. 73
Nicole Crain is the incoming president for the Iowa Association of Business and Industry. She's been helping to build business throughout Iowa for over 15 years, so it's neat to have this be her first interview as the new leader within Iowa ABI. We toast Mike Ralston and his 20+ years of generous leadership, then discuss nogotiating, public policy, and advocacy that is valued by members. Nicole wraps up the first part of EP72 by shared timeless insight for students pursuing a business degree. Af...
Jan 08, 2025•45 min•Season 2Ep. 72
🥂 Happy New Year 🥂 Alex Myers and Ben McDougal return from the future to refill our mugs and translate nerd into normal. BEN BOT kicks off 2025 with a compelling thought on accelerationism . The humans then chime in on the evolution of AI, nuerotech , and the confluence of human and machines . After the break that invites openess, we discuss the state of web3, corporate networks vs. blockchain networks, state management, material science, and how society can thrive even with information overlo...
Jan 01, 2025•50 min•Season 2Ep. 71
🎄 Holiday Special 🎄 Grandpa Dale visits the studio. At age 92, open this gift of a chat between a grandpa and his grandson, released on Christmas morning. The love of family, stories of riding a horse over a mile to school, peaceful gratitude, and so much more. Ben had a number of ideas for narrating the break, so tune through to enjoy Santa is Real , then we keep the nestaglia brewing. Ben's dad sat in on the fun and twas cool to record this neat family relic. Thanks to all who make Christmas...
Dec 25, 2024•40 min•Season 2Ep. 70
