Julie McDougal shares a final interview before she retired from IBM. Can you imagine being at IBM for over 35 years?! The featured guest in EP47 has lived on the edge of technology her entire career! Julie worked within the culture and this fun episode is a glance at how she united others. As you'll hear, Julie is also our host's aunt. Cheers to everyone at IBM and cheers to a long, interesting, and impactful career. Happy retirement, Aunt Julie!

Navarr Grevious and Aaron Carter were visiting Des Moines from Miami, for the Black & Brown Business Summit. After QuikLiq won the $50K pitch competition, we had to find a spot to chat in the wild! In EP45, we pour innovations into beer, wine, and spirits. We talk about how these co-founders met at Clark Atlanta University, then reunited to build together. We also talk about transitioning a small business to a scalable startup, technology that connects local communities, building a team, how to win pitch competitions, and signals to help you raise financial capital. After the break, you'll learn about the three-tiered system in the spirits industry and trends you'll be sipping on soon. I'll cheers to that!

Alex Myers is a certified futurist who will put you ahead of the curve. Along with his leadership at Aragon and throughout the world of web3, Alex authored Organizational Shift within the Roasted Reflections library. This writing pairs perfectly with this epic episode, as we explore Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). After the break, we decode life extension, nurturing AI, and close with a peek into transhumanism and reminder for what it means to be united as one.

Scotty Russell is a web3 artist, podcaster, and business coach for creators. His cosmic illustrations are minted on Solana and other blockchains. He's also recorded 250+ episodes of the Side Hustler's Perspective and has coached 1,500+ artists to extend their own creative seasons. Scotty was in Des Moines for a web3 gathering, so he and Ben popped in the studio to record this relic. We talk about building into side hustles, fine artists leveraging digital art, and gamifying different buckets of value.

Jessica Pfohl Paisley is a creative community builder who is fascinated by the diversity of life. Whether it's enjoying time with family, building on the frontiers of fashion, or making others feel their best through AMIDST Magizine, Jessica connects community through photography, print, music, and events. Together, we talk about curating resources, event management, and balancing a diversified career portfolio.

Cody Retlich is an alumni of the Techstars Iowa Accelerator (see Cody on-stage at #TSDemoDay in 2022) and this is the first of a new In The Wild category. Recorded after the launch of 1MC in Madison and Milwaukee, Cody and his Wisconsin-based team at DroneAdair, help drone pilots manage their business. This leader knows what's up when it comes to drone technology. Strap on your seat belt, as Ben and Cody elevate a conversation around content creation, exploring new industries, and activating beta testers as an entrepreneur. After the break, we fly by emerging drone technologies that will captivate your imagination and talk tactics as we all tell stories with photos and video. BONUS CONTENT: Cody has also launched Legacy Liftoff, which is another cool podcast dedicated to drone technology and the pilots who create art from the air. Enjoy!

Brandon Hart is a builder who helps others do the same. EP41 is all about 3D printing and how additive manufacturing helps evolve ideas into reality, while boosting sustainability in manufacturing and providing a path to our own neon future. Along with talking about the futuristic things we can "print", such as nanotechnology, boitech, and food; Brandon shares his winding entrepreneurial path and makes news by introducing the HSP1-I, an all-new industrial 3D printer! Hartsmart Products delivers 3D printers, eco-friendly filament, 3D printer resins, and endless parts to upgrade the nerdery, so it was neat to share this milestone moment within a hartfelt episode you're sure to enjoy.

Joe Murphy is the director of the Iowa Business Council, which unites 20+ chief executives from Iowa’s largest organizations. Since 1985, the IBC has used economic research to determine key initiatives that help drive lasting progress in Iowa and beyond. Together, Ben and Joe talk about collaboration amongst leaders, sequencing public policy, intrapreneurship, leveraging different types of capital, building teams that sing the song of significance, and together, activating diversity of thought to stay ahead of the innovation curve.

Will Schneller explores the intersection of design, technology, and entrepreneurship. After an epic opening moment on the mic, Ben and Will talk about building within education, signals to consider if/when/what to quit, wallets in web3, zero knowledge proofs, and provenance. After the break, Will expands on what he wrote in Non-Fungible Fabric, by talking through the endless depth that NFTs deliver. We take a pit stop to discuss the unmatched energy of accelerating others, the connections we've unlocked through the Roasted Reflections NFT Collection, and finish by adding a zero to whatever you're building.

Joshua Larson is a video game developer, AI fashion designer, and web3 founder. We load in with Joshua's experience building inside the Bitcoin Startup Lab, which has us talking about startup accelerators, pivoting, and tokenomics. We then rewind to hear how he hacked his way into video game development, and here are a few games he helped to ship. After the break, we blast through digital artifacts that are ordinals on-chain, generative AI, prompt engineering, #ChatUX, decentralized computing, and the 5 main layers within blockchain technologies. We close things down with a humbling 1-2-3 exercise, before Joshua drops the mic with perseverance.

Dwana Bradley builds relationships. Her team at Iowa Urban Media tells stories through the Urban Experience Magazine and her leadership with Iowa Juneteenth is felt year-round. Together, we celebrate love and Black History Month, by dancing with purpose-driven initiatives, the uninterrupted power of print, prompt engineering through societal biases, and the peace that awaits all who build toward their own state of career nirvana.

Kristy Volesky is an author and educational advocate. Kristy recently published her first book, Transformational Work-Based Learning, and together, we chat about how the innovative spirit is activated through internships and creative activities within a startup community. With this leader's experience inside the Iowa Department of Education and now a fresh connection with Jeff Reed at Momentum Studios, you know this caffeinated conversation is loaded with value for linchpins and design thinkers who understand the future of work is all about play.

Intellectual Property and Trademarks and Patents, o my! Sean Solberg is a protector of ideas and as a patent attorney at Fredrikson & Byron, you know this extended episode is loaded with strategic value. Ben, Sean, and BEN BOT discuss patentability and building to go big, even when you're small. We also encourage business owners to be bold by looking for what exists, versus hoping it doesn't.

Inspired by a remarkable Startup Weekend DSM last weekend, this build now vibe from Balaji, the winter freeze, and land development leaders coming together to share stories with this episode's featured guest. Ryan Glick continues building residential land development tools, such as lot inventory management, through Groov. We also love The Land Development Podcast with this fellow translator of nerd to normal! For EP34 of You Don't Need This Podcast, grab a hammer and cut once. Ben, Ryan, and BEN BOT talk about the home building industry and how so much infrastructure connects to land development. They also explore more experiential wisdom brewed through the construction industry. Along with exploring technology to enhance internal efficiencies. Along with another little commercial that's not a commercial, our weekly host, Ben McDougal, riffs on his creative, multimedia, "4th Path" into real estate, home building, and construction. Stick around as we close by unwrapping evergreen insight for founders building trust in their target market. Lastly, we jam on confidently building ideas in an accelerated experience, no matter when it's time. Enjoy this, and an entire thread of #YDNTP episodes, which have been releasing everywhere you listen to podcasts, every week since June 2022. As Eric Jorgenson writes for Balaji: Don't argue. Build.

Corey Dion Lewis is a health equity advocate and experienced podcaster. Together, we talk about activating our connected era in ways that deliver heartfelt health care outside of the clinic. We also  chat about the localized value of bringing people together through community events like My City My Health. After the break, we shift gears and dive into the art of podcasting. Have you thought about starting a podcast? Here's how this podcast was produced and this episode is for you. BONUS: Ben was just on The Healthy Podcast with Corey!

Jessi McQuerrey activates leaders. She been connecting dots through Iowa ABI programs like Business Horizons for high school students and Leadership Iowa for business and community leaders. Together, we chat about how real skills open side doors to innovative opportunities. We also talk about event management and the mental weight of such intrinsic work.

Russ Goerend is a bold and generous leader who designs community-driven experiences for high school students exploring what's next within the Waukee APEX work-based learning program. This is a powerful episode for educators, students, and parents! Inspired by Stop Stealing Dreams, Connect Dots, and How to get into a famous college with Seth Godin, together we ask, what is school for? This is a simple, but important question that has so many answers! As we embark on 2024, how might we continue to blur lines between the classroom and community? What are more side doors we can open today, that accelerate those ready to build tomorrow? Enjoy!

Every story ends and Brian Crotty with HDH Advisors helps business owners finish in style. Together, we chat through exit strategies, business valuation, merges & aquisitions, ESOPs, and cultivating a performance-based culture through transitional times. Refill your mug and enjoy this gift of a caffeinated conversation. What a perfect way to wrap a bow on 2023!

Kerty Levy is an advisor, investor, and friend who helps entrepreneurs succeed. Kerty and Ben collaborated through Techstars, so we grab the morning oars to first dance with how smooth is fast. Together, we then glide through the wild experience of accelerators. The value is vast as we continue by discussing why to think big, building a team, ecosystem exploration, founder-market fit, OKRs, KPIs, financial modeling, mentor madness with a #GiveFirst mindset, raising venture capital, perfecting a pitch, quick thoughts on web3, opportunities of a Startup Weekend, and the special bond that is Techstars for life.

Sachin Sehgal found lasting purpose by starting his first business at the University of Iowa. Along with all that is multimedia marketing, Sachin is building Elevate and Bond Branding as he continues to explore connections between our physical and digital worlds. You'll love these shared wavelengths on customer discovery, content creation, value-based sales, balancing personal brands, activating phygital concepts, when to quit, spirit animals, truth-based prompt engineering with AI, collectability with web3 technologies, and playing long-term games with long-term people. As Sachin reminds us, when life gives us stories, tell them.