Des Moines A revolution is brewing, and no city in the world is safe. So said Brad Feld, a managing director of Foundry Group, in his talk Oct. 11 at Thinc Iowa 2012. Feld, who has played a major role in building the startup community in his adopted hometown of Boulder, Colo., believes that, with the right ingredients, any city in the world can become a thriving … read more

Des Moines Tara Hunt, the co-founder Buyosphere and director of digital content at Tuxedo Agency, opened her talk Oct. 11 at Thinc Iowa 2012 with an admission. "I'm used to giving really motivational, inspirational speeches that are about kicking ass and taking names," she said, "and I haven't been feeling so kicking ass and taking names recently." … read more

Des Moines Jeremie Miller can trace the roots of his startup, Singly, back to a conversation in an Iowa farm field in 2010. He stood in that field — on the farm in Dubuque County where the movie Field of Dreams was filmed — talking with one of his eventual Singly co-founders about the untapped potential in social app data. If ever there were a snapshot that summed up Miller, it was that Rockwellian tableau. In his talk today at Thinc Iowa, Miller told the … read more

Des Moines Brad Feld believes that a thriving startup community can exist anywhere in the world. "There's a startup revolution going on in our society right now, and I think everyone in this room is a part of it," Feld said at Thinc Iowa 2012 today. Feld, the a co-founder of venture capital firm Foundry Group and startup accelerator TechStars, among other business ventures, recently released … read more

Des Moines Ryan Graves knows and values hustle. His path to become a vice president at Uber began with a Twitter reply to the startup's co-founder. His arrival at Thinc Iowa on Wednesday, he said, marked the end of his first vacation in four years. As the final speaker of the second-year event, Graves shared personal stories that could inspire that kind of hustle in attendees gathered at The Temple for Performing Arts. Following those stories, Graves gave … read more

Des Moines "People love TV," said Idan Cohen, co-founder of Boxee, as he kicked off his talk at Thinc Iowa 2012 this afternoon at The Temple for Performing Arts. Providing a cheaper and more user-friendly and integrated option for watching television is Cohen's mission and the reason he founded Boxee, a freeware media player software platform. "We decided to create a piece of software that was a media center," Cohen said. … read more

Des Moines Author, mom, and startup founder Tara Hunt took the stage at The Temple for Performing Arts with a little hesitation. Even with experience working with over 30 startups, she began her talk at Thinc Iowa 2012 by admitting she felt less than enthused about the story she was going to tell. That story chronicled the route her company, Buyosphere, has taken leading up to today's public launch, and the story shed light on the not-so-glamorous side of … read more

Des Moines Something is brewing in Chicago, and Neal Sales-Griffin is at the center of it. Sales-Griffin is from the South Side of Chicago and describes his home as a magical city and the Midwest as a magical part of the country. He is responsible for bringing people from all around the world to Chicago to learn how to code and design web apps through The Starter League, a school that trains people of any skill level to code and design. This morning at Thinc Iowa 2012 … read more

Des Moines Antonio Neves, the founder of THINQACTION, kicked off day two of Thinc Iowa 2012 this morning at The Temple for Performing Arts by challenging conference-goers to create their own luck. "Who could use some luck?" he asked attendees. "Would you bet on you, accomplishing what you say is most important in your life?" A self-described professional question asker and opportunity identifier, Neves founded THINQACTION to help … read more