Des Moines This group of Thinc Iowa 2012 sponsors are those that put their time and services into helping us produce the event. The list starts with the most visible partners: Performance Marketing and Shift. They're the ones who designed the awesome "chalk board" identity for the conference, built the website and created all the signage in the event venue and at the parties. We love the opportunity to work with these creative folks, whether it's brainstorming … read more

Des Moines After taking in a full day of talks on Wednesday at The Temple For Performing Arts, the Thinc Iowa 2012 crowd reconvened at the Exile Brewing Co. on Wednesday evening for the Middle Party, presented by Banno. Apparently unfazed after an already busy day, plenty of conference-goers stuck around and socialized until closing time. Check out some photos from the party below, and see the Facebook album from the party for a complete photo set. … read more

Des Moines The second round of talks at Thinc Iowa 2012 runs from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. today at The Temple for Performing Arts in downtown Des Moines. And once again, for those who can't join us in person, we have a virtual seat saved. As we did yesterday, we will be live streaming every talk at Thinc Iowa today. The live stream is brought to you thanks to the sponsorship of Wellmark. | Watch the Thinc Iowa live stream here … read more

Des Moines As the co-founder and former chief executive officer of AOL, the co-founder and CEO of investment firm Revolution and the chairman of the Startup America Partnership — to name just a few of his endeavors — Steve Case has a résumé that could make even the most serial of entrepreneurs blush. But when Case took the stage on Wednesday at the The Temple for Performing Arts to deliver … read more

Des Moines To close the first day of Thinc Iowa 2012, four speakers took the stage at The Temple for Performing Arts for a 40-minute question-and-answer faciliated by Antonio Neves, the event's emcee. Gentry Underwood of Orchestra, Ron J. Williams of Knodes, Brian Spaly of Trunk Club and Tara Hunt of Buyosphere, all CEOS, chatted about networks, fashion, admirable CEOs and family, among other things, making for a frank and honest conversation … read more

Des Moines Designer and entreprenuer Gentry Underwood is the CEO and co-founder of Orchestra, an app labeled as the "Best To-Do List for iPhone" by LifeHacker. This afternoon, he was the final individual presenter on day one of Thinc Iowa 2012. His message, centered around how thinking like a designer can help startups succeed, brought the audience at The Temple for Performing Arts insight into … read more

Des Moines Ron J. Williams, the founder of Snapgoods and Knodes, spoke to Thinc Iowa 2012 attendees at The Temple for Performing Arts in Des Moines Wednesday afternoon about the importance of passion, a strong team, simplicity, clarity and focus. "Your success will be determined not by lightning striking or an apple hitting your head," Williams said. Rather, it will be determined by perseverance: If entrepreneurs aren't passionate, they won't have the drive … read more

Des Moines A core theme of Thinc Iowa 2012 is relationships. And Steve Greenwood, the founder and CEO of Brewster, is all about relationships. Brewster launched this summer, and Greenwood shared the intimate story about how the app was created today at The Temple for Performing Arts. Brewster's goal is to understand who you know and to define your relationships. To understand Greenwood's passion and focus on relationships, you must know that for … read more

Des Moines Dane Maxwell, the founder of Zannee, lives his life according to three essential priorities that he strives toward in his personal life, relationships and his business: playfulness, healing and support. Maxwell found these guiding forces in an unlikely place: Burning Man, where he met his business mentor, Eben Pagan. Maxwell calls Pagan an "alchemist" who can make money out of thin air. Pagan is also a dating guru, and Maxwell, who was single … read more

Des Moines As the second speaker to take the stage at The Temple for Performing Arts for Thinc Iowa 2012, Danielle Morrill, the CEO and co-founder of Referly, took the opportunity to say what she believed most startup CEOs needed to hear. As someone who had to learn to call her own shots after founding Referly six months ago, Morrill gave advice that followed the theme of shot selection: aiming for what matters and what will "make a better tomorrow." …  read more