On today's episode, we sit down with Congressman Zach Nunn. Congressman Nunn is currently in his first term serving Iowa's third congressional district. He is a 6th generation Iowan and grew up on his family's farm raising sheep, poultry, and growing row crops. As an intelligence officer, Zach served our country for almost two decades in the US Air Force. He serves on the House Financial Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee in Congress. He is also a prominent member of the congressional executive commission on China. During today's episode, we dive further into our competition with China and how Iowans and the heartland can combat the intrusive actions of the PRC. 

To learn more about Congressman Nunn go to his website and follow him on Instagram 

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For Information on the China Commission and its mission visit it HERE. 

On today's episode, we cover:

• Congressman Nunn's background. 
• What is the Congressional-Executive Commission on China? What is its purpose? 
• Is an economic decoupling possible between the US and China? 
• What might US-China cooperation look like in the future? 
• Cyber Warfare with China. TikTok and other social media's role in this fight. 

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On today's episode, we sit down with Bobby Thompson, co-founder and owner of Thompson & Co Hair Salon. Bobby is a local entrepreneur in Iowa City and founded the popular hair salon with his wife Kayla back in 2015. Having gone to college here in Iowa City Bobby worked different service jobs around downtown before deciding to pursue his passion of making people feel great and confident about themselves. Today Thompson & Co has two locations in Iowa City and Coralville and is a popular destination for students and locals looking for premium cuts and services. Listen in as we go behind the scenes of his business, discussing the origins of the salon, its mission, and what makes it tick.  

Check out Thompson & Co on their website

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In today's episode, we discuss: 

1. Personal Journey

• Background and journey to the founding of the salon 
• Career before Hairstyling.

2. Thompson & Co Salon 

• How did Thompson & Co. come to be? 
• Biggest challenges when starting the company. 
• What do you look for when hiring a new stylist? 
• In what ways do you guys foster your relationship with the local community?

3. Career and Life Advice 

• How do you define success? 
• How do you balance your career with your personal life? 
• What does Bobby see as the greatest obstacle to success in his life? 
• What has brought Bobby the most joy and happiness in life? Why?

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Jon Lensing is the Co-founder and CEO of Openloop. OpenLoop is a Des Moines-based startup powering the telehealth industry from end-to-end solutions that streamline virtual care. After graduating from medical school at the University of Iowa, Jon and his co-founders started OpenLoop.  As the pandemic shocked the world OpenLoop found itself in a unique position to capitalize on the rapidly changing healthcare industry. Today, OpenLoop serves thousands of clients worldwide and continues to grow and expand operations to connect patients with medical professionals. 

In this episode with Jon Lensing, we discuss: 

1. Personal Journey and Founding of OpenLoop

• Jon's background and journey to founding OpenLoop. 
• Current business model of OpenLoop. 
• How do early founders build moats? 

2. Telehealth Industry trends, size, competitors, and future

• What does the future of healthcare and telehealth look like? 
• How close are we to the human-to-model healthcare interface? What will AI's effect on the industry look like? 
• What is the relationship between telehealth and mental health look like? 

3. Fundraising Lessons and Tips

• What to expect from Iowa VCs vs coastal investors. 
• Do all VCs add value? 
• How do you maintain the growth of the company while fundraising? 
• Fundraising and acquisition strategies. 
• Is it good to fundraise in a heavily regulated market? 

4. Leadership Lessons 

• Biggest leadership lessons over the past 4 years. 
• What is the core role of a CEO? 
• What is the key to a motivated and talented workforce? 
• What is the greatest piece of advice you've received as a founder? 

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Check out James Olson's books: 

Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying 

To Catch A Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence 

In this episode with James Olson, we discuss: 

1. Personal Journey and Public Service:

• James' Background and how he was contacted by the CIA 
• How did Jim get discovered by the CIA?

2. Historical Roots of Intelligence: 

• What are the historical roots of intelligence and its uses in history?

3. College Campuses and Higher Education in Espionage Operations: 

• How are the PRC and MSS infiltrating our higher education institutions in the US? 
• How do we combat the intrusion of the Chinese government in education?
• Why should college students care about these operations? 

4. Modern Intelligence Gathering and Operations: 

• What is the current state of US intelligence operations? What more should we be doing? 
• What is the difference between the Chinese Intelligence and US intelligence operations? 
• Will HUMINT always be essential to the mission? 
• What should the relationship between the public and intelligence agencies look like moving forward? 
• Is modern statecraft an Infinite or Finite game? 

5. Fair Play: Moral Dilemmas of Spying 

• Deciphering what is moral and immoral in spying. 
• Is intelligence a war weapon? Does it come under St. Thomas Aquinas' Just War Theory? 
• Spying in historical philosophies and arguments. 
• How did you ground yourself in your faith while undercover? 

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It was great to sit down with Congresswoman Miller-Meeks to discuss her journey and career prior to  Congress and to discuss her perspectives on recent events both in Congress and around the world. If you would like to learn more about Congresswoman Miller-Meeks you can head over to her website at https://millermeeks.house.gov/. 

Follow us on Instagram @thehutchpodcast

Some show notes: 

Childhood and Background

01:15 Childhood and Background 

08:00 Career in the military and achieving graduate degrees

11:15 Miller-meeks advice on how to take calculated risk

14:00 Meaning of leadership  

Congressional Career and Legislative Priority 

18:42 Winning her first election by only 6 votes

24:45 Just how hard is it to get a bill enacted into law in Congress? 

28:35 Healthcare Policy

Current State of US Congress

34:50 Recent Speaker election in House of Representatives

44:12 Leadership in the House

Ukraine, Israel, and the United States role in the world 

52:40  United States' role in Ukraine 

1:00:00 Israel-Hamas and the Importance of Israel in the Middle East

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Eric and I had a great discussion about Venture Capital in Iowa and the greater Midwest. From discussing Eric's journey as an entrepreneur to an investor as well as digging into his $22M fund ISA Ventures, Eric drops a ton of knowledge and advice for listeners!

For more information about ISA Ventures, you can visit their website here: https://www.isaventures.com/

Follow us on Instagram @thehutchpodcast 

To contact Conor you can send an email to [email protected]

Here are some show notes: 

Entrepreneurship Journey 

01:25 Eric's journey to entrepreneurship 

05:50 Founding Geonetric 

07:50 Getting into investing 

11:00 Why it's important to have an exit strategy as a founder

ISA Ventures 

12:50 What is Venture Capital? 

15:00 Who are the LPs in ISA Ventures

18:25 Pros and Cons of sticking to only Iowa investments

20:30 What do you look for before investing in a company and team? 

22:05 Analyzing market sizes of potential investments

24:13 ISA Ventures $22M fund model 

29:26 Balancing risk and diversification on investments

32:30 What happens when a company has a liquidation event? 

State of Iowa VC 

35:15 Upcoming industries to look at in Iowa and the Midwest 

37:25 Iowa Innovation 

42:07 Do you need to be an expert in a specific industry? 

46:45 Local groups helping bridge the gap between startups and VC 

50:15 How does Iowa position itself for more outside VC investment? 

Wrap Up Questions

52:15 How can students learn more about VC?

54:40 Books and Podcast that Eric recommends: 

Built to Sell Radio Podcast

20VC by Harry Stebbings 

Scaling People by Claire Johnson 

Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson 

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It was great to sit down with Miss Iowa USA 2023, Grace Lynn Keller. Grace had some great stories about her time as a student and advice for listeners and young women looking to follow in her footsteps. If you would like to reach out to Grace be sure to find her on her social media platforms @missiowausa and @gracelynnkeller. 

Some notes from the show: 

02:00 Grace's time at Iowa 

05:25 Start in pageantry competitions 

09:00 Miss America vs Miss USA competitions 

13:18 Breakdown of pageantry competitions

19:50 What it means to have a public image 

23:55 Importance of being vulnerable and being yourself 

26:00 Advice for younger women looking to go into pageantry

30:00 Representing Iowa's values and culture

32:45 2023 Miss USA competition 

40:00 Read to Succeed Initiative 

Books Grace recommends: 

Confidence Code by Katty Kay 

The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest 

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger 

Anything Hemingway! (the best suggestion so far!)

Follow us on Instagram @thehutchpodcast and visit our website www.hawktalkspodcast.com

Thanks for listening! 

Check out and subscribe to my Substack for more information on episodes and guests: 

https://conorhutchison.substack.com/

It was great to hear about Mark's journey and his wisdom on leadership in your professional career and personal life.  Athletico's success as one of the largest physical therapy companies in the country is a true testament to Mark's leadership and the culture built at Atheltico. It was great talking with Mark about his company and life!

Some notes from the show: 

02:00 Mark's time at Iowa

09:30 Outpatient physical therapy and its need for improvement

14:20 Athletic Trainers vs Physical Therapy 

19:30 Why relationships matter so much in the founding of a business 

24:45 Why failure isn't an option

27:25 Developing confidence as a founder and leader

29:35 Importance of your personal network

34:18 How leadership roles change with the growth of your company

38:12 Keeping the best version of yourself

42:45 What it means to be a life long learner

48:00 Building your personal board of directors

Books and Podcast Mark recommends: 

How I Built This Podcast by Guy Raz

Pour Your Heart Into It by Howard Schultz  

Setting The Table by Danny Meyer 

Follow us on Instagram @thehutchpodcast 

Thanks for listening! 

Check out and subscribe to my Substack for more information on episodes and guests: 

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We're back with another great episode with a local entrepreneur Steve Davis! It was great to sit down with Steve and talk about his time at Iowa as well as his career and journey building his company Bio::Neos. 

Here are some notes from the show:

01:05 Time at Iowa 

09:15 Interest and passion for computer programming 

14:40 Best ways to learn full-stack and web development 

21:00 Start of Bio::Neos on campus 

24:20 Bio::Neos 

29:40 Integrating AI into our lives

35:40 The importance of side-hobbies

38:30 Wrap up 

Books and Podcast Steve suggests: 

Endurify Podcast by Mario Minnaert 

Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman and Mark Winters 

Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) Series 

For more information about Bio::Neos and Steve visit their website https://bioneos.com/

Follow us on Instagram @thehutchpodcast 

Thanks for listening! 

Check out and subscribe to my Substack for more information on episodes and guests: 

https://conorhutchison.substack.com/

This is another great episode! Matt is a rockstar in the local Iowa community with all of his successful ventures. It was a pleasure to sit down with Matt and discuss his journey and advice for students and young professionals. 

Here are some show notes from the episode: 

01:30 Matt's background in Iowa 

05:30 Matt's start in the restaurant business partnering up with his Mom

08:25 The start of Red's Alehouse and craft beer journey 

11:40 Starting a craft brewery career out of a basement

13:20 The founding of Big Grove Brewery in Solon, IA 

19:30 Scaling BGB  to one of the largest breweries in Iowa 

21:30 Maintaining a positive culture and relentless hospitality while you're scaling your business

26:45 Determining what the concept is for new ventures

31: 20 The state of craft beer in Iowa and the Midwest

38:00 Career and life advice for college students  

39:42 Books and podcast Matt recommends: 

Atomic Habits by James Clear 

Culture Code: The secrets of highly successful groups 

41:00 Rapid Fire round

Thank you to Matt for coming on! There are a ton of good lessons and advice for listeners in this episode. Be sure to check out Big Grove Brewery on their website https://biggrove.com/pages/iowa-city and on their Instagram @biggrovebrewery 

For more information about The Hutch Podcast visit www.hawktalkspodcast.com and follow us on Instagram @thehutchpodcast

Thanks for listening! 

Check out and subscribe to my Substack for more information on episodes and guests: 

https://conorhutchison.substack.com/