Shows
The Entrepreneur's Ethic36. Fish Stories with Jackson KimleJackson Kimle is CEO of Midland, a business that’s developed land-based seafood technology and a business model aimed at scaling shrimp production. Using innovative Algae-Based RAS™ (recirculating aquaculture systems) technology, Midland Co. now has three contract farms raising shrimp in Iowa. Midland's farms are dedicated to quality, handling each batch from tank-to-table.Seafood played a key role in the early development of the economy of what became the United States. Cod caught off the coasts of New England and Canada were a significant export for centuries. Whaling was the deep-history source of what today we call vent...2025-05-031h 10
The Entrepreneur's Ethic35. George Washington: The Father of American EntrepreneurshipWelcome to season TWO of The Entreprneur's Ethic Podcast! Throughout this season, we'll be tracing the arc of American entrepreneurship.We’ll kick off the season with an interview of John Berlau about George Washington. Yes, THE George Washington. The Founding Father, Revolutionary War leader, first President, model for Mount Rushmore, face on the one-dollar bill, namesake of a Capital City, a state, and much else. But in many ways, he was not just the Father of a country, but the Father of American entrepreneurship.Find John's book herehttps://cei.org/www.kevinkimle.com2025-02-1543 min
The Entrepreneur's Ethic34. The Entrepreneurial Zeitgeist of 2024In the last podcast of 2024, we take a shot at interpreting the spirit of the time for change-makers, what I call the entrepreneurial zeitgeist. What’s potentially interesting or notable for innovators and entrepreneurs in late 2024? I had a great discussion with two people I’ve learned a lot from, Rob Trice of Better Food Ventures and The Mixing Bowl and Brett Wong of Anterra Capital. Rob’s home base is the Bay Area, California and Brett’s Boston, Massachusetts so our viewpoints are mix of West Coast, East Coast and No Coast.2024-12-2858 min
The Entrepreneur's Ethic33. Developing a Sixth Sense for Insanely Great Food | Brie Thompson, OlivelleIn this podcast, we talk about insanely great olive oils and vinegars. I interview Brie Thompson, with Olivelle. Brie founded Olivelle after graduating college in 2006, along with her mom, Michelle, in her hometown, Bozeman, Montana. Brie aimed to source high-quality infused oils and vinegars for the newly independent shop, but struggled to do so, disappointed by the available offerings where suppliers were compensating for lower quality oils by masking them with flavors. So, Brie did what entrepreneurs do when they can’t buy what they want; she started sourcing and making her products.
www.kev...2024-11-2358 min
The Entrepreneur's Ethic32. Adventures in Chocolate with Adam Pearson, Fortunato ChocolateIn this podcast, we talk about insanely great chocolate. I interview Adam Pearson, an owner of Fortunato Chocolate, a business that makes very high-end chocolate. He’s also an author. His book, Finding Fortunato: How a Peruvian Adventure Inspired the Sweet Success of a Family Chocolate Business, was how I first came across Adam’s story and the story of his family’s business.
www.kevinkimle.com2024-10-0558 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicFive Strategy Rules from Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Andy Grove | Dr. Michael Cusumano | Ep. 31This week’s podcast is an interview with Dr. Michael Cusumano, the SMR Distinguished Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He specializes in strategy, product development, and entrepreneurship in computer software as well as automobiles and consumer electronics.
Our discussion is inspired by a book he wrote with David Yoffie, Strategy Rules: Five Timeless Lessons from Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs. It was great to talk through the five strategy rules with someone who’s interacted with these three legendary business leaders.2024-08-2457 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicThe Pixar IPO: A Case Study of Steve JobsThis week’s podcast is a case study set in 1995 and 1996. Steve Jobs was at that time CEO of two businesses, neither of which was Apple. Rather, he was CEO of technology company NeXT and animation studio Pixar. He aimed to take Pixar public but faced substantial obstacles in doing so. The most prominent investment banks turned down the opportunity to help Jobs do an IPO, assessing it as too risky.
www.kevinkimle.com2024-08-1031 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicPlay the Long Game | Callum Laing, Unity GroupThis week’s podcast is an interview with Callum Laing, a Partner at Unity Group, Founder of the Veblen Director Programme, and past CEO, Chair, or Director of multiple public and private companies.
www.kevinkimle.com2024-07-2056 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicManufacturing Perfection | Mike Ihle, Ihle Fabrications | Ep. 28This week’s podcast is an interview with Mike Ihle, founder and President of Ihle Fabrications, a farmer-built company that has become a leading provider in manufacturing agriculture wear parts for combine harvesters and other farm equipment. Started in 2002 on the family farm, Ihle has since grown into a Certified Case IH Remanufacturing partner, as well as making parts for John Deere, Claas, Drago and more.
www.kevinkimle.com2024-06-2949 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicSpreading the Entrepreneurship Bug | Matt Clancy | Ep. 24This week’s podcast is an interview with Dr. Matt Clancy, Economist of Innovation, Research Fellow at Open Philanthropy, and Creator of New Things Under the Sun, a living literature review on research about innovation.
www.kevinkimle.com2024-05-251h 04
The Entrepreneur's EthicBusiness & Courage | Al Myers, Ag Leader Technology | Ep. 26This week’s podcast is an interview with Al Myers, Founder and President of Ag Leader Technologies. Al is a pioneer in precision agriculture technologies. Ag Leader launched an on-the-go yield monitor in 1992 and has introduced many innovative precision agriculture tools since that time. Today, Ag Leader has almost 300 employees who make tools used by farmers around the world.
www.kevinkimle.com2024-05-0438 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicPoker & Entrepreneurship | Clayton Mooney | Ep. 25This week’s podcast is an interview with Clayton Mooney, Chief Farmer and Co-Founder of Clayton Farms Salads. Clayton’s journey to today, ‘delivering the world’s freshest salads,’ is a winding one.
www.kevinkimle.com2024-04-1351 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicWhen Wilbur Wright Turned Down Investment from the World’s Wealthiest Person | Ep. 24One of the Entrepreneurs featured in my upcoming book, The Entrepreneur’s Ethic, is Wilbur Wright. Wright’s work, along with his brother, Orville, exemplifies Ethic 3: Fail Successfully. This is the experiment-orientation of entrepreneurship.
www.kevinkimle.com2024-03-1637 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicDeveloping Billion-Dollar Products | Jim Fay | Ep. 23Jim Fay is an innovator who’s been a part of development of multiple billion-dollar products. Jim defines his work as that of an ‘Entrepreneurial Product Engineer.’ He shares four product development principles, with a contrarian view of the idea of a minimum viable product. He also shares seven principles for success.
www.kevinkimle.com2024-01-131h 08
The Entrepreneur's EthicThe Entrepreneurial Zeitgeist of 2023Zeitgeist is a word that comes straight from German — zeit means "time" and geist means spirit, and the "spirit of the time" is what's going on culturally or intellectually during a certain period.
In the last podcast of 2023, I take a shot at interpreting the spirit of the time for change-makers, what I’ll call the entrepreneurial zeitgeist. What’s potentially interesting or notable for innovators and entrepreneurs in late 2023?
www.kevinkimle.com2023-12-3026 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicInternal Combustion... The Most Environmentally Friendly Engines? | Dr. BJ Johnson | Ep. 21This week’s podcast is with Dr. BJ Johnson, CEO and co-founder at ClearFlame Engine Technologies. We talk about his design of a sustainable diesel engine with the capability to reach net-zero emissions and even reverse greenhouse gases to yield a negative balance in carbon emissions while reducing the costs of long-haul trucking for fleets large and small.2023-12-0249 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicWhy don't we have flying cars? | Dr. Josh Storrs Hall | Ep. 20This week’s podcast is an interview with Dr. Josh Storrs Hall is an independent scientist and author. One of this books is, Where Is My Flying Car?: A Memoir of Future Past.
Dr. Hall was the founding Chief Scientist of Nanorex, Inc, which is developing a CAD system for nanomechanical engineering. He remains a member of Nanorex' Scientific Advisory Board, and well as a Research Fellow of the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing. His research interests include molecular nanotechnology and the design of useful macroscopic machines using the capabilities of molecular manufacturing. His background is in computer sci...2023-11-1156 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicSolving (Hard) Biological Problems | Joel Harris | Ep. 19This week’s podcast is an interview with Joel Harris, co-founder and CEO of GenVax and my compatriot with agtech investment fund Ag Startup Engine. Joel co-founded another business more than fifteen years ago, Harris Vaccines, that pioneered development and commercialization of mRNA vaccines in the livestock industry. The GenVax team is working on the next generation of livestock vaccines for diseases that would be devastating for agriculture and food security like African Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth Disease.
www.kevinkimle.com2023-10-281h 07
The Entrepreneur's EthicHenry Ford and the Search for the Entrepreneurial Cap TableOne of the Entrepreneurs featured in my upcoming book, The Entrepreneur’s Ethic, is Henry Ford. There are seven parts of The Entrepreneur’s Ethic. Ford’s work exemplifies Ethic 2: Solve Hard Problems. This is the priority setting-orientation of entrepreneurship. It tackles the profound question of “what should I work on?”
This week’s podcast is an historic case study from early in Henry Ford’s journey. While set at a time more than one hundred years ago, it deals with an issue very relevant to today, the tension between entrepreneurial talent and risk capital. What proportion of rewards for...2023-10-0730 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicCollegiate NIL... The Wild West of Sports | Brent Blum | Ep. 17In this week’s podcast, I interview Brent Blum, Executive Director of the We Will Collective at Iowa State University, an organization that supports student-athletes through NIL deals and helps them to contribute to the community.
www.kevinkimle.com2023-09-2351 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicMentoring done right... Questions over advice | Ep. 16In this podcast, I try a new format, a solo riff on mentoring. Last week’s podcast on talent; how to attract it and how to keep it, resonated. So, I’ll do a deeper dive into mentoring through the lens of three decisions I’ve made, one practical, one principled, and one whimsical or weird.
www.kevinkimle.com2023-08-2634 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicThe Golden Rule for Attracting Talent is... The Golden Rule! | Matt Pozel | Ep. 15Matt Pozel is an Associate at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri, which provides access to opportunities that help people achieve financial stability, upward mobility, and economic prosperity. He is deeply knowledgeable about Ewing Kauffman’s story and legacy, and I enjoyed insight that Kauffman offers us on attracting and developing talent and translating business success into community and philanthropic impact.
www.kevinkimle.com2023-08-1956 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicMoneyball... Before Moneyball | Ewing Kauffman | Ep. 14One of the Entrepreneurs featured in my upcoming book, The Entrepreneur’s Ethic, is Ewing Kauffman. Kauffman founded Marion Laboratories, a pharmaceutical business, in Kansas City in 1950. By the 1980s, Marion was a billion-dollar business. But a non-pharmaceutical piece of Kauffman’s legacy is in professional baseball, and this case study will dive into one of the most interesting experiments in professional baseball talent development in history, the Kansas City Royals Baseball Academy.2023-08-1238 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicEntrepreneurship & Rock 'n' Roll | Zack Smith, Stock Cropper | Ep. 13Agricultural entrepreneur Zack Smith is bringing ancient agricultural ideas into the present time at his startup, Stockcropper. Combining livestock and crop farming is ancient. A robotic barn with multiple species and a creative strip cropping method? That's new. We discussed three decisions, one practical, one principled and one weird. There’s Rock ‘n’ Roll, whiskey and Twitter stories you don’t want to miss.
We’re always looking for feedback on the podcast as it evolves, so let me know what you like and what you think can be improved.
www.kevinkimle.com2023-07-2959 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicFinding Success Through... Mistakes? | Harry Stine | Ep. 12Agricultural entrepreneur Harry Stine has worked over his decades on another core agricultural technology, the seed, at Stine Seed Company. He started breeding soybeans before there was intellectual property protection for open-pollinated crops like soybeans. Today, his business is the largest independent seed company in the U.S.
This is the fourth installment of my exploration of Ethic 6: Enjoy the Edge from my upcoming book The Entrepreneur's Ethic.
www.kevinkimle.com2023-07-1535 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicWhy Do Entrepreneurs Keep... Entrepreneuring? | Colin Hurd | Ep. 11Serial entrepreneur Colin Hurd has worked on much more modern tools for agriculture and beyond. His most recent business, MACH, develops technology for solutions in perception, navigation, route planning, monitoring, and connectivity. If it’s off-road and autonomous, Colin is probably working on it.
This is the third installment in my exploration of historic entrepreneur John Deere and the way he exemplified Ethic 6: Enjoy the Edge.
www.kevinkimle.com2023-07-0833 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicWhat's Your Frontier? | Neil Dahlstrom | Ep. 10In this week’s podcast, I interview Deere historian and archivist Neil Dahlstrom about John Deere and his legacy. Neil describes John Deere as a frontier entrepreneur archetype. You’ll enjoy learning about what he means by this and how a frontier mindset might be useful for you today.
This is the second installment in my exploration of Ethic 6: Enjoy the Edge, as exemplified by historic entrepreneur John Deere.
www.kevinkimle.com2023-07-0152 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicWhen John Deere said "No" to Tractors | Ep. 9One of the Entrepreneurs featured in my upcoming book, The Entrepreneur’s Ethic, is John Deere, the historic agricultural entrepreneur. Deere’s fame and fortune resulted from his work innovating the plow over decades, that most ancient of agricultural tools.
There are seven parts of The Entrepreneur’s Ethic. Deere’s work exemplifies Ethic 6: Enjoy the Edge. This is the truth-seeking-orientation of entrepreneurship.
www.kevinkimle.com2023-06-1730 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicHow NASCAR, filmmaking, and agtech startups are the same | Ep. 8This week’s episode is a great conversation with Jon Housholder. Jon is co-founder, co-owner, director, editor and producer with Unrivaled Films. Unrivaled Films has produced critically acclaimed documentaries for major streaming services, network television docuseries, viral music videos, and nationally televised commercial branding ventures all around the world. He is a three-time Emmy Award winner as a producer, editor, and director.
This is the fourth installment in my exploration of Ethic 4: Invest in Tomorrow.2023-06-101h 00
The Entrepreneur's Ethic"The Chosen" and Lessons in Impact | Derral Eves | Ep. 7 This week’s episode is a great conversation with Derral Eves. Derral is one of the world’s top YouTube and online video marketing experts. As an example, he’s coached and worked with MrBeast, whose YouTube channel is considered to be the most-subscribed channels whose owner is an individual.
There are seven parts of The Entrepreneur’s Ethic, as discussed in my upcoming book. This episode is the third installment of my exploration of Walt Disney, whose work exemplifies Ethic 4: Invest for Tomorrow. This is the future-orientation of entrepreneurship.
2023-06-0345 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicWalt Disney's Best Advice is "Don't Accept No" | David Bossert | Ep. 6This week, I explore the entrepreneurial legacy of Walt Disney with David Bossert. David is an award-winning artist, filmmaker, and author. He is a veteran of The Walt Disney Company, and a Disney historian, and an authority on Disney art and animation history. We discuss Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, as a book David wrote about it was the primary source for last week’s historic case study, what it was like to work with Disney, and his core strengths and legacy.
This is the second episode exploring Walt Disney and the way he exemplifies Et...2023-05-2754 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicWalt Disney’s Unlucky Rabbit and the Weirdest Sports Trade in History | Ep. 5This is the story of Walt Disney's first breakout animated character. But this character is not a mouse. Disney would eventually envision the business model that guides the business he founded to this day, but this case study explores how early mistakes and business betrayals helped shape his later decisions. And seventy years after these events, Disney (the company) would enter a sports trade to get back what Walt Disney had lost in a set of events that can only be called weird.
This is the first episode exploring Ethic 4: Invest for Tomorrow.
2023-05-2023 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicThe Bourbon state is... Iowa? | Rob Taylor, Revelton Distillery | Ep. 4Kevin explores today’s distilling industry with Rob Taylor, co-founder of Revelton Distillery, a business located in south central Iowa. More alcohol is distilled in Iowa than any other state – by a significant distance actually – but most of it goes into cars as ethanol-blended gasoline. Rob is distilling for a different purpose. They discuss the origin story of the business, Rob’s grain to glass strategy, his ‘go big or go home’ approach, the role of artisans in alcohol and why the weather in Iowa is good not just for growing corn, but for making fine bourbon. There’s also discussio...2023-05-1355 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicHigh-tech fabric comes from... agriculture? | Luke Haverhals, Natural Fiber Welding | Ep. 3Fashion and textiles account for a significant portion of plastic pollution. Kevin and Dr. Luke Haverhals, founder and CEO of Natural Fiber Welding, discuss NFW's plant-based engineered textiles, which are already being used by some of the world's most recognizable brands.
This episode is part of Kevin's ongoing examination of historic entrepreneur Francis Cabot Lowell.2023-05-0658 min
The Entrepreneur's EthicVirginia Postrel and the Fabric of Civilization | Ep. 2Virginia Postrel (vpostrel.com), author of The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Shaped the World, joins Kevin in discussion of the importance of textiles in the history of humanity. This episode is part of his ongoing examination of historic entrepreneur Francis Cabot Lowell.
www.kevinkimle.com2023-04-281h 04
The Entrepreneur's EthicThe Origin of American Manufacturing is... Rum? | Ep. 1Francis Cabot Lowell (b. 1775, d. 1817) is one of America's most forgotten entrepreneurs, but is among our most important. Before he established a new way to manufacture textiles — thus influencing the Industrial Revolution — he cut his teeth first as a tradesman, then as a rum distiller. In this episode, Kevin imagines the scenes that shaped his talent for innovation.
This is Episode One of an examination of Lowell's life and influence. Follow along as Kevin interviews modern entrepreneurs and historians who illuminate what he calls "The Entrepreneur's Ethic" — seven guiding stars for making a dent in the universe.
...2023-04-2829 min
The Innovators PodcastPodcast 29 - Kevin Kimle, Rastetter Chair of Agricultural Entrepreneurship at Iowa State University, Director of the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative, and Teaching Professor in the Department of Economics.On Episode 29 of The Innovators Podcast, we talked with Kevin Kimle, Rastetter Chair of Agricultural Entrepreneurship at Iowa State University, Director of the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative, and Teaching Professor in the Department of Economics. We talked about his past projects, Ag startup engine success, and his work as a professor. We really enjoyed this episode and we hope you do too! 2022-02-0948 min
Field WorkA Winning Personality?For a few years now, Iowa State University Professor Kevin Kimle has been asking students in his ag entrepreneurship classes to take a personality test. What he’s found so far is that compared to the average person, those ag students score pretty low when it comes to openness. He and the Field Work hosts talk about what that lack of openness might mean for trying new practices like cover crops. And after taking the personality test, Zach and Mitchell learn some awkward things about themselves.Read more: The Big Five Aspects Scale2021-04-2842 min
The Agribusiness AdviserEpisode 11: A Discussion with Kevin Kimle, the Rastetter Chair of Agricultural Entrepreneurship at Iowa State University, Senior Lecturer in the Department of EconomicsNational Securities Corporation, member FINRA and SIPC, a full service investment bank providing insight into the Agribusiness, Food and Related Industries.2018-09-1115 min