Check this out and then read the blog about what I should have said, hahah. derek.broox.com/blog/the-iow…
Des Moines-based technologist and builder, Derek Brooks has a career that spans Fortune 100 roles, scrappy startups, and high-stakes political tech for the Obama campaign. Broox, as his friends know him, traces his path from growing up in eastern Iowa and discovering software at Cornell College to early work at Pioneer (now Corteva), a pivotal stint at Red 5 Interactive, and becoming a remote engineer before it was cool.
💡 Find this show on your favorite app: iowapodcast.com/derek-brooks
🐖 Get a free $30 gift card from Jethro's: iowapodcast.com/jethrosbbq
Brooks shares inside stories from the Obama 2012 campaign—building integrations and the high-pressure Call Tool used for millions of voter contacts—and how that experience led to a post-campaign startup in “contextual commerce” that was acquired by PayPal. He pulls back the curtain on acquisition realities, his time across PayPal/Braintree/Venmo, and why seeing products people actually touch fuels his work.
Chapters:
00:00 - Meet Derek Brooks
01:57 - Midwest Roots to Remote Work
05:00 - Obama Campaign to PayPal
16:06 - Early Web Hustles
17:34 - Sabbatical Reset
20:12 - Rocket AI Advice
deleted X from my phone cause the algorithms are terrible and shit's toxic.
follow me on bluesky: bsky.app/profile/broox.com
or instagram: instagram.com/dbroox
or my website: derek.broox.com
✌️
We just elected a lying, abusive, criminal, old man in steep mental decline over a fully qualified woman with an actual agenda… again.
This country is absolutely fucked.
Why don’t karaoke DJs just get some autotune equipment and turn it on for everyone? We would all be having a better time.
I wrote a blog about what bothers me most about this election cycle. It's largely that I just don't understand how we got here, and I'd love your thoughts.
derek.broox.com/blog/how-is-…
Tonight at golf we listened to jock jams and I haven’t been able to stop listening to jock jams since.
I pointed the Google NotebookLM AI to the bio on my website and it made a “podcast.” It’s pretty funny what it learned and chose to include in the conversation, but it’s also so, so dumb, lol. Their commentary on tech is 🙈
on.soundcloud.com/phmvA81Ci5…
Today is always a big reminder of Kari’s strength. I wrote this blog about it last year, but she remains an ultimate fighter, even with some new challenges at play.
derek.broox.com/blog/the-str…
Well, Knotfest certainly exceeded my expectations. It was my first time doing a festival completely solo, and it was awesome.
Finally able to send/receive high quality media with Android friends using our native messaging apps.
It took way too long, but thanks for finally supporting RCS, Apple.
“Back at home we all have a lot of work to do but from here, it sure looks like a perfect world.”
I love traveling, because it broadens perspective… but the quotes from people who are fortunate enough to travel into SPACE just hit on a whole nother level.