ben mcdougal

This was my first startup. As a lifetime soccer player, I set out to create an unique tournament experience. I developed the entire event, secured sponsors and was the tournament director for two years before selling this successful business to the Waukee Soccer Club.

I worked at CJC for over 5 years, selling 1.1 million dollars in web development. With an average project costing $3K-$5K, this achievement represents a lot of people saying yes. When I lead the sales force at CJC, I helped customers develop their ideal website project. I used my technical knowledge to explain the details and conceptualize functionality, while my social skills made things easy to understand. Once a project landed on the workload, I kept communication high and helped manage the web development project.

FliteBrite is an electronic serving system for breweries and restaurants to educate, entertain and connect with more engaged customers. This wi-fi connected device features an interactive touchscreen build into a durable flight paddle and an online dashboard to support fast menu management, track ongoing social media activity and tap into valuable customer information. Along with formulating the original concept, I've worked with our amazing team to bring this entertaining and interactive product to life. My primary roles revolve around innovation, brand development, marketing, internal communication, investor relations and sales nationwide. Learn what it means to serve a brighter flight at www.FliteBrite.com. Cheers!

I managed the Des Moines location and connected a wide variety of businesses with an entire suite of web development solutions. Along with web design and advanced programming, I also consulted my clients on search engine optimization, mobile strategies and the social media landscape.

Nobody cares about your great ideas. They only care how you evolve ideas into reality, so keep building, for when work becomes a hobby, life gets interesting. Collaborating with 55+ different chapters in a 12-state region, Ben has partnered with the Kauffman Foundation to evolve his experience accelerating entrepreneurs and supporting community builders through the art of connection. He tightens this caffeinated tribe called 1 Million Cups and fuels the uncommon impact 1MC Organizers make throughout @1MCMidwest.

Jet Set Studio launched the all-new search engine for video game tournaments at www.TournamentSeeker.com, continues to manage the established video game community at www.GatheringofGamers.com, expands The Iowa Pro Gaming Challenge each year, and offers professional "Video Game Event Management" all around North America. Since 2007, Jet Set Studio has been built on hard work, a creative vision, and professional networking worldwide. Jet Set Studio has the unique capability of plugging our clients into the magnetism of video games and introducing your brand into the "gamer" demographic!

Since 2005, Drake Homes has collaborated with Des Moines home buyers who expect the very best in Des Moines new home construction. Serving all of Iowa, our dedicated team is committed to making your custom home building ideas come to life.We build around 50 custom new homes each year, but our goal will never be to become the largest Des Moines home builder. Instead, our brand vision is to provide an enjoyable home building experience that results in award-winning homes that Iowa business professionals can love for a lifetime.

Computer Science (BS) at Loras College