Sioux City’s premiere startup event Base 3 will be returning on November 10th at the Ho Chunk Centre. The speakers include Iowa filmmaker Scott Siepker, Caleb Ullfers of Flywheel and Brian C. Waller from the Technology Association of Iowa. SPN caught with the event’s organizers, Ryan Martinez and Sean Richardson of Flyover Technology, over email.
SPN: How are things going at Flyover Technology?
RM: As long as we keep having more events, you can expect things are going swell. Working with Sean has been one of the biggest impacts of my life. Not only is he a friend and business partner, he has become a part of my family. We are constantly driving each other to push our limits and continue growing in and outside the office.
SPN: What did attendees like best about the last Base 3 event?
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RM: That’s a toss up! So much talent was in one room that we kept hearing all the buzz. My personal favorite was having a local artist paint the event as it was happening. The canvas is now displayed in our office!
SR: At the last Base 3 event, we added a few new elements, one being startup tables, which were such a hit! We invited five local Siouxland based startups to Base 3 and gave each of them a dedicated table to display their startup at no cost. Since it was our first time doing this, we didn’t know how well it would go, but Base 3 attendees were interacting with the startups. It was hard to pull people away from the tables once the actual event kicked off! Needless to say, startup tables will continue to play a large role in Base 3.
SPN: What do you think has made it so successful this far?
RM: A lot of work goes into the preparation for one night. Every aspect of Base 3 is calculated to do what’s best for the community. What does the community want to hear? What would they benefit most from? We try to put them in a position of having everything they need to be successful in one room, one night, at Base 3.
RM: Ryan’s totally right. The amount of preparation and work that goes into Base 3 is tremendous, but it’s totally worth it.
SPN: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about putting on an event like this?
RM: Our community kicks ass. Everyone who attends Base 3 wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves. In hindsight, my biggest lesson has been to do what’s best for the attendees.
SPN: How do you think the Sioux City startup community has changed in the past year?
SR: Earlier today, I attended Business for Breakfast where one of my great friends, Geoff Arnold, who gave a speech where he gave an analogy between a scene in the first episode of Silicon Valley and the Sioux City startup community. It was spot on. From Sioux City Launch Week to Food Truck Friday to the expansion of downtown living, amazing things are happening in Sioux City now we just need to keep at it and get the word out there.
SPN: Any startups we should know about?
SR: One of the startups I think has a great shot is Qneo. Lloyd Lee, founder of Qneo, is a true entrepreneur and hustles every single day. It’s an incredible feeling seeing their success and traction in the market. (Qneo displayed their app at a startup table last year!)
SPN: What are you looking forward to most about the upcoming Base 3? Anything different from previous?
RM: Ever since we came up with the theme for this event, I’ve been ready to see it come to life. This event is going to be a real TREAT!
SPN: If people want to attend, what should they do?
RM & SR: Head on over to www.flyovertechnology.com/base3 and RSVP for their free ticket!
