Ben McDougal is an American husband, father, 5x founder, 2x author, keynote speaker, podcaster, technologist, friend, intrapreneur, content creator, teacher, traveler, and generous leader who accelerates others through the art of connection.
It’s likely you’ve felt the positive effects of BENergy. Perhaps it was through direct collaboration, at an event, reading his books, listening to him speak, or just a fun conversation paired with a helpful introduction?
Ben has collided with more cool entrepreneurs, students, and community enthusiasts than almost anyone you know. This did not happen overnight. Ben’s engaged network is the result of long-term commitment, perpetual learning, and a thirst for adventure. As different chapters of his life have infused experiential wisdom, he’s remained wild [visit the museum] and keeps building with people like us, who do things like this.
Ben was born in Ohio and has lived most of his life in Des Moines, Iowa. After graduating from Loras College with a computer science degree in 2004, Ben interviewed as a video game tester in California. Realizing that was not viable, he accepted a business development position at a web development firm in Iowa. In the early days of the Internet, from 2004-2012, Ben helped countless business owners tell their stories online and accumulated over $1 million in outside sales. He learned with technology, became an early translator of nerd to normal.
Alongside this commission-based role, Ben started his first side hustle in 2006. He had played soccer his whole life and used online marketing to launch The Iowa 3v3 Soccer Challenge. With support of family and friends, Ben hosted two large-scale events before selling the company to a local soccer club that continues to host this annual event.
In 2007, Ben co-founded Jet Set Studio and launched Gathering of Gamers. This social network grew into a nationwide community for video game enthusiasts. To connect gamers in real life, Jet Set Studio also hosted live video game events. As eSports grew, Jet Set Studio hosted larger video game tournaments like, The Iowa Pro Gaming Challenge, UGC Niagara, and iconic Guitar Hero events throughout North America. In 2011, Jet Set Studio launched Tournament Seeker to further connect gamers to live and online video game tournaments. Today, Jet Set Studio is a sliver of Ben’s diversified career portfolio, but the XP earned will be forever sweet.
In 2012, Ben retired from web development and went in-house at a high-performance home builder. For eight years, Ben made nice things look nice as he aligned a brand to match the quality of new homes the team built throughout Des Moines. His multimedia marketing practice included web development, photography, videography, social media, print, and event development. Along with creative work, Ben championed change to boost internal efficiencies before retiring from the construction industry.
In 2015, Ben launched his third company, FliteBrite, infusing technology into the food and beverage tasting experience. To do so, FliteBrite patented the electronic serving system. The early embodiment of this innovative technology was an electronic beer flight paddle. Each paddle featured a color touchscreen on the handle, with dynamic details made to share. The Wi-Fi enabled paddles connected to an online dashboard, which gave breweries and restaurants a slick way to showcase their products while collecting data-driven insights. The entire experience was designed and manufactured by the company’s trio of co-founders. The team chose time over money, but two years without sales left the startup vulnerable. When efforts to raise capital stalled, the team shifted focus to a mobile app. As the software was being tested, a new partnership with the Iowa Brewers Guild activated a beer festival app, which is now on tap at brewfests nationwide. The final chapter of this startup story has yet to be written, but the team of friends, a recognized brand, and the patented technology remain poised to serve value for years to come.
In 2020, Ben co-founded OpenOpen, an open house scheduler built to optimize communication for the home building and real estate industries. This tech startup converted endless emails, text strings, and website updates into single clicks from any device. This saved time, generated leads, and boosted sales for home builders and real estate agents. Unlucky timing, changes in the market, and shifts in founder-market fit led to this quest being wound down, but the creative build remains appreciated.
The story of Ben’s leadership would not be complete without sharing how his life was caffeinated by 1 Million Cups. 1 Million Cups (1MC) is a nationwide movement developed by the Kauffman Foundation. This educational program encourages startup communities to collide over caffeinated conversations every Wednesday morning. Along with enjoying coffee together, founders present their businesses and after concise presentations, the attendees ask questions and provide feedback. These consistent gatherings accelerate presenters, enlighten the audience, and have united startup communities nationwide. 1MC started in Kansas City, then Des Moines launched the first remote location in 2012. As 1MC became his own weekly dose of innovative energy, Ben volunteered and would lead 1MC Des Moines for five years.
As 1MC expanded nationwide, Ben was hired to help the Kauffman Foundation build a new leadership role and became the first 1MC Midwest Regional Rep in 2018. For eight more years, his heartfelt support kept thousands of volunteer organizers connected throughout Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Texas, and beyond. This caffeinated calling taught Ben how entrepreneurship can mobilize economic development in a copious amount of local, statewide, regional, and nationwide environments. His energy made an impact and earned uncommon friendships that will last a lifetime.
Within that journey, in 2021, Ben joined Techstars to help lead the Techstars Iowa Accelerator for two years. Ben activated founders as EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence), hosted workshops, curated mentors, lit up multimedia marketing, and connected dots throughout the global network and a statewide startup community.
To ensure experiential wisdom would not be wasted, Ben built Pour Over Publishing. He’s used this book publisher, creation house, and talent agency to produce You Don’t Need This Book: Entrepreneurship in the Connected Era (2021) and Brewed From Within: Energy for the Entrepreneurial Lifestyle (2026). Along with two books that have energized 10,000+ readers worldwide, Ben hosts You Don’t Need This Podcast and is brought to life as he visits college campuses and startup communities around the globe.
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Yes! Ben has shared coffee with a vast variety of people. Collaborating with so many leaders in so many places has been a blessing, and our author’s odyssey is what makes the signals throughout his website invaluable. Let’s connect!
The meaning of life may be a paradox, but we often find purpose in how we spend time. Ben’s willingness to lead without a map characterizes how a diversified career portfolio leveraged by generosity, inclusivity, and the art of connection can nourish an entrepreneurial lifestyle that is full of love, fun, peace, and significance. Ben trusts in the energy of accelerating others and teaches us that when we play 80 hours, we can avoid working 40. This willingness to stay wild nurtures an innovative energy to keep us building as we continue to champion change on the timeline of now.
