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