🌾 The Prairie Grows: How Ali Schwanke Built Strategy, HubSpot Hacks, and Heart into a Midwest Success Story

If you’ve ever told yourself, “This year I’m finally going to start that business,” and then promptly got distracted by an Amazon return, a toddler meltdown, or an urgent craving for Oscar's pizza… you’re in the right place.

Because here on the prairie, entrepreneurship doesn’t look like yacht parties or TED Talks: it looks like grit, coffee-fueled determination, and the occasional whiteboard takeover by your kids.

Welcome to Prairie Founders Club, were we celebrate the dreamers, builders, and innovators shaping the Midwest.

In this episode, host Brian Lee heads to Lincoln, Nebraska to meet Ali Schwanke, founder of Simple Strat, co-creator of HubSpot Hacks, and one of the most refreshingly real entrepreneurs you’ll ever meet.

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💡 Meet Ali Schwanke: CEO, Strategist, and Professional Whiteboard Wrangler

Brian walks into Ali’s home office and immediately spots a massive whiteboard covered in scribbles. Strategic frameworks? Marketing plans? Nope.

“This was our office whiteboard,” Ali explains. “It’s been taken over by my son.”

Welcome to the real life of a founder. One minute you’re mapping out a content strategy, the next minute someone’s added the word poop next to Q3 goals.

The thing is, that whiteboard represents Ali’s journey. It’s a symbol of creativity, family, and the messy, beautiful overlap of entrepreneurship and real life.

Below is a throwback of the early days for Ali. We agree with her, we love white boards, too!

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🚀 The Birth of Simple Strat

Ali founded Simple Strat in 2016 with a mission to make marketing less chaotic and more strategic.

“When your strategy is good, execution becomes much more simple,” she says.

That line alone could replace half the marketing webinars on the internet.

Starting as a one-woman show, Ali soon teamed up with business partner Tyler Sprunk, and the two built a company that helps brands clarify their message, simplify their processes, and actually see results from their marketing efforts.

No fluff. No jargon. Just strategy that works.

Below is Tyler and Ali!

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🎥 HubSpot Hacks: From Lincoln to the World

Along the way, Ali and her team launched HubSpot Hacks, a YouTube channel that now serves as the go-to resource for HubSpot users around the globe.

From tutorials to marketing insights, HubSpot Hacks took off because it’s practical, relatable, and made by people who genuinely want to help others succeed.

More than 20,000 subscribers later, it’s proof that you don’t need a fancy studio in San Francisco to make an impact. You just need consistency, clarity, and a decent microphone.

And maybe some Lego bricks.

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🧱 Lego Bricks, Leadership, and Lessons in Marketing

Brian notices the Lego blocks on her desk, Simple Strat’s unofficial mascot.

Those bricks aren’t just for decoration; they’re a metaphor for how Ali thinks about business. Every idea, every campaign, every client relationship is built piece by piece.

Because success in marketing (and in life) isn’t about building something overnight, it’s about stacking small wins, one block at a time.

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🌱 Lessons from the Garden

If you ever need a life coach, just ask Ali to talk about her plants.

“Every time I’m working in my garden,” she says, “I think — I don’t want to cut this part off, but this is for the best health of what we need to do right now.”

That’s not just plant talk. That’s business talk.

Sometimes you have to prune things. That could be a project, a product line, even an idea you love. So the rest of the business can grow stronger.

Brian, who’s also a gardener, jumps in:

“You have to deal with the environment, the cycles, the seasons… just like the market.”

Exactly.
Entrepreneurship isn’t about perfect conditions. It’s about tending to what you’ve planted (consistently) until it grows.

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🏙️ The Energy of Lincoln’s Haymarket

Next, Ali takes Brian on a tour of Lincoln’s Haymarket District, where she spent years building Simple Strat’s early offices.

For her, location was about energy.

“I’m a big energy person,” Ali says. “I wanted people to feel something when they walked into our office...creative, inspired.”

That kind of intentional culture-building is what sets Midwest entrepreneurs apart. They’re not trying to mimic Silicon Valley vibes. They’re creating their own — rooted in community, creativity, and heart.

The Haymarket, with its murals, coffee shops, and startup spaces, has become a mini-hub for innovation.

It’s where Nebraska’s biggest startup, Hudl, got its start. It’s where CompanyCam grew before moving into a bigger space.

And it’s where dozens of founders quietly build the future, one brick building, one idea at a time.

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🤝 The Art of Networking (Ali Style)

Brian asks Ali how she approaches big events like HubSpot Inbound, and her answer is pure gold:

“Before I go, I write the headline of what I want to happen. Last year’s headline was: Simple Strat leaves Inbound with a record number of new relationships.”

That’s the kind of mindset that turns networking from chaos into strategy.

Ali doesn’t go to conferences hunting for leads, she goes to connect with humans.

“If you don’t have a pain you’re ready to solve right now, you’re not ready to meet with me anyway,” she explains.

It’s honest. It’s real. And it’s the kind of clarity every entrepreneur should have before jumping into a networking event armed with 500 business cards and zero focus.

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🧭 The Hidden Density of Innovation

Walking through Lincoln’s downtown, Brian points out the sheer number of startups hiding in plain sight.

Ali nods.

“There are so many hidden offices and companies you’ve never even heard of that find their home in these buildings.”

That’s the magic of the Midwest, innovation is everywhere, it’s just not loud about it.

You might walk past a nondescript brick building that, inside, houses a team changing the world.

It’s that quiet confidence, that heartland grit. It makes the Midwest one of the most underestimated entrepreneurial regions in the country.

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🌾 The Power of the Prairie

Ali’s story isn’t just about one company. It’s about a mindset.

It’s about proving that world-class businesses can grow in the same soil as corn and community.

Here’s what sets the Midwest apart:

• Founders value sustainability over hype.
• Relationships come before revenue.
• People build things that actually matter.

And they do it without the pretense. Without the buzzwords. Without the “hustle culture” nonsense. They keep showing up and doing it again.

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😂 Real Talk: The Not-So-Glamorous Side of Entrepreneurship

Let’s be honest: running a business in the Midwest isn’t glamorous.

You’re more likely to take investor calls from your car outside Scooters than from a boardroom in Boston. Your startup “launch party” might involve your local pizza joint and a six-pack of LaCroix.

But that’s the beauty of it.

Because when you strip away the ego, what’s left is community. It's people who show up for each other, collaborate instead of compete, and believe that success is something you grow, not something you fake.

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🌟 Ali’s Secret to Success

Ali’s story is full of big takeaways, but one stands out:

“When your strategy is good, execution becomes much more simple.”

That’s true for marketing, for business, and for life.

She didn’t start with all the answers. She started with a plan, a lot of curiosity, and a belief that if she kept showing up, something meaningful would grow.

Eight years later, Simple Strat is thriving, HubSpot Hacks is educating thousands, and Ali is mentoring the next generation of founders.

That’s what capability looks like on the prairie.

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🌱 Growth, Grit, and Garden Lessons

Ali’s gardening metaphor sums it all up.

You plant seeds. You nurture them. You adapt to the weather. You prune what doesn’t grow. And you trust the process.

That’s entrepreneurship.

It’s not fast. It’s not flashy. But it’s deeply rewarding — especially when you see others start to bloom alongside you.

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🎬 Behind the Scenes on the Prairie

Of course, what you don’t see on camera is just as much a part of the story.

Every episode of Prairie Founders Club is made possible by a small but mighty crew. It's people who care about capturing the energy, authenticity, and laughter that make the Midwest entrepreneurial scene so special.

For this shoot in Lincoln, it was a team effort:

• 🎥 Janet (me!) and Triston were behind the cameras, catching all the scenes.
• 🚁 Brian took to the skies (literally) piloting the drone for those sweeping Haymarket shots that make Lincoln look cinematic (with way better parking).
• Editing is brought to by Relevant Content Studios (shameless plug hehe <3)

It wasn’t just filming, it was storytelling. Capturing the feel of the Midwest startup community: genuine, hard-working, and collaborative.

Below is when we got to Ali's house, we were so excited!

 

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💬 Ready to Join the Movement?

Ali’s story is just one of hundreds unfolding across the Midwest — and we’re here to tell them all.

At Prairie Founders Club, we travel across middle America to meet the innovators, entrepreneurs, and creators shaping the future of the heartland.

We celebrate success, share lessons learned, and help the next generation of founders grow — one connection at a time.

If you’re a Midwest entrepreneur or just someone with a big idea and even bigger grit, you belong here. 🌾

👉 Join the Prairie Founders Club and connect with other founders who understand the balance of vision and reality.

✨ Sign up today to:

• Network with other Midwest entrepreneurs
• Get featured in future episodes and blog stories
• Be part of a community that believes in building from the ground up