Creative Technologists : @IowaTeslaGuy

This is a story about creative technologists. I believe it is a myth that a person is controlled by the brain’s left OR the right hemisphere1. These stories, however, aren’t a discussion about the brain and will focus instead on the humans. I hope to test your interest in with initial stories of technologists with creative outlets in authorship, YouTube videos, painting and photography.

I didn’t start a sourdough starter during the pandemic. Privileged with flexible WFH environment, touchless grocery and restaurant pickups, I spent free time on walks and TV. I found myself learning home appliance repair when the dishwasher, dryer and lawn equipment broke (yes, I was able to fix them all), just as the algorithm directed me to creators whose work felt intriguing. This story didn’t start during the pandemic but is the result of a hobby that began in the summer of 2020 and persists to this day.

I prefer Tesla cars regardless of the CEO’s politics and remain peeved at how impractical it is to use it without sufficient charging infrastructure in rural Iowa. As I contemplated a longer-range car and searched for charging alternatives in northwest Iowa, the YouTube algorithm suggested I watch IowaTeslaGuy’s journey from Cedar Rapids, IA to Boulder, CO. The video was a hands-free demonstration of the updated technology (link later in the article).

Distracted from my purpose, I watched the video with great interest as familiar sights of Hy-Vee and Kwik Star faded in the background and the car progressed east on I-80. I’ve traveled the route in my EV before and was contrasting my experience with his first stop at “The Corn Crib” off the interstate in Shelby, IA. The narrator & driver talked about the nuances of friendly stops along the route reached Boulder, sharing words, mannerisms, expressions and opinions in a very Iowan fashion - matter of fact, devoid of politics or negativity, clear and straightforward. The word friendly kept coming to mind.

I became a fan and watched several more of his videos over the months, upgrading my car along the way, partly marveling at the effortless storytelling mid-drive, the various cameras in the car recording his and the car’s moves, and the road. I found myself constantly contrasting my experiences with his, finding them resonant yet learning something new in each video.

Consistent with my pandemic habit, I now wanted to learn more about IowaTeslaGuy. I easily found a website for a Jim Spencer in eastern Iowa as the host of the YouTube channel and Jump Gap Software, an independent app developer for Apple devices.

That’s when inspiration struck for this series to tell stories of technologists who are using artistic storytelling even as they engage in deeply technical endeavors in life. I had to know more. I dropped Jim a note requesting a meeting. Jim tentatively accepted the meeting request, and we hopped on a Zoom call late one Tuesday evening in February.

Jim, like many creatives you’ll meet, is a reserved personality. I had seen enough of his videos to know that he isn’t introverted but thoughtful. A teacher by mannerisms, his technical chops were evident in the videos. Talking to him I found him to be the son of a tinkerer and engineer from Davenport. During Jim’s high school years, as dad exercised his profession and passion on cars, motorcycles and made tools and dies for work, he was etching his own circuit boards in the family garage. With electronics in the blood, an engineering degree was his natural path.

This recent video below is a wonderful introduction to Jim, his contemplative and gentle teaching style. It chronicles a day in the life of an Iowan as he journeys across the state to his alma mater, Iowa State University, for a career fair. It is marketing gold that Tesla should really commission.

Jim received his electrical engineering degree from Iowa State University and was invited to an interview at Vector Corporation in Cedar Rapids. The control systems automation engineering job was a welcome offer in the middle of an unfriendly job market of the early 1990s. He worked on embedded controllers and software, obtained an MBA toward the turn of the century and continued to tinker in spare time.

This tinkering was simply priming him for the upcoming iPhones and the app store.

Though Jim self-describes his foray into app development for the iPhone as being “late to market”, his entry actually was quite timely. Books and online courses were freely available, and Jim complemented book learning with a free online app development course from Stanford.

He developed his very first app and launched it into the app store for $2. He vividly remembers standing in his living room, looking toward his wife in the kitchen when the app was sold to its first customer. The euphoria generated by this external stimulus wasn’t just social validation, it was also the beginning of the dopamine effect inherent in filling a customer need and receiving instant online validation.

That purchase by a Canadian user was the first of many. As Jim worked for Vector Corporation by day, by now managing others, evenings and weekends gave way to this hobby that quickly evolved into a revenue-generating business. The first application, a currency converter called Currency+ was purchased around the world and continues to be available on the app story nearly ten years later. Jim developed other applications to help track bills, his own kids’ allowance, chores, and even a retro arcade game.

Jump Gap Software became a real company.

A new hobby and business, however, were waiting just around the corner.

A big birthday mid-pandemic brought Jim to his next adventure, almost by accident. He had eyed Tesla cars for some time but wasn’t quite ready to invest in the expensive Model S. The year 2019 brought sportier Models 3 and Y to address cost concerns and Jim found himself ordering his car and driving to Illinois to pick up it up. Upon a whim, he decided to record his experience of that first drive in the Model Y.

The nearly eight-minute video, his first, is a raw discussion of the pickup experience of a car one orders sight unseen, learns to work with EV driving range, EV driving experience, and even autopilot on the 250+ mile drive home. He shares Iowa’s temperature swings, rural living and driving, owning a car with limited service-center availability, and charging along the way. And he launches the YouTube channel with a promise to share additional experience, advice, and takeaways.

That first video, posted over 5-years ago has 442 interactions from nearly 8,300 views. Although car videos and photography mostly use coastal drives, fantastic weather, and dreamy backdrops, Jim’s videos connected to faraway audiences as Iowa roads and weather present an unusual environmental mix familiar to many in other parts of the world. Jim’s subsequent videos become progressively educational, guiding on topics common to new car owners - charging, winter driving and range, over the air software updates, and even mobile service.

The power of the platform and his videos’ ubiquity became surprisingly obvious not too long ago. Jim and his wife were in Germany, charging their rental Tesla at a supercharger when a fellow traveler charging his own car appeared to recognize him. Much to the Spencers’ surprise, the traveler from Netherlands had seen his work, knew him as the IowaTeslaGuy, and chose to say hello.

This experience is often repeated in the EV community. Due to the 20ish minutes required for charging vs transactionally filling a gas tank, the time allows travelers to get out and stretch, walk, break for coffee or a meal and strike up conversations with fellow travelers. And yes, running into friends driving coast to coast at a random charger can become a welcome surprise!

Like an iPhone app providing a small but steady income stream through the Apple app store, YouTube videos also generate an income stream for creators through the advertising revenue generated by viewership, engagement, shares and subscriptions. As Jim’s subscriber count edged into the thousands, a new income stream emerged - third parties whose products complemented Tesla cars and who wanted access to Jim’s subscribers.

Sponsor and affiliate marketing is a strong component of many successful creators with advertising incorporated into their videos. As any listener of Paul Harvey’s radio shows remembers, even Harvey’s news stories back then contained influence and advertising. YouTube takes it a step further, allowing targeted marketing, granular data about the viewers, and of course, direct purchasing via affiliate links.

Though many creators become shills for advertisers, Jim’s videos retain an authentic and educational feel. He judiciously selects products that matter to him and his driving experience. As he moved from the original 2020 model to the latest 2025 Juniper model Y, he shared the differences, the capabilities and his driving experience along with new products for the new models.

A remarkable video, the one that introduced me to his channel is the previously mentioned drive from Cedar Rapids area to Boulder, CO, almost entirely hands-free in the car’s self-driving mode. Even if you aren’t a Tesla enthusiast, the video is a demonstration of advances in automotive technology delivered to share the experience and constantly changing capabilities of the car.

As Jim Spencer advances toward the next decade, he can see himself retiring from one of the gigs. Traveling, recording and sharing experiences, and teaching are likely to remain a mainstay in his life. The business of creating has helped him expand into participating in and leading enthusiast communities. Much like hot-rod gatherings that spring up around the Midwest all summer, EV communities too gather in spirit of the American love affair with cars. Jim finds himself an unintentional celebrity amongst peers, a detour he simply fell into when choosing to share his car’s virgin voyage.

Creative individuals live and work across the state, in rural communities, suburbia and urban centers. They are writers, poets, singers, musicians, photographers, YouTubers, authors, speakers, podcasters and so much more. The Internet has given them the world as a potential market, and many are creating their own versions of the Silk Road. The Okoboji Writers and Songwriters Retreat is one such venue where creatives assemble to share, expand, and hone their craft.

Most are independent, individual, and creative in their special spaces - be it a comfortable nook, an intimate stage, a pottery studio or even a car on the open road. They may not be building IPO-ready businesses, yet are creating a life and livelihood unique to their need, passion, and initiative.

I am grateful you are reading their stories!