On this special crossover episode, Dane Carlson joins Joe Barker on the Rural Strong Podcast to talk about Sitehunt, entrepreneurship, and the power of AI to help rural and small-community economic developers compete at scale.

In this episode of Rural Strong, Joe and Dane explore how AI tools like Sitehunt automate site analysis, RFI responses, and data collection — giving small EDOs the same analytical firepower as their big-city counterparts. Dane shares his unlikely journey from early-2000s internet entrepreneur to chamber president in the Sierra Nevada foothills to Texas economic-development director to startup CEO. They discuss why feedback matters more than features, why execution beats ideas every time, and why even the smallest communities need a modern website, a plan, and the willingness to pivot.

Dane also unpacks how child care, housing, and workforce shortages have become the new pillars of competitiveness, why AI is best thought of as a “dim-witted but persistent intern,” and how rural leaders can use technology to take back the information advantage from site selectors.

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Ten Actionable Takeaways for Economic Developers

1. Treat AI as an intern, not an oracle. Feed it data and context to get useful answers.
2. Launch before you're ready. Iterate in public and let real feedback drive improvement.
3. Build a website that sells your community. Clear contact info and photos matter more than fancy graphics.
4. Use LinkedIn as your industry newspaper. Learn from and connect with other EDOs daily.
5. Start a local podcast. It's the best modern BRE tool and a non-threatening way to engage businesses.
6. Plan but pivot. No plan survives first contact with reality; stay nimble.
7. Address child care and housing head-on. They're workforce issues now, not social ones.
8. Prioritize execution over ideas. A mediocre idea well executed beats a brilliant idea untried.
9. Save cash for the long haul. Entrepreneurs fail more often from running out of runway than from bad concepts.
10. Ask for feedback early and often. It's how both products and communities get better.

Sponsored By:

• Sitehunt: Sitehunt is an AI-enhanced platform that helps economic developers build a comprehensive property database, enabling informed decisions and efficient RFI responses to accelerate site selection and project success.

Links:

• RuralStrong - YouTube
• Dane Carlson | LinkedIn
• Sitehunt
• Joe Barker | LinkedIn