The ISU Startup Factory has named local entrepreneur Andrew Kirpalani as the newest entrepreneur-in-residence for the incubator program. Kirpalani will serve as a member of the teaching team to facilitate industry connections and provide mentorship for cohort members. Kirpalani’s background includes more than 15 years of entrepreneurial experience. An alumnus of Iowa State, he began working for tech startups, holding varying roles at several business ventures across the country. In 2015, he co-founded WorkHound, an employee engagement software company that provides the frontline workforce with a platform for anonymous engagement and feedback. Through that experience, Kirpalani personally participated in two accelerators, raised $2 million in seed rounds, and in the early months of 2022, closed a private equity growth round for the company. In 2023, Kirpalani stepped away from day-to-day operations but continues to sit on the WorkHound board of directors. He said that as an entrepreneur-in-residence, he hopes to demonstrate alternative solutions and paths to success for entrepreneurs. “In all of the Midwest, I think there is a lot of opportunity that is unrealized in early-stage businesses,” Kirpalani said in a prepared statement. “I’m really looking forward to being exposed to multiple ideas all at once within this accelerator and lending a hand to founders as they grow.”