After a two-year hiatus, the Iowa Startup Accelerator will return this fall with a renewed focus on helping Iowa-based startups with their branding, marketing and sales strategies. Applications for the seven-week program — set to begin in September — are open now through Aug. 15.
The Iowa Startup Accelerator is an initiative of NewBoCo, a nonprofit organization headquartered in the New Bohemia neighborhood of Cedar Rapids that offers entrepreneurship and tech education programming.
Alex Taylor, NewBoCo’s director of entrepreneurship, said the program is returning because there’s still a “huge need” in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“There’s still this huge gap to help these startups really get enough revenue to be attractive to venture capital and be attractive to other programming, and that’s what I’m trying to fill with this program this fall, Taylor said.”
Taylor said the program will be equipped with a “whole crew of subject matter experts” to teach and coach accelerator participants.
“There’s no programming around sales and marketing that is part of the local ecosystem that’s affordable, that’s accessible,” he said.
The cost is $500 and Taylor said he’s capping admission at 10 startups. Carly Harper, director of development for NewBoCo, said fundraising efforts for the first cohort are ongoing with a need to raise another $40,000. Taylor said the program is also seeking sponsorship dollars.
The startup accelerator began in 2014 and initially attracted companies from all over the country, Taylor said.
After a few cohorts went through the accelerator, “the deal flow dried up,” said Taylor. He said it was part of a national trend because of “uncertainty of the economic market and all the supply chain challenges.”
“Everybody got very conservative, and investing in pre-revenue companies dried up,” he said.
The relaunched program is designed for Iowa-based startups that are ready to scale, according to a news release. Qualified applicants must have already completed customer discovery, established product/market fit with either demonstrated sales or have viable prototypes ready to secure Letters of Intent or Memorandums of Understanding for future sales.
Other accelerators in Iowa include the Global Insurance Accelerator, which works with early-stage insurtech startups and the ISU Startup Factory, which works with Iowa-based founders that have a technology or innovation with commercial potential.
“This is the only broad accelerator that I’m aware of that does that acceleration of sales growth,” Taylor said.
Structured to accommodate busy founders, the Iowa Startup Accelerator will include:
- An in-person orientation in Cedar Rapids on Sept. 26.
- Access to mentors through University of Iowa and Iowa State’s Venture Mentor Services through the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers.
- Five weekly virtual sessions, held Thursdays from 5:30 to 9 p.m.
- A final in-person Demo Day on Nov. 7, where participants will pitch to an audience of entrepreneurs, mentors and potential investors.
“This startup accelerator will fill a missing gap in our entrepreneurial ecosystem for startups who’ve moved beyond incubation and customer discovery, but don’t have enough sales traction to qualify for most funding opportunities or advanced accelerator programs.” said Eric Engelmann, general partner at ISA Ventures, in a prepared statement.
To learn more about the program or apply, click here.