Iowa founders should ‘dream bigger’ Kaylee Williams, investment director at InnoVenture Iowa, Iowa’s first publicly backed venture capital fund, recently shared this advice for startup founders: “I would just say, dream bigger,” said Williams during a panel event at Maple Studios on April 2. “Seriously, my biggest critique of Iowa founders is we don’t dream […]
BrokerTech Ventures, a broker-led convening platform, recently hosted the nine insurtech startups participating in the organization’s sixth accelerator program for a two-day event in Des Moines. The event, called BTV Mania, brought the startups together to meet BTV’s 25 broker and insurance company partners at Holmes Murphy’s Waukee headquarters. The startups selected for the 2025 […]
The American Farm Bureau Federation, in partnership with Farm Credit, is seeking entrepreneurs to apply online by June 9 for the 2026 Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge. Now in its 12th year, this national business competition showcases U.S. startup companies developing innovative solutions to challenges faced by America’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities. The overall winner […]
The North Iowa Area Community College John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center is accepting applications for the 2025 Youth Entrepreneurial Academy, a weeklong summer camp held on the NIACC campus. The academy will take place June 16-20. A concluding pitch competition will be held on June 23, where students will present their business ideas for a chance […]
Clayton Farms, an urban farming company, is partnering with Ames High School to bring urban farming curriculum and technology to the classroom. In a new course offered at Ames High School, students will learn about “sustainable food systems, supply chain, and everything that goes into urban farming,” said Clayton Mooney, co-founder and chief farmer of […]
Editor’s note: This is the third of three features profiling winners of the 2024 Prometheus Awards and going behind the scenes of how the winners are selected. Read Part 1 and Part 2. At the 2024 Prometheus Awards, the Technology Association of Iowa debuted seven new award categories, a move the industry association said was in response to marked […]
The 2025 John Pappajohn Iowa Entrepreneurial Venture Competition application portal is now open. The 20th annual statewide competition will award $100,000 in cash prizes to Iowa startups and entrepreneurial ventures. The $100,000 in seed funding includes a $50,000 contribution from the late John Pappajohn, matched by $50,000 from the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The goal […]
Applications are now open for Iowa Tech Connect, a professional development program designed for early-career technologists looking to accelerate their growth and deepen their engagement in Iowa’s tech ecosystem. The program, put on by the Technology Association of Iowa, is tailored for professionals in their first two to eight years and builds leadership and interpersonal […]
The West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce has announced seven finalists for the 2025 pitch competition at the fifth annual Athene Black & Brown Business Summit. Seven finalists were chosen from over 400 applicants from across the world. These finalists will each present a five-minute pitch to the judges. An additional competitor will be randomly […]
Ag-tech fund raising new $10 million fund to provide scaling capital Ag Startup Engine, a fund for ag-tech startups, made six investments in new companies in 2024, bringing the fund’s total portfolio companies to 40, according to its latest annual report. The report also shows Ag Startup Engine made three investments in existing portfolio companies, and […]