InnoVenture Iowa is now accepting applications for its third annual InnoVenture Challenge, a pitch competition that awards $100,000 to one early-stage Iowa startup. The application window closes at 5 p.m. Sept. 30. Judges will select 10 semi-finalists from the pool of applicants, which will then be narrowed to three finalists who…
The Technology Association of Iowa held its 2024 Catalysts Live event in July, highlighting how five different organizations are enabling equity and accessibility through technology for their customers, employees and communities. To read the full event recap, click here. The profiles of all five honorees are now available.
The University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center will recognize seven entrepreneurs at its Innovation and Entrepreneurship Honors event. Awarded since 2020, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Honors recognize outstanding entrepreneurial accomplishments of UI alumni, students, faculty, mentors and Venture School participants. The 2024 honorees are: The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Honors event is…
The University of Northern Iowa Family Business Center (UNI FBC) will host its fourth annual Iowa Family Business Conference on Nov. 6 at Krause Gateway Center in Des Moines. Sessions will include speakers from Iowa-based companies such as Vermeer Corp. and Wells Enterprise and a keynote from Kevin Hancock, managing…
Lean Techniques, a technology and management consultancy based in Johnston, announced it has achieved SOC 2 Type II compliance. SOC 2 is a framework developed by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants that reports on the controls a service organization has in place related to security, availability, processing integrity,…
Hudu, an Urbandale-based startup providing a marketplace to list and find odd jobs, has received a second $250,000 award from the Google Cloud Startup program, which provides resources like technical training, mentoring and AI-specific benefits to help startups scale. Hudu received its first award from the program in 2023, and is…
Two SBDC Iowa regional directors, Michael Wampler and Jenica Johnson, have received awards from the national Small Business Development Center association America’s SBDC. Wampler, regional director of the SBDC location at Kirkwood Community College, is a recipient of the Top 40 Under 40 Young Professionals Award. The award recognizes SBDC…
Repaint Studios, a Mason City-based startup focused on reducing the environmental impact of home improvement with reusable, recyclable and eco-friendly painting supplies, won first place and $40,000 at the 19th annual John Pappajohn Iowa Entrepreneurial Venture Competition. The final round of the competition was held on Aug. 22 in Ames,…
Samantha Dahlby, director of K-12 education at NewBoCo, has been selected for the reciprocal exchange component of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. As a reciprocal exchange participant, Dahlby will implement a co-designed project with Hasfa Mago of the Read to Learn Foundation in Uganda. Dahlby and Mago met during Mago’s 2023…
Ryan Mulhall will serve as executive director of the Iowa Communications Network, an independent state agency that administers the state’s fiber optic telecommunications network. Mulhall begins his new role on Friday. Mulhall, who was appointed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, has worked at ICN since 2016, including serving as its chief…
As part of a refresh of the Business Record’s Innovation Iowa brand, we have created a new landing page on the Business Record website to house all Innovation Iowa coverage and more stories from the Business Record covering innovation and technology.
Visit www.businessrecord.com/innovation-iowa to view all Innovation Iowa stories, including the 2026 Innovation Iowa Magazine, out now.
-Sarah Diehn, Business Record Editor