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…
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced Sept. 14 the formation of the Livestock Protection Innovation Grant Program. The program will provide grant funding to assist Iowa-based companies in the development of safe and effective vaccines that may help protect Iowa livestock from foreign animal diseases. Though the threat of…
SoilSerdem, an Ames-based startup, won a $1 million National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Phase II award through BioConnect Iowa’s America’s Seed Fund Outreach Program. According to a news release, America’s Seed Fund (powered by NSF) awards $200 million annually to startups and small businesses transforming scientific discovery into products…
Heartland Business Systems is hosting the 11th annual Secure Iowa conference on Oct. 3 at the Meadows Event Center in Altoona. HBS is hosting the event following its acquisition of Pratum in 2022. The sessions include a keynote speech by Samuel Visner, an adviser on U.S. national security on the evolution…
Bunker Labs Des Moines, a nonprofit supporting veterans and military spouses starting their own businesses, is looking for a new volunteer entrepreneur ambassador. According to the Bunker Labs website, the Entrepreneur Ambassador program includes a 12-month training for individuals who are already established leaders in their community and well-positioned to build…
Colorbiotics, an Ames-based colorant manufacturer, reports it more than doubled its recycling year-over-year. In the first half of 2023, Colorbiotics recycled 1.8 million pounds of materials compared with less than 750,000 pounds the year before. According to a news release, plastics are the primary driver of the increase in recycling for…
Entrepreneurs’ Organization Iowa (EO Iowa), the Iowa chapter of a global peer-to-peer network of over 18,000 business owners, is inviting business owners and entrepreneurs to its first “A Taste of EO Iowa” event for prospective EO members on Sept. 21. According to a news release, EO Iowa exists to support…
Denim Social, a software provider helping elevate how financial and insurance professionals connect and sell on social media, has been acquired by Capacity, a platform that automates customer support tasks. Based in St. Louis, Denim Social was formed in April 2020 with the merger of St. Louis startup Gremlin Social and Des Moines-based…
Iowa State University’s Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship and the Start Something College of Agriculture and Life Sciences program will host the seventh annual ISU Innovation Prize. The Innovation Prize is a weekend-long competition for Iowa State students, faculty, staff as well as the local entrepreneurial community. Participants will work in…
The InnoVenture Iowa Fund has opened applications for the second annual InnoVenture Challenge, a $100,000 winner-takes-all pitch competition featuring three Iowa startup companies from the information technology, bioscience and advanced manufacturing industries. The three finalists who will present on stage in Des Moines in front of a panel of judges…