In 2014, the Global Insurance Accelerator was a first for Iowa in many ways, including how it brought together seven local insurance companies to partner and invest in an accelerator dedicated to advancing innovative ideas for the insurance industry. Those founding investors were Principal Financial Group, Delta Dental of Iowa, FBL Financial Group, IMT Insurance, […]
Finding the resources to start a business is one of the first tasks new entrepreneurs will always need to navigate, and a new tool from the Greater Des Moines Partnership is aiming to provide an “easier on-ramp” to the existing pathways and resources. The Resource Compass is an online platform of entrepreneurial resources available from nonprofits or […]
Grace CEO Drew Allen shares plans for Quad Cities location A passion for entrepreneurship in Iowa shared by two industrial technology leaders — Drew Allen in Eastern Iowa and Hank Norem in Central Iowa — formed a bond that kindled the idea of a new Maple Studios location. The new branch of the startup studio, a […]
Waukee-based payment processing company VizyPay has announced a strategic partnership with Clear Lake Bank & Trust. Through this relationship, Clear Lake Bank & Trust’s small business customers will be connected directly with VizyPay’s team and technologies that are designed to help “mom-and-pop shops that are often left behind or overcharged by other payment processors reduce payment processing […]
Tech takeaway Each quarter, the innovationIOWA newsletter will share a funding recap of the startup companies that received funding from the Iowa Economic Development Authority and a recap of the companies raising money according to Form D filings through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. If there is other startup funding data you’re interested in […]
At this year’s Iowa State Fair, Grimes-based Lashier Graphics & Signs and Vaezr Studio, a division of West Des Moines-based technology firm Zirous, have partnered to display a mural that can be activated with augmented reality technology. The mural (pictured) will be located on the exterior of the Jacobson Exhibition Center in the southwest corner […]
During the recent innovationIOWA panel discussion, panelists provided a pulse on Iowa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, saying the state is in a healthy position with opportunities to double down and continue growing. Panelists: Summarized below are some of the top themes from the panel. Video highlights from the event and the full video replay are available at businessrecord.com. Building […]
Part of the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program is having regions from around the world interact and learn from one another. The program recently hosted a workshop in Western Australia, one of the regions participating in the current cohort along with Central Iowa and other Midwest regions. A few members of the Central Iowa cohort […]
Fund represents new service to angel investors, startup community Angel investor group Plains Angels, working with the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program cohort and Brown Winick Law Firm, has launched the Plains Angels Investment Fund. Tej Dhawan, co-founder of Plains Angels, is managing the fund, which is designed so members can pool funds together to fund […]
Perhaps one of the biggest testaments to the approach at the Waterloo Career Center is that the adults who visit wish they would have had the same option when they were in school. “I’d have done backflips to have that when I was in school,” said Bryan Tonne, vice president of IT operations at VGM […]