Jeff Reed is known as a serial entrepreneur and a supporter of innovation at local organizations and in the community. This year, he is the Business Record’s innovationENTREPRENEUR award winner. Reed started a new venture, Momentum Studios, in May. The strategy and innovation consulting company offers services such as developing strategies for organizationwide goals, helping […]
In 25 years, the 2023 Corteva Agriscience innovationLEADER of the Year has become a leading supplier of color to landscape and recreation areas and is now heading toward expansion. Colorbiotics, headquartered in Ames, manufactures colorant for mulch and recreation surfaces like rubber and rock as well as the equipment that applies the color. More recently, […]
A look at the journey of Iowa’s startup funding ecosystem By the nature of startups, finding funding will always be challenging, especially during companies’ early days. Iowa has seen significant expansion of resources to capitalize startups in the last 10 years, leaders say, but refining pathways to funding must remain a top priority in order […]
Submitted by Donna Harris and Katie Milligan Three in five people have an idea – whether that be for the next technology company, consumer product or social enterprise. Why, then, do the vast majority of people never pursue their idea, and of those that do, a fraction get venture capital funding? In 2022, only 7,261 […]
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 […]
Council Bluffs makes Wi-Fi available throughout community By Lisa Rossi Council Bluffs is becoming known for its public-private partnerships, one of which has resulted in free Wi-Fi throughout the city and another that’s fueling development in its urban core. The following is an edited and condensed conversation with Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh. I heard […]
Using greater collaboration to meet customers’ changing needs By Michael Crumb Wellabe, formerly American Enterprise Group, has been on a journey to become a more agile organization to create an environment where its leadership and employees can be more collaborative to achieve better results for its customers. The insurance company started its journey towards becoming […]
By Michael Crumb Starting out as a crop insurance company in 2016, Growers Edge has evolved into a company that offers warrantied crop performance products and an agriculture input financing program. The goal, leaders of the Johnston-based company said, is to help retailers and input manufacturers, and the farmers they already serve. “Those ag experts […]
Iowa’s only statewide science fair spurs student curiosity, ingenuity Most people can picture a science fair — trifold poster boards, project demonstrations and judges making their rounds. For almost 70 years, Iowa’s only statewide science fair, the State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa, has welcomed future scientists, inventors and curious minds alike. Claison Groff […]
Submitted by Todd Van Thomme Here’s a simple formula: Patents equal innovation. Except it’s not that simple. The number of patents often does not accurately represent the level of innovation, and innovation certainly occurs without patenting. Although the number of patents filed is a convenient way to quantify innovation, especially for stakeholders, to truly understand […]