Basi Affia, founder of the Des Moines-based comic book production company Sensi’il Studios, took second place in the 2025 Athene Black & Brown Business Summit Pitch Competition, held in West Des Moines April 16-17. “It’s an honor to be on stage with so many high-caliber business owners and people who are doing so many cool […]
Upvote, an AI-native software company, has announced partnerships with Iowa’s House of Representatives and Governor’s office to use AI-powered tools to streamline the legislative process. Iowa House caucuses and the office of Gov. Kim Reynolds implemented Upvote’s Legible platform to develop, evaluate and publish legislation, starting with the 2025 legislative session, according to a news […]
The NIACC John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center hosted the second annual Iowa Student Entrepreneurship Summit on April 11-12 in Mason City and Clear Lake. The event brought together business majors and student entrepreneurs from Iowa’s community colleges, private colleges and the University of Northern Iowa. The Student Entrepreneurship Summit included a student pitch competition followed by […]
The Greater Dallas County Development Alliance announced the launch of its small business grant fund, a new initiative focused on supporting local entrepreneurship and small business to stimulate economic growth. With an annual funding pool of $10,000, the grant aims to provide financial support to small businesses. Small businesses operating in a Dallas County community […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]