The Iowa State University Startup Factory and partners received a $525,427 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s 2020 Venture Challenge program to launch the Iowa Go-To-Market (G2M) program. EDA funding will support the G2M project team, comprising the Iowa Innovation Corp., ISU Startup Factory and VentureNet Iowa, the ISU Startup Factory announced this week. […]

The University of Iowa’s Venture School, developed by the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (Iowa JPEC), is expanding to Mason City, Cedar Falls, Iowa City and Des Moines next month, the Venture School announced this week. JPEC centers at the Northern Iowa Area Community College, the University of Northern Iowa, Drake University and the Small Business […]

Des Moines-based Navigate Wellbeing Solutions is offering access to a 10-part virtual speaker series free to the public and has created Project Care, a suite of resources including virtual care packages and additional client resources for employers seeking to address mental health care of employees, the company announced this week. The speaker series launched on […]

Techstars Iowa announced the 10 international startups making up the accelerator’s inaugural class for 2020, including two Iowa startups: Deetz, a hyperlocal platform connecting users to local community deals and events, and Openloop, a health care platform connecting providers to job openings in hospitals and other facilities requiring extra staff assistance.  The inaugural class represents […]

Troy Vincent of Navigate Wellbeing Solutions has been named a finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 Heartland Awards. Vincent is CEO of Navigate, a West Des Moines-based wellness platform. Regional award winners are eligible for consideration of the Entrepreneur of the Year national award, to be announced by Ernst & Young LLP in November […]

Co-founders Pernell Cezar and Rod Johnson of Des Moines-based BLK & Bold Specialty Beverages have been named Entrepreneurs of the Year by the Official Black Wall Street App’s Black Entrepreneur of the Year Awards and received $5,000. BLK & Bold pledges 5% of its profits to initiatives aligned with youth programming, workforce development and eradicating […]

ProCircular was named the Corridor’s Fastest Growing Company of 2020 by the Corridor Business Journal, ProCircular announced this week. The Coralville-based cybersecurity firm opened a second office in downtown Des Moines this year serving national customers. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, ProCircular began offering free vulnerability checks to critical infrastructure around the Midwest, […]