Two startup accelerators announced inaugural teams for their 2020 cohorts this week. BrokerTech Ventures of Des Moines and Iowa EdTech Accelerator of Iowa City will both welcome startup founders on March 2 as founders begin the five-week program for BrokerTech and 14-week program for Iowa EdTech. Twelve BrokerTech Ventures startups will operate in Gravitate Coworking […]
America’s SBDC Iowa announced Laurie Pieper as the new tech director for the state, who began her new role Feb. 3. As tech director, Pieper will lead the SBDC’s Rural Development Initiative and work with clients and resource partners to develop opportunities for commercialization of Iowa businesses’ technologies, products and services. Previously, Pieper developed the […]
Australian entrepreneurs will join the inaugural 2020 cohort of the Cultivo Global Ag Innovation Program hosted by America’s Cultivation Corridor, a partnership program announced in October to host startups from a single targeted country each year. The names of participating companies have not yet been announced. Cohort members will travel to Iowa for a 10-day […]
Dwolla CEO/founder Ben Milne cuts the ribbon as the company unveils new headquarters in February 2019 at 909 Locust. Photo provided Dwolla is searching for a new CEO after founder Ben Milne announced he was going to step away from the role in a blog post published this afternoon. Milne and other company leaders came […]
Jim Towey, president of Onset, will join the board of directors of the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator, the organization announced this week. Towey most recently served as a mentor for the accelerator, helping past participants develop their business ideas and build their storytelling skills to gain support for innovations. Based in Cape Cod, Mass., Onset is […]
Bill Adamowski, director of innovation and entrepreneurship at Iowa State University and creator of the successful ISU Startup Factory, will leave ISU in February to join Drake University. Adamowski, a serial entrepreneur in his own right, will fill the newly created role of executive director for entrepreneurship, innovation and human-centered design in Drake’s College of […]
The Iowa State University Startup Factory announced its eighth cohort of entrepreneurs entering the program this week. Eleven teams joined the program, with an evening kick-off held Jan. 16 at the ISU Alumni Center. More than 100 individuals attended the reception, which also honored past and graduating cohort members. This year’s cohort startups are: AeroSeeder […]
The Iowa Economic Development Authority board approved awards for four startups in Ames, Iowa City, West Des Moines and West Liberty, the board announced on Friday. IEDA awarded a $25,000 Proof of Commercial Relevance (POCR) loan to Ames-based Skroot Laboratory Inc., a $100,000 loan from the Demonstration Fund to Iowa City-based Malum Inc., a $100,000 […]
The dashboard of Roboflow Organize. Image provided by roboflow.ai WHO: Roboflow ESTABLISHED: August 2019 by second-time founders Brad Dwyer (previously Hatchlings) and Joseph Nelson (previously Represently) WHAT IT DOES: “Roboflow is a tool that developers use to build computer vision applications faster,” Nelson said. The problem that Brad Dwyer and Joseph Nelson started with didn’t […]
BrokerTech Ventures, a new broker-led insurance accelerator launched by Holmes Murphy in Des Moines, announced the hiring of John Jackovin as its new executive director this week. Jackovin most recently managed the Growth and Internal Services Product teams at fintech startup Dwolla in Des Moines. Jackovin previously led the Des Moines startup Bawte, which completed […]