“Diverse” would be one way to describe the field of 15 startups leaving their final impressions on the 2018 CYstarters cohort during Wednesday’s last pitch. “Distinctive” fits all 19 founders. From a wireless boombox design to the making of a wedding reception tablescape, Iowa State University graduates and students showed…
As Des Moines prepares to host the third Best of the Midwest Angel Capital Association (ACA) Conference in September, organizers are rallying to make the regional meeting stand out. “These meetings move from place to place every year, so it’s likely we won’t be seeing this meeting again for 10…
From left: BetterHires team members Wheaten Mather, Kiki Levy, Jessica Duffy and Mia Levy at the 2018 Startup Weekend Iowa City. Contributed photo Winning the top slot at Startup Weekend Iowa City this month wasn’t on Kiki Levy’s mind when the Roosevelt High School student pitched her concept to the…
Limelight Health, a California-based employee benefits software platform, is hiring in Des Moines as the company plans a new expansion in the midwest, Clay & Milk reports. The company has not released an opening date for the office, but anticipates hiring ten people over the next six to nine months…
Hy-Vee will expand existing grocery delivery to customers with two new partnerships, beginning in late July, reports the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Agreements with delivery startups Shipt and Instacart will allow shoppers to order groceries and have them delivered at home on the same day – an expansion of Hy-Vee’s existing Hy-Vee…
Ag Startup Engine has announced a second investment of $25,000 in FarmlandFinder, a search software that allows clients to buy, search for and sell agricultural land and property information, reports Clay & Milk. FarmlandFinder, formerly known as Terva, serves land owners and buyers in Iowa but will expand into 12 states…
Startup Weekend Iowa City is back, and registration is still open to anyone who has an idea they’ve never worked on before, organizer Jay Cooper said. From July 13-15 at MERGE, Iowa City’s coworking lab, teams will start building on an idea for Sunday’s final pitch contest. Tickets are $20…
The ISU Startup Factory is accepting two new cohorts based in Ames and Austin, Minnesota, reports Clay and Milk. The program is based in Ames, but also hosts startups in Northwest Iowa. Startups accepted in the Startup Factory receive formal training, mentorship and access to investors in two 26-week blocks,…
Studio Ghiblet team members Michael Casner and Lauren Kacere demonstrate the starting screen of ‘Spark,’ a one-player computer puzzle that challenges the user to piece together a dementia patient’s past based on photographs and audio clues. When imagining dementia as a desktop game, Lauren Kacere and her team thought of…
Iowa billionaire Harry Stine, founder of Stine Seed Co., announced an investment of $5 million into an Ames startup focusing on driverless tractors, the Des Moines Register reports. Founded by 28-year-old Colin Hurd, Smart Ag aims to solve critical labor shortages in agriculture with a software system that automates tractors…