Craig Ibsen, managing principal at Next Level Ventures, and Stephanie Atkin, vice president of marketing at Dwolla, at Thursday’s Power Breakfast: Innovation Acceleration. Des Moines talks a big game about Iowa being an innovation state, but at Thursday morning’s Business Record Power Breakfast, one audience member wondered: is this true in rural communities? Fair question, panelists said. “One of the reasons Iowa is underrepresented is because we have a rural
Policy & Funding
November 23, 2018
Ben McDougal steps up as regional 1 Million Cups representative
If the Kauffman Foundation’s 1 Million Cups initiative is “church for entrepreneurs,” Des Moines entrepreneur Ben McDougal is preaching the gospel – and his congregation is getting bigger. After leading the Des Moines chapter for five years – the second 1MC chapter in the country after Kansas City – McDougal is stepping back locally in order to step up as regional representative of 1 Million Cups Midwest. He’ll be coordinating
November 15, 2018
Bezos, probably, to cities: ‘I’m sorry-ish’
The Dallas Morning News released what Jeff Bezos probably would have written to the losing cities in the saga of choosing Amazon’s H2Q (“initials+numbers = very hip/very now”) location, had he not been busy doing, uh, something else. “We can’t attest to its provenance. We doubt Amazon would confirm it. Nor will we even deny we wrote it. But it certainly feels true,” the Dallas editorial board wrote. IN OTHER
November 15, 2018
Creative Economy Initiative launched
Bravo Greater Des Moines and the Des Moines Arts Festival are launching the Creative Economy Initiative, an action plan for professional development and the building of businesses for regional artists. Artist and business strategist Chris Dahlquist will work on a feasibility study and action plan for how to advance creative economy objectives in the region and align artists with arts organizations, businesses, municipal governments and community members for sustained growth
November 13, 2018
Iowa’s ‘Fund of Funds’ closes out after 15 years
Established in 2003, the state’s venture capital initiative “Iowa Fund of Funds” is slowly winding down after the Iowa Executive Council voted 4-0 to dissociate the fund with its governing entities, reports the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The program, which was managed under the private, not-for-profit Iowa Capital Investment Corp. and a state Capital Investment Board, is credited with helping eight companies, leading to an estimated economic impact of $1.49 billion over
October 30, 2018
FUNDED LATELY: Rantizo
Rantizo, Inc.: $500,000, completed in October. Based in Iowa City. Participating: Innova Memphis (Memphis, Tennessee).
October 24, 2018
FUNDED LATELY: SwineTech
SwineTech: $1.5 million in the company’s second round, completed in June. Participating: AgVentures Alliance, Quake Capital and InnovaMemphis. The June round added eight additional full-time jobs to SwineTech, co-founder/CEO Matthew Rooda confirmed, adding that “a majority” of funding came from Iowa and Minnesota. SwineTech is planning an expansion through North America and into Canada, Rooda told the Business Record, and will be raising another funding round by mid-summer 2019 to
