SoilSerdem, an Ames-based startup, won a $1 million National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Phase II award through BioConnect Iowa’s America’s Seed Fund Outreach Program. According to a news release, America’s Seed Fund (powered by NSF) awards $200 million annually to startups and small businesses transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and […]

The InnoVenture Iowa Fund has opened applications for the second annual InnoVenture Challenge, a $100,000 winner-takes-all pitch competition featuring three Iowa startup companies from the information technology, bioscience and advanced manufacturing industries. The three finalists who will present on stage in Des Moines in front of a panel of judges will be announced on Nov. […]

Iowa State University’s Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship and the Start Something College of Agriculture and Life Sciences program will host the seventh annual ISU Innovation Prize. The Innovation Prize is a weekend-long competition for Iowa State students, faculty, staff as well as the local entrepreneurial community. Participants will work in small teams to develop innovative […]

Entrepreneurs’ Organization Iowa (EO Iowa), the Iowa chapter of a global peer-to-peer network of over 18,000 business owners, is inviting business owners and entrepreneurs to its first “A Taste of EO Iowa” event for prospective EO members on Sept. 21. According to a news release, EO Iowa exists to support entrepreneurs to achieve their full […]

Waukee-based payment processing company VizyPay has announced a strategic partnership with Clear Lake Bank & Trust. Through this relationship, Clear Lake Bank & Trust’s small business customers will be connected directly with VizyPay’s team and technologies that are designed to help “mom-and-pop shops that are often left behind or overcharged by other payment processors reduce payment processing […]

InnoVenture Iowa’s second-quarter update included the announcement of four new portfolio companies. The $30 million fund now has 12 portfolio companies. The four new companies are: The update also shared that applications for the second annual InnoVenture Challenge, a $100,000 pitch competition, will open Friday. Investment Director Kaylee Williams said in the update that InnoVenture Iowa will be […]