Chapter also shifts funding model By Micaela Cashman 1 Million Cups Des Moines, which hosts weekly events to connect and support the local entrepreneurial community, has welcomed in a new group of volunteer organizers. One of those new volunteers is local entrepreneur Adam Viet. “Volunteers are often people who have been…
Lodge-style Frontier Coworking opens in Clive By Micaela Cashman Ben Sinclair was tired of working from home, but there were no coworking spaces near his house in Waukee. So he created his own. “I was feeling isolated,” said Sinclair, who works in software development and digital marketing. “And my wife…
The value of consistency in entrepreneurial ecosystems Submitted by Ben McDougal, ecosystem builder, Techstars Iowa; Midwest regional representative, 1 Million Cups TL;DRConsistency requires sacrifice, but such generosity builds trust, and over time it helps connect a more diversified, engaged and thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. Force is needed to move anything at rest. When it…
Des Moines entrepreneur Ben McDougal joined the Techstars Iowa team in a combined entrepreneur-in-residence and ecosystem development role, the accelerator announced last week. McDougal is a four-time company founder and co-founder, an author and is currently the midwest regional representative for the 1 Million Cups entrepreneurship network. The second class of…
How has your calendar changed over the last year? Mine certainly looks different these days after an abrupt end to live networking events in 2020. But that doesn’t mean any of these groups, or their organizers, disappeared. Below, take a look at three local networking groups that offer events free…
How do startups navigate the world of venture capital? Next Level Ventures principal partner Scott Hoekman broke it down for the audience at Wednesday’s 1 Million Cups presentation. The whole presentation is available on Facebook @1MillionCupsDSM, but here’s a few takeaways to note if you’re unfamiliar. Next Level Ventures is…
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…
1 Million Cups organizer Ben McDougal interviews Gov. Kim Reynolds during her first appearance at the weekly Des Moines gathering. Photo by Kate Hayden For the first fifteen to twenty minutes, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds stood at the lecturn addressing a room of more than 50 during Wednesday’s 1 Million…