Techstars, a national network of accelerators and a venture capital firm, is partnering with Grinnell College to launch Techstars Iowa, to be located in Des Moines. Des Moines entrepreneur and former interim director for the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator Kerty Levy has joined as managing director of Techstars Iowa, which has yet to settle on a physical […]
The Iowa AgriTech Accelerator will host its third Demonstration Day at the Des Moines Embassy Club Oct. 15 in conjunction with the World Food Prize and 2019 Borlaug Dialogue and International Symposium. Doors open at 5 p.m. and presentations will begin at 5:30 p.m. More than 120 volunteer mentors worked with the accelerator’s four agtech […]
Techstars, the Colorado-based national network that manages multiple accelerators and a venture capital arm, is now seeking a managing director and program manager of a yet-unannounced Techstars Iowa program. According to the job listings, Techstars Iowa will be an accelerator based in Des Moines. The company has not released an official statement regarding an expansion […]
Since launching an annual venture capital contest in 2006, Des Moines entrepreneur and venture capitalist John Pappajohn has been “happy to be the giver of money” to support entrepreneurs in the state, Pappajohn told the small crowd on Drake University’s campus over lunch on Thursday. All 12 of the small businesses represented – finalists in […]
The Global Insurance Accelerator will host 17 startups participating in the fifth annual InsurTech Week, scheduled for Oct. 14-18. The featured startups are: Bell Analytics, MakuSafe, Aerialytic, HazardHub, Relay, Talage, Avolanta, BOUND, Breathe Life, DeepVisionAI, EasySend, InDoW Technology Co., KASKO, Optimity, Protosure, Relativity6 and UDoTest. This year’s event schedule includes a Women in Insurance Coffee and Conversations session, […]
Roosevelt High School senior Kiki Levy launched her startup BetterHireS in mid-August, just as school started. Kiki Levy greeted visitors inside Ingersoll Avenue’s Star Bar Aug. 21 as the founder of BetterHireS — a startup web portal designed to connect Des Moines businesses to driven high school students seeking part-time employment in a career field […]
The Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Blue Compass, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the National Pork Board and Strategic America were among the first-place winners at this year’s Hashie Awards, hosted by the Social Media Club Des Moines at Jasper Winery on Aug. 22. Categories by platform were split between business and nonprofit social […]
The Technology Association of Iowa announced three keynote speakers for the organization’s first Iowa High School Tech Summit, which debuts a day before the annual Iowa Technology Summit. Keynote speakers are Eddie Etsey, director of sports and information technology at University of Iowa Athletics; Ben Milne, founder/CEO at Dwolla; and Antoinette Stevens, senior detection and […]
As companies compete to attract parents and kids with back-to-school specials, one Des Moines startup has placed an eye on a piece of the classroom unserved by many startups. Trokt, an online platform and mobile application designed to facilitate legal mediation record-keeping, is seeking headway to connect with the families of disabled or special-needs students […]
Des Moines-based Rocket Referrals is on the 2019 Inc. 5000 annual list of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., the company announced this week. Rocket Referrals, an insuretech startup automating the referral process for insurance agencies, was named at the 481 spot. It ranked 62 among all software companies in the U.S. and was the fastest-growing software […]