EntreFest coming to Cedar Rapids in June

Roughly 350 people are expected to attend EntreFest, an annual innovation and entrepreneurship conference in Cedar Rapids in June, organizers said. Produced by NewBoCo, a Cedar Rapids nonprofit offering programming that supports entrepreneurship, innovation and tech education, EntreFest aims to bring people together and expose them to cutting-edge information, organizers said. The…

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At the morning keynote on June 4, NewBoCo Executive Director Eric Engelmann sat down at his computer with a plastic toy hand-clapper and gave it a good shake. The session’s “pre-standing ovation,” an EntreFEST tradition, would go on as planned — even over Zoom, with a sea of audience microphones…

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EntreFEST announces 2020 keynote speakers; plans to proceed as scheduled

EntreFEST on Wednesday announced five keynote speakers and plans to carry on as scheduled for the 12th annual conference June 4-5. Event planners say they are staying informed about developments on the novel coronavirus and will heed recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and the Iowa Department of Public…

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EntreFEST Day 2: How to pitch a startup from the edge of a rock wall

Steve Shriver, co-owner at SOKO Outfitters of Cedar Rapids (right), climbs during a startup pitch session with founders during the 2019 EntreFEST. Photo contributed/Andrew Ravera, NewBoCo One of the most original pitching opportunities open to participants at EntreFEST 2019 was born over pre-event beers.  Steve Shriver, co-owner at SOKO Outfitters…

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Hwang: Framing economic growth through an ecosystem

EntreFEST 2018’s opening keynote is still fresh in attendees’ minds after keynote speaker Victor Hwang, vice president of entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation, laid the foundation for attendees to explore building local economies by ecosystem instead of building individual-by-individual. It seemed fitting for Hwang to commence the conference on the topic…

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Seven things you’ll see in seven years

Buckle up: 2025 is only seven years away. Last week Aaron Proietti, founder of Adaptivity Enterprises and a self-proclaimed futurist, offered EntreFEST conference attendees in Cedar Rapids several thoughtful predictions of what to expect from the world in less than 10 years. “The technologies that I’ve shown here are not…

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