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 muted.  Keeping conference attendees engaged […]

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 muted.  Keeping conference attendees engaged […]

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 Health, but are hopeful the […]

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 of Cedar Rapids, and David […]

Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of ice cream giant Ben & Jerry’s, gives the opening keynote at the 2019 EntreFEST conference/festival in Cedar Rapids. Photo contributed/Andrew Ravera, NewBoCo The perception of competition is a funny thing. It can bring out the great innovations in companies, the leaps in service or quality or product — or, as Jerry […]

Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, will keynote EntreFEST on May 16-17 in Cedar Rapids, organizers at NewBoCo announced this morning. Greenfield and Ben Cohen built a storefront venture into a $300 million ice cream brand that has received multiple awards for the company’s commitment to social responsibility and sustainability. EntreFEST released […]

Organizers are seeking applications for speakers at the 2019 EntreFEST two-day conference for businesses, community organizers, industry leaders and individuals across Iowa. Session leaders will present over two days in venues across downtown Cedar Rapids May 16-17, 2019 to an estimated crowd of more than 600 attendees. Organizers are seeking speakers to speak on industries […]

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 of ecosystems in Cedar Rapids, […]

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 inherently good or evil, but […]

Tickets are still available for EntreFEST 2018, scheduled for May 17-18 in downtown Cedar Rapids. Presented by the New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative and the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, EntreFEST organizers bill it as one of the largest celebrations of the Midwest’s entrepreneurial community; panels advertised by EntreFEST focus on female founders, cybersecurity, creativity in the […]