Maple Ventures hires first director, plans next phase

An architectural rendering of a workspace for industrial goods

Ramco Innovations set to triple space available to startups Entrepreneur support center Maple Ventures is moving into its next phase with the announcement of its first full-time director and plans to triple the amount of space available to industrial technology companies at Ramco Innovations. Renovations are underway to convert one…

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AgTech Day guides potential applicants to Iowa AgriTech Accelerator

At the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator’s second annual AgTech Day, nine agritech startups – mostly from Iowa, and two from Nebraska and California – jumped at the chance to meet the experts. Some of the founders have bootstrapped their business off the ground for initial sales. Others were seeking insight on…

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Get to know the Prometheus Awards finalists

In less than a month, Iowa’s technology community will be gathering once again for the annual Prometheus Awards, the Technology Association of Iowa’s yearly celebration of the state’s technology industry, which the association says accounts for 8.8 percent of Iowa’s GDP.  While we haven’t met all five finalists in each of…

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MākuSafe closes on $2.85M, prepares to launch devices in 2019

Three years after founding, MākuSafe, a technology wearables company focused on workplace safety, closed on a $2.85 million seed round in December. It launches what staff promises to be a busy year for the wearable safety device company: five pilot testing programs have finished or are underway, with 120 industrial…

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One year later: Stories you shared with innovationIOWA

In 2013, the Business Record launched innovationIOWA Magazine, an annual publication with a mission to spotlight innovative companies and technological achievements across the state. One year ago this week, our newsroom launched the innovationIOWA e-newsletter, updating our delivery from annually to weekly – right to your inbox. The mission remains…

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Ramco Innovations launches Maple Ventures

Artist’s rendering of the Maple Ventures renovation design, expected to open on Oct. 1. Illustration provided by Ramco Innovations. At Ramco Innovations on Maple Street, the warehouse was not an immediate contender to house up-and-coming startups. In fact, renting space and offering administrative assistance from the 50-year-old Ramco business wasn’t even a…

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