Ames entrepreneur Steven Brockshus, founder and CEO of FarmlandFinder, is part of the AgGrad’s inaugural 30 Under 30 class of young professionals in agriculture, the platform announced on Monday. Brockshus was recently named the 2019 Farm Bureau Entrepreneur of the Year for his pitch of FarmlandFinder, an online service tracking and listing agricultural real estate […]

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 seeking its next eight to […]

The Innovation & Technology Showcase and opening of coworking space Salem Connection is scheduled for Feb. 26 in two locations, from 2-4 p.m. and 4:30-6 p.m. The showcase will spotlight several technologies and faculty-led STEM projects at Simpson College and in the Indianola business community, a statement by Simpson College said. Presentations include the nanotechnology […]

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 workers currently trying out the […]

IDx-DR, an artificial intelligence system that detects diabetic retinopathy, is expanding to new healthcare settings since the FDA first cleared the AI system to go to market in April 2018, startup IDx of Coralville reports. IDx-DR is now in use in clinics focusing on endocrinology, internal medicine, diabetes education, community health, diagnostics labs and diabetes […]

The Des Moines-based Global Insurance Accelerator has hired Nicole Cook as the next managing director, to take over full time after current director Brian Hemesath steps down from his role on May 1, following the conclusion of the 2019 cohort. Cook begins with the GIA today and will work along with Hemesath and program manager […]

Dwolla CEO/founder Ben Milne cuts the ribbon as the company unveils new headquarters at 909 Locust. Photo provided For all the celebrated focus on “being different,” there was one tradition Dwolla was willing to hang on to when debuting the new office on Wednesday evening: A ribbon-cutting. “It feels fantastic,” Head of Marketing Stephanie Atkin […]

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 the same: we seek out […]

Global Atlantic Financial Group announced a $100,000 investment in the Global Insurance Accelerator, a Des Moines-based 100 day program aiding up to ten insurtech startups in financing and industry connections. The investment joins Global Atlantic with the GIA’s 12 other existing private company investors, which support the accelerator’s mentor networks and business infrastructure assistance. GIA […]

Two Iowa State University undergraduates are taking home the $15,000 top prize at the Western University Ivey Honors Business Administration Business Plan Competition in Canada – after accidentally competing against MBA-level business founders. HomePainter co-founders Jacob McClamon and Anthony House competed against eighteen teams of undergraduate and graduate level university students from the U.S., Mexico […]