InnoVenture Iowa announced Wednesday the three early-stage startup companies that will compete in the first InnoVenture Challenge pitch competition on Dec. 7 for a non-dilutive $100,000 cash prize. The finalists are Hawkeye Surgical Lighting, which has developed the world’s first voice- and motion-controlled surgical headlight that integrates with an iOS through Bluetooth; The Hummingbirds, a platform that […]
First Iowa Angel Investor Summit aims to educate aspiring investors, unite angel community Tech takeaway: The Greater Des Moines Partnership and ISA Ventures hosted the first Iowa Angel Investor Summit on Nov. 18 as part of an initiative to address gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem identified by the 11-person group of Central Iowa stakeholders participating […]
The Global Insurance Accelerator has announced it is adding a new role of alumni director to its staff. “The creation of this role represents a key strategic decision on behalf of the GIA and our board as we look to continually evolve and improve our continuing support model beyond our 100-day program,” said Managing Director […]
The Iowa Economic Development Board last week approved awards for five companies that will lead to the creation of 266 jobs, and represent more than $200 million in capital investment in the state. The IEDA board also approved awards to two startups: CartilaGen in Coralville received a $125,000 Demonstration Fund award for product refinement, market planning and […]
Jess Louis joined the Global Insurance Accelerator as its program manager this week, the accelerator announced on its blog. She will oversee the GIA’s programming with managing director Dan Israel, who started transitioning into his new role in May. Louis’ most recent role was with the Boys and Girls Club of Central Iowa, running its volunteer program […]
A look into the effort to create a vision, plan for entrepreneurship’s future in the region Entrepreneurial ecosystem, innovation ecosystem — terms like these are embedded in everyday conversations happening within the business and technology communities. They help in referring to the broader environment and everything that comes together to fuel entrepreneurship and innovation, but a […]
Nine Iowa startups received a total of $100,000 as winners of the 2022 Pappajohn Iowa Entrepreneurial Venture Competition, which were named on Aug. 12. Continuum Ag received the $40,000 first place award, Farm Story Meats received $25,000 for second place and DenScore received $15,000 for third place. Honorable mention awards of $5,000 or $2,000 went to six more startups: ReEnvision Ag, Juggernaut, Janas Materials, Hummingbirds, Farmers Risk and Easy2Show. […]
Midwest Startups, which supports the Midwest startup and innovation ecosystem, has released its 2022 Startup City rankings. This year’s data shows that the five Iowa regions included in the analysis of 59 Midwest cities all received lower rankings compared with last year. Des Moines moved from the rank of 20 last year to 28 this […]
Entering its third year of the program, Techstars Iowa has announced the members of its 2022 class, which started in Des Moines Monday. Daniel Pfeil is joining Techstars Iowa this year as an investment associate to help founders collaborate with investors, according to a news release. Partners Grinnell University, the University of Iowa and Iowa […]
The Global Insurance Accelerator is now accepting applications for its ninth accelerator program, incoming Managing Director Dan Israel announced in a blog post. “While change is occurring in the leadership of the GIA, our 100-day program, our mentors, and our insurance carrier investors all remain focused on helping amazing founders, teams, and insurtech companies reach their […]