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BrewOps and BREWD announce merger

June 29, 2017

Two software companies in the craft beer market announced a merger Wednesday.

Software companies Fermented Labs and BrewOps are merging, according to a news release.

Fermented Labs is the creator of BREWD – a Des Moines based software provider to the craft beer industry; BrewOps is a software company for brewery inventory and production management.

According to the release, Dave Jensen and Daniel Dresser – founders of BrewOps – will join the leadership and founding team of Fermented Labs, providing technical expertise to the company.

In a post on getbrewd.com, John Jackovin described a conversation that eventually led to the merger.

He says when he met with Dave Jensen of BrewOps, Jensen proposed the idea of a merger.

“That’s when I had my moment of clarity. We are pretty small still. They have yet to release a product. Why not merge?!? It seemed to make perfect sense. We were both startup tech companies; they had the technical side covered, I have vast experience starting companies with a focus on sales, marketing and operations.”

Jackovin continued by saying:

“This conversation occurred on April 16th. In the two plus months since Dave, Daniel (the other co-founder of BrewOps), and I have spent countless hours figuring out if and how we fit, determining our goals, and mapping out what we plan to create,” Jackovin writes. “As it turns out, our visions aligned almost perfectly.”

BrewOps and BREWD announce merger | Clay & Milk

A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.

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