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Casey’s pizza, Iowa Hawkeyes, electric cars: Rich Schappert at TechBrew AM

Casey's General Stores Rich Schappert

Each month the Technology Association of Iowa hosts a meet-up for the technology community of Iowa in different parts of the state known as, “TechBrew AM.”

“TechBrew AM” features the Technology Association of Iowa President Brian Waller interviewing a technology executive. A program is held in Central Iowa and then in another community around the state each month.

Rich Schappert, Casey’s General Store Vice President of Information Technology, was the featured guest at Fridays Tech Brew AM in Des Moines at West End Architectural Salvage.

He was interviewed for nearly 20 minutes and received a vinyl record of, “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen.

Schappert has been with Casey’s for 17 years and is a graduate of Des Moines East High School and the University of Iowa.

He said Casey’s is in 15 states and will open its 2,000th store in October. Of its annual revenue of $7.5 billion a year, roughly one billion comes from sales of pizza, doughnuts and other prepared foods, Schappert said.

Casey’s opened its first store in 1968 in Boone. It now has its headquarters in Ankeny.

But it’s the technological advances that Schappert talked about Friday morning.

“We’ve put in pointed sales that actually track the transactions so we actually know what was sold with what,” Schappert explained. “Before that we couldn’t tell what kind of candy bar was sold, we just knew it was a candy bar. This allowed us to be more efficient.”

Schappert mentioned Casey’s has developed a mobile app and introduced online ordering.

“There’s a lot of technology that the stores keep evolving with,” Schappert said.

Schappert said Casey’s started a cyber security team 18 months ago and the executive board cares deeply about cyber security.

“What they do is very important and is top of mind,” Schappert says. “Especially with all these viruses and malware out there. They have minds of their own and wonder where they want to wonder. So there are things out there we need to be conscious of and address.”

In 25 years, Schappert says Casey’s will look different because of how the company keeps up with technology.

“There are challenges right now with gasoline and the electronic cars, how will we be part of that and charge those cars efficiently and fast?” Schappert asks. “We will keep expanding our food service and then use the information we get to address the needs of our customers on an individualized basis.”

Casey's pizza, Iowa Hawkeyes, electric cars: Rich Schappert at TechBrew AM | 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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