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Gain Compliance: Showcasing the product

Gain Compliance

After two different rounds of investment and nearly 18 months of development the team at Gain Compliance used Monday afternoon as an opportunity to showcase what they’ve been working on.

Gain Compliance was founded in August of 2016 after Burch LaPrade got the entrepreneurial itch while working at Workiva in Ames. He would leave Workiva in May of 2016 and was joined by Jason Jones and Steve Siegel, who also worked at Workiva before Gain Compliance.

The trio developed a platform to improve efficiency and accuracy for insurance carriers who are tasked with regulatory compliance reporting. A crowd of nearly 30 people made up of investors, Insurtech founders and community members were at the Gain Compliance offices in downtown Des Moines for a demo of the product as well as a Q&A with a customer. day.

LaPrade told Clay & Milk before the demo day that as they developed their product, there was more of a “heads down” approach.

“We are no longer in that stage,” he says. “We are showing to the world what we do…Increasingly.”

2018 plans

LaPrade said Gain Compliance will have a bigger product launch later this year at the Insurance Accountants Systems Association conference in June.

Since launching in 2016, Gain Compliance has raised over $2.5 million—according to Crunchbase.

“It’s been good,” LaPrade says. “It’s a startup so it’s never completely smooth sailing. But having been through a few of these before I would say a combination of good fortune and also being in the right place. We are making software for insurance companies, in an insurance town.”

And it’s the people within the Des Moines community that he contributes to the success of the company.

“The pilot customers we’ve had have been generous with their time,” LaPrade says. “We’ve built really good software because of that collaboration.”

Previous Coverage

FIN Capital invests in Gain Compliance – June 6, 2017

Burch LaPrade: There’s work to do before a business starts – Jan. 24, 2017

Gain Compliance: Showcasing the product | 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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