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Shaking Earth Digital: the cutting edge of app development

October 1, 2018

West Liberty-based Shaking Earth Digital is a development company that develops applications for mobile devices, desktops, virtual reality and other emerging technologies.

“We like to work as much as possible with new, leading-edge technologies,” said Jens Zalzala, founder of Shaking Earth Digital. “The last few years we’ve been working a lot with virtual reality and these days augmented reality has become a hot topic. So we’re about to start a couple of projects focused on that.”

Earlier this year, Shaking Earth Digital partnered with the West Liberty Community School District and helped them apply for a $25,000 state stem grant. After winning the grant, Shaking Earth Digital continued to work with the school district to develop an app that students could use to learn how to program.

“That was a really great partnership and really cool opportunity. We like to do a lot of outreach stuff like giving talks to different schools around the area,” Zalzala said. We really wanted the students to be able to create something in virtual reality, not just go visit a place or see something, but actually be creators.

Shaking Earth Digital developed an application that allows students to learn how to program and to make a game in virtual reality.

“We made it a point to work with students while we were developing this,” Zalzala said. “We had students coming in and testing it and giving feedback to contribute to the development process.”

Once the application was developed, Shaking Earth Digital rolled it out as a VR after-school club for West Liberty Middle School students. Over a 6-8 week period, students were able to learn the program and create their own game in virtual reality.

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Shaking Earth Digital: the cutting edge of app development | 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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