Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer

ISU celebrates Women Entrepreneurship Week

October 15, 2018

Iowa State University joins more than 150 universities and colleges this week in the celebration of Women Entrepreneurship Week. Throughout the week, the university will host multiple events featuring women entrepreneurs and share stories about why women create.

“It’s cool to be a part of events that are happening all across the world. Whether its a conference, speakers, or sharing stories that lift up successful women, it’s important that we support women entrepreneurs,” said Diana Wright, marketing and program coordinator at the ISU Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship. “And it aligns really well The Women Who Create Conference we do in the spring.”

Here are the events happening at ISU this week as part of Women Entrepreneurship Week:

MONDAY, OCTOBER 15 – START SOMETHING WHILE AT IOWA STATE

12-2:00 pm | ISU University Library

The Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship staff will be on campus to meet with students pursuing ideas on next steps and to provide guidance with resources on and off campus. The entrepreneur help booth will be located at the ISU Library, main lobby from 12-2pm.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16 – YOUNG WOMEN IN BUSINESS CONFERENCE

8:00 am – 2:00 pm | ISU Memorial Union

The Young Women in Business Conference is designed especially for females in grade 9 through 12, their parents, teachers, and high school counselors. The full day event is facilitated by the Ivy College of Business faculty and staff from 8am-2pm at the ISU Memorial Union.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17 – WOMEN WHO CREATE PANEL

1-2:00 pm | ISU University Library

The Women Who Create panel will feature female student entrepreneurs and recent alumni to discuss why they create. The event will take place at the ISU Library, Room 198 from 1-2pm. The public is welcome to attend and the ISU Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship will host the event.

Tags: Iowa Statue University Women Entrepreneurship Week

ISU celebrates Women Entrepreneurship Week | 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.

This Pop-up Is Included in the Theme

Best Choice for Creatives