The ISU Startup Factory has announced its sixth cohort of entrepreneurs entering the Iowa State-based program.
Twelve teams joined the program, starting with an evening kick-off reception held Thursday evening at the ISU Alumni Center, followed by a full day of programming Friday at the Startup Factory’s space at the Iowa State University Research Park.
Startups accepted into the program will receive formal training, resources and access to a network of mentors, advisors and investors. The program is divided into two 26-week blocks: the first a formal curriculum centered on business validation, and the second, customized to their individual business needs.
“The Startup Factory is an important part of an ecosystem we are developing specifically to support entrepreneurs at Iowa State,” Interim Vice President for Economic Development and Business Engagement David Spalding said in the announcement. “At Iowa State, our focus for economic development is on the entire state, and we are proud of the tremendous impacts we have on the state economy.”
Since the program’s inaugural cohort in June 2016, more than 90 companies have been accepted into the program, 77 of which are still in business. 9 of those companies have reached a $1 million valuation.
“Since we started the program, our companies have attracted more than $20 million in venture financing including nine SBIR Phase 1 Awards, four SBIR Phase 2 Awards, 14 fundings from the State venture funding programs, 15 angel financing rounds and six institutional funding rounds,” Spalding said.
The following are the names of the twelve participating startups in the sixth cohort:
3D Health Solutions, Inc. – Founded by Karin Allenspach, Albert E. Jergens and Jonathan P. Mochel, is a 3-dimensional intestinal organoid assays for drug testing to improve predication of pre-clinical bioavailability tests.
Auchus Outdoors – Founded by Richard J. Auchus, creates compact, minimalistic camping units for adventurous outdoor enthusiasts.
Gym-N-Eat Crickets LLC – Founded by Shelby Smith, is a producer of high protein, whole-food convenience foods from farm-raised crickets for human consumption.
HomePainter – Founded by Jacob McClarnon and Anthony House, is an online platform developed to revolutionize the residential painting experience.
IdRamp – Founded by Mike Vessey, is a farm-to-market security and information platform for quality assurance and transparency across diverse agriculture value chains.
InkFlex Devices – Founded by Metin Uz and Surya Mallapragada, has developed 2D and 3D, high resolution circuits on rigid and flexible substrates, using cost-effective and green processes for a variety of electronic applications.
Kimle Aquaculture – Founded by Jackson Kimle and Matthew Ellis, produces algae-based recirculating aquaculture systems.
Sublime Stericeuticals Corporation – Founded by Shawn Stimson and Joel Lennon-Meyer, uses a novel, highly efficient process in the manufacture and packaging of freeze-dried drug products.
Tres Mentes Gourmet Foods Inc. – Founded by Phillip Campos and Angelo Campos, is creating the gold standard of salsa.
UAnalytics – Founded by Shafqat Ali Shad and Ali Jannesari, is developing embedded AI driven UAVs to execute business operations in the mining industry.
Vectr Bio – Founded by Erik Dunteman, is a data platform for cannabis breeding.
YieldLogic LLC – Founded by Priyank Pradeep and Marc Brittain, uses remote sensing and machine learning to help farmers, co-ops and companies proactively identify soil and crop health status such as deficiencies and diseases.
The descriptions of the ISU Startup Factory companies listed above have been provided by ISU.
Previous coverage
ISU Startup Factory continues to grow, announces two new cohorts -July 2, 2018