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Kohawk Startup event awards $10,000 in prizes to Coe students

November 13, 2019

Kohawk Startup, Coe’s second annual entrepreneurship and innovation event, took place last weekend and was a huge hit. 35 people took part in the 24-hour event.

Coe College’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence David Tominsky led the group through the entrepreneurial process from idea generation and business modeling to pitching and presenting.

The event began at 6 p.m. on Nov. 8 and concluded at 6 p.m on Nov. 9. On Friday evening, ideas were pitched, teams were formed and research ensued. Throughout the day Saturday, teams received guidance from Cedar Rapids area leaders, worked through customer discovery and problem identification. 

First-place and $5,000 was awarded to team Nodey who pitched the idea of remote monitoring technology enabling the agriculture industry to make optimal decisions using real-time data about field conditions. 

Second-place and $2,500 was awarded to team FullFilled with the concept of a data-driven social and gamified app connecting volunteers to nonprofits and nonprofits to donors. 

Team Charlie’s Community Garden was the third-place and audience choice winner receiving $2,500. They pitched the idea of installing a hoop house to provide a direct supply of fresh produce to “The Nest”, Coe’s on-campus food and necessities pantry.

The top three teams will continue to meet with Tominsky for follow up consultation and to expand their entrepreneurial spirit. With Tominsky’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence position, he will maintain a dedicated space on Coe’s campus for one-on-one entrepreneurial coaching, available to all current Kohawks.

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Kohawk Startup event awards $10,000 in prizes to Coe students | 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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