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Gravitate Coworking to celebrate National Entrepreneurs Day

November 17, 2019

This Tuesday is National Entrepreneurs Day and to celebrate Gravitate Coworking is offering free coworking for the day.

Those interested in trying out coworking or learning more about the space can work out of either of Gravitate’s locations—Downtown Des Moines and Valley Junction—to see if coworking is right for them.

The free day will include access to all of Gravitate’s amenities including complimentary beverages, speedy wifi, a chair to work from the day and access to the space’s lounge areas and kitchen .

Dickinson Law Startup Group holding free office hours for entrepreneurs

In addition to the free day of coworking, attorneys from the Dickinson Law Startup Group will be holding free office hours at Gravitate Coworking Downtown to assist entrepreneurs with their legal needs.

From 1-3 p.m., attorneys Emily McGovern and Andrea Rastelli will be on hand for 20-minute sessions. As part of the Startup Group, they are committed to supporting emerging enterprises at each stage, and can provide an extensive list of services from founder’s agreements, trademarks and patents, and privacy policies to seed stage, angel, and venture capital financings, stock purchase agreements and more.

McGovern has experience working with new companies and growing tech firms, and is focused on partnering with universities and incubators to help make Iowa one of the top states for successful startups. McGovern has experience in corporate governance, early-stage and venture capital financing, intellectual property, privacy and technology law.

Rastelli is experienced in providing specialized solutions for businesses from emerging startups to growing enterprises, including issues related to cybersecurity, intellectual property, secured transactions, privacy, and corporate governance.

Click here to book a 20 minute session.

Geoff Wood, owner of Gravitate Coworking, is also the co-founder and Publisher of Clay & Milk.

Tags: Gravitate Coworking National Entrepreneurs Day

Gravitate Coworking to celebrate National Entrepreneurs Day | 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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