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Fifteen companies pitch their ideas at CYstarters demo day

July 31, 2020

This summer’s CYstarters program came to an end on Thursday as the fourteen companies in the 2020 cohort presented their ideas as part of CYstarters Demo Day.

14 different startups presented about problems they identified, their business idea, product, financial projections, and marketing strategy. CYstarters is an 11-week program that provides students with financial support, professional resources, and educational workshops for startups.

As of this year, CYstarters has given out more than half a million in seed funding to 64 different student businesses who have participated in the program. Of those 64 ventures, 44 are still active today.

Award winners

Awards were given at the end of the presentations. Five undercover investors among the audience and each of them awarded $1,000 to one of the presenting companies. The five selected winners from this year’s cohort were:

Rachel Reloaded — Rachel Gai
Surrebral Designs — Alexander Dill
ChordaWorm Lures — John Hatfield and Benjamin Thompson
Bloom Lash — Andrew Heller and Yvonne Speck
Linda Tong Planners — Linda Tong

Three alumni awards were given out to people who participated in previous cohorts of CYstarters and have seen continued success since then. The three Alumni Awards were given to Brady Trent, Rebecca Lyons, and Stephanie Bias.

In addition, the Ted Bair CYstarters Award was awarded to a mentor and a CYstarter in honor of Ted Bair. Bair, who passed earlier this year, was the Regional Director of Small Business Development at Iowa State. Winners of the award were Kevin Kimle and Dillon Burns.

Fifteen companies pitch their ideas at CYstarters demo 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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