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Finalists Announced for the 2022 Prometheus Awards

September 16, 2022

The Technology Association of Iowa has announced the finalists for the 2022 Prometheus Awards.

The winner in each of the 15 award categories will be announced during the Prometheus Awards celebration on Thursday, November 3, in downtown Des Moines.

Finalists in each category are:

Startup Technology Company of the Year

Distynct
Learning Couture
LSF Medical Solutions
Moov Financial
S5G Therapeutics, Inc.

Emerging Technology Leader of the Year

Mandy Abbas, UnityPoint Health
Xinya He, John Deere
Josh Holst, Involta, LLC
Katie Jones, EMC Insurance Companies
TJ Masker, Tractor Zoom

IT Service Provider Technology Company of the Year

Involta LLC
Lean TECHniques Inc.
LightEdge Solutions
ProCircular
Shift Interactive

Software Development Technology Company of the Year

Continuum Ag
OpenLoop
SwineTech
VictoryXR
Workiva

Agtech & BioTech Company of the Year

Distynct
FBB Biomed
Haber Technologies
Mazen Animal Health
SwineTech

Manufacturing Technology Company of the Year

Giant by Tobroco
MakuSafe Corp.
Pella Corporation
PVpallet
Stellar Industries

FinTech & InsurTech Company of the Year

Benekiva
Farmers Risk
iEmergent
MakuSafe Corp.
STRATAFOLIO

Creative Technology Solution of the Year

Dwolla
EMC Insurance Companies
GlobalVetLink
MobileDemand
UnityPoint Health

Best Technology Company Culture

Far Reach
John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group
OpenLoop
Principal Financial Group
Redstone Content Solutions (division of The VGM Group, Inc.)

Technology Community of Year Award

West Des Moines
Greater Dallas County
Marshalltown
North Iowa Corridor
Cedar Valley

Computer Science Educator of the Year

Dominic Audia, Iowa City Community School District
Joel Bundt, MOC-Floyd Valley
Kyle Kuhlers, Waterloo School District
Sarah Diesburg, University of Northern Iowa
Susan Wilson, Indian Hills Community College

CIO/CTO/CISO of the Year

Meg Anderson, Principal Financial Group
John Bertrand, Kreg Tool Company
James Johnson, Deere & Co
Joe Riesberg, EMC Insurance Companies
Charity Sharpe, UnityPoint Health

CEO of the Year

Aaron Horn, NewBoCo
Debra Lucht, Minburn Communications
Austin Mac Nab, VizyPay
Heidi Nebel, McKee, Voorhees & Sease, PLC
Aaron Warner, ProCircular

Small/Medium Iowa Technology Company of the Year

ProCircular
Shift Interactive
STRATAFOLIO
TapOnIt
We Write Code, Inc.

Large/Enterprise Iowa Technology Company of the Year

CCR
General Dynamics Information Technology
ITA Group, Inc
John Deere
Kingland Systems

Tags: Prometheus Awards Technology Association of Iowa

Finalists Announced for the 2022 Prometheus Awards | 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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