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CYstarters announces 2021 cohort
CYstarters has announced the 14 startups that will participate in the sixth cohort of the program this summer. The 11–week program, coordinated by the Iowa State Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, gives student entrepreneurs the funding, network of mentors, and skill-set development to help them pursue their business ideas while in college. Students will receive $6,500 for…
Middle Bit: Manchester Story Group leads $3 million investment in CNote
CNote, a women-founded and led financial technology platform that makes it easy to invest in economic inclusion, has closed a $3 million dollar oversubscribed private funding round to extend its reach in the fast-growing socially responsible investing space. The funding round was led by ManchesterStory, with additional investments from Artemis Fund, SixThirty Ventures, H/L Ventures, Clearstone Capital, and Lateral Capital. "This investment is particularly…
Middle Bit: CYstarters announces 2020 cohort
CYstarters has announced the 19 student entrepreneurs that will participate in the fourth cohort of the program this summer. The 11–week program, coordinated by the Iowa State Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, gives student entrepreneurs the funding, network of mentors, and skill-set development to help them pursue their business ideas while in college. To start the program,…
Middle BIt: IGDA Des Moines to host Global Game Jam site
For the third year in a row, IGDA Des Moines, a local chapter of the International Game Developers Association, is hosting a jam site in Des Moines as part of Global Game Jam. Global Game Jam is the world's largest game jam event, taking place all around the world at over 860 physical locations in over…
Fifteen companies pitch their ideas at CYstarters demo day
This summer's CYstarters program came to an end on Thursday as the fifteen companies in the 2019 cohort presented their ideas to an audience of over 100 people. Inside the Iowa State University Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, each company presented about a problem they identified, their business idea, product, financial projections, marketing strategy and ability to scale.…
Middle Bit: Applications open for CYstarters summer accelerator
Applications are now open for CYstarters, a 10-week summer accelerator for Iowa State University students or recent graduates for assisting participants with their startup or business idea. Students selected will receive $6,500 for an individual or $13,000 per student team to spend the 2019 summer pursuing their business model from May 20 to August 2. …
Aloha 21st Century Boomboxes: a new way to listen to music
Srdjan Pavelic is looking to shift the way we experience music. Pavelic is the founder of Aloha 21st Century Boomboxes, a wireless boombox that doesn't rely on smartphones. Instead of using a Bluetooth connection, Aloha Boomboxes directly connects with a wireless carrier giving users the opportunity to listen at any location. In addition, the boombox has a solar charger…
CYstarters Iowa State University
Middle Bit: Fifteen student startups set to present at CYstarters Finale Event
Fifteen student-led startup companies will pitch their businesses at the CYstarters Finale Event, next Wednesday at Iowa State University. This is the third cohort for the CYstarters program, a ten-week summer accelerator for Iowa State students and recent graduates. Each of the startups participating in the 10-week summer accelerator will be presenting to celebrate completing the program. Presentations will…
cystarters Archives | 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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