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Iowa Agritech Accelerator ends after 4 years
After four years, the Iowa Agritech Accelerator will not return in 2021 and the governing board has decided to dissolve the program, organizers of the program announced today. Launched in 2016 by the Greater Des Moines Partnership and the Cultivation Corridor, the accelerator graduated a total of 18 companies throughout its four cohorts. The Des…
Iowa AgriTech Accelerator announces four startups for 2020 cohort
The Iowa AgriTech Accelerator has announced the five agtech startups selected for the program’s class of 2020. Based in Des Moines, the accelerator is a mentor-led program that focuses on ag-based technology innovations. This year’s class is the fourth to go through the 100-day program. Two Ames-based companies — N-Sense and Curiosity Labs — made this year's…
Iowa AgriTech Accelerator
Iowa AgriTech Accelerator announces five startups for 2019 cohort
The Iowa AgriTech Accelerator has announced the five agtech startups selected for the program’s class of 2019. Based in Des Moines, the accelerator is a mentor-led program that focuses on ag-based technology innovations. This year’s class is the third to go through the 100-day program. “We’re excited to welcome a diverse group of startups from all over…
Middle Bit: Iowa Agritech Accelerator now accepting applications
The Iowa Agritech Accelerator is now taking applications for their 2019 cohort, the accelerator announced earlier this week. Like in its first two years, startups selected to participate will receive $40,000 in seed funding, subsidized housing, office space throughout the incubator period, time with mentors and investors and opportunities to build strategic partnerships. “In 2018, we…
Five startups present at Agtech Demo Day
The culmination of the Iowa Agritech Accelerator came on Tuesday as the five companies in the 2018 cohort presented their businesses to an audience of over 100 people. The accelerator is a three-month program that provides agtech startups with financial support, mentorship and professional resources needed to help make their ideas a reality. Each company presented about…
Iowa Agtech: ‘Building the right connections between the right people at the right time’
Iowa agriculture is now worth more than $15 billion according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For entrepreneurs and investors willing to look outside of Silicon Valley, Iowa's agricultural technology—often called "agtech"—ecosystem offers valuable and lucrative opportunities. With a top agriculturally-focused university producing talent and multiple accelerators helping entrepreneurs commercialize their ideas, early-stage agtech companies are finding…
Iowa Agritech Accelerator 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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