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Hatchlings names E.B. Updegraff CEO as the company continues to grow
Social gaming company Hatchlings has announced that its Marketing Director, E.B. Updegraff will take on the role of CEO. Updegraff will lead the company in a direction to help it attract new audiences for its games, explore fresh perspectives on the gaming industry, and grow the business as a whole. Updegraff joined Hatchlings in early 2017 as its Marketing, Community and Social Media Manager. Since then she has led the team in introducing many successful marketing strategies and in-game features, as well as coordinating the launch of Pretty Jigsaw Puzzles, released…
Middle Bit: ManchesterStory invests in Rollick
Manchester Story,  a Des Moines-based venture capital firm for companies in the InsurTech, FinTech and Healthcare Sector, recently took part in an investment in Rollick. Since launching in February of 2017, ManchesterStory has invested in seven companies and expects to invest in another 15-20 companies over the next five years. Rollick, the first affinity buying program and…
‘10,000 Small Businesses’ is coming to Iowa
10,000 Small Businesses, a program that provides training and resources to early-stage businesses, is coming to Iowa for the first time beginning in January 2019. Accepted applicants will receive hands-on education for business growth, access to highly-trained, small business professionals and an expanded peer network of small business owners from across the country. The program is provided…
NewBoCo’s Intrapreneur Academy announces second cohort
Five teams from across Iowa joined NewBoCo’s second Intrapreneur Academy cohort last Friday in hopes of sparking innovative change within their organizations. Brucemore, Eco Lips, Grinnell Mutual, Rockwell Collins and Woodward Communications Inc. will spend the next year together focusing on the four competencies of innovative organizations: Culture, Strategy, Agile, and Methods. “I thought the…
Denim launches Smart Campaigns
Denim , the Des Moines-based mobile marketing platform for financial services, announced last week the launch of Smart Campaigns , the first solution for automatically testing and optimizing mobile advertising across local markets. With the launch of a single ad campaign through the Denim platform, customers will now have the capability to test…
A Clay & Milk Cartoon: October 3, 2018
Nathan T. Wright is an illustrator and artist based in Des Moines. He is a regular contributor to Clay & Milk. Find out more about him in his Q&A here and how his first year was as a full-time illustrator here. Wright also just completed a six-week artist-in-residence program for Ballet Des Moines, where he created a comic. His previous cartoons for…
Shaking Earth Digital: the cutting edge of app development
West Liberty-based Shaking Earth Digital is a development company that develops applications for mobile devices, desktops, virtual reality and other emerging technologies. "We like to work as much as possible with new, leading-edge technologies," said Jens Zalzala, founder of Shaking Earth Digital. "The last few years we've been working a lot with virtual reality and these…
IDx raises $33 million in Series A financing round
Coralville-based IDx has raised $33 million in a Series A financing round. The funding round was led by 8VC with participation from Optum Ventures, Alpha Edison and Heritage Provider Network. The company says the funding will be used to accelerate market adoption of IDx-DR, it's AI diagnostic system. In April, IDx-DR received approval from the FDA  to detect diabetic retinopathy -…
iowa 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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