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NewBoCo, ISA Ventures expand services to Quad Cities
New funding and resources for entrepreneurs and startups are coming to the Quad Cities as NewBoCo announced this week plans to expand its services to the Quad Cities area. “Our nonprofit has learned a thing or two over the past eight years as we’ve collaborated with partners to build and run accelerators, investor groups, K-12 computer…
Aaron Horn’s 2022 Forecast for NewBoCo
Guest post by Aaron Horn. Aaron is the Executive Director of NewBoCo, a nonprofit that created programs such as the Iowa Startup Accelerator, DeltaV Code School, Kiva Iowa, NewBoCo K-12, Intrapreneur Academy, and others supporting entrepreneurship, tech education, and innovation. Our nonprofit has learned a thing or two over the past eight years as we’ve…
EntreFEST 2021 kicks off with ISA Launch Night
EntreFEST 2021 started off strong on Wednesday night with Iowa Startup Accelerator (ISA) Launch Night. The 6 businesses going through this spring's ISA Foundation Accelerator gave their final pitches live on the Chrome Horse patio stage in Cedar Rapids. The Iowa Startup Accelerator is an intensive 14-week program that matches Iowa-based startups with seed funding,…
IEDA awards $500,000 in funding for Three entrepreneurial projects
Three entrepreneurial service providers have been awarded grants via the Iowa Economic Development Authority's (IEDA) Entrepreneurial Investment Award program. The program provides financial assistance to service providers that offer technical and financial assistance to entrepreneurs and startup companies seeking to create, locate or expand a business in Iowa. In total, the three organizations received…
Middle Bit: Peter Hong named new director of ISU Startup Factory program
 The Iowa State University Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship announced this a week that Peter Hong has been named as director of the ISU Startup Factory program, effective Feb. 1. Hong will succeed Bill Adamowski, the Startup Factory’s inaugural president who resigned his post in February 2020, and Kris Johansen, who assumed the role as interim director until…
Q&A with Jill Wilkins of NewBoCo
Since 2016, Jill Wilkins has been the Events Director at NewBoCo — producing and running all of the nonprofits' major events including EntreFEST, ICR Agile, NewBoCo's Annual Meeting and more. NewBoCo recently announced multiple leadership changes including Wilkins being named as the company's new Chief Operating Officer. Before her time with NewBoCo, Wilkins spent 10…
Middle Bit: NewBoCo announces changes in leadership
NewBoCo announced a change in leadership this week, as Eric Engelmann will step down from his role as Executive Director to focus exclusively on ISA Ventures, a $15 million venture fund that will invest in Iowa businesses. His role will be filled by Aaron Horn, who currently serves as NewBoCo’s Chief Operating Officer. Horn joined…
Guy Raz to hold virtual event on entrepreneurship with NewBoCo
Cedar Rapids nonprofit NewBoCo announced last week that Guy Raz will participate in a virtual event discussing entrepreneurship from 12-1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1. Raz is the host, co-creator, and editorial director of three NPR programs, including two of its most popular ones: TED Radio Hour and How I Built This. Raz will cover topics such as…
newboco 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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