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Pitchly closes $7 Million Series A funding round
Des Moines-based Pitchly announced this week it has completed a $7 million Series A funding round. A new investor, Homegrown Capital, led the financing and was joined by additional new investors including Jason Calacanis’ Launch Fund & Syndicate and existing investors Next Level Ventures, ISA Ventures, Great North Ventures, M25, and Cabra.vc. The…
Pitchly completes $2.5 million investment round
Des Moines-based Pitchly has successfully completed a $2.5 million investment round, which will be used to drive customer growth and expand product capability. The investment was led by Next Level Ventures, with participation from Great North Labs, Twelve19 Ventures, Wellmark, and Nelnet Ventures. “We now have the opportunity to aggressively grow our user base and…
Middle Bit: EntreFEST returns to Cedar Rapids June 4-5, 2020
EntreFEST will return to Cedar Rapids on June 4 and 5.  The two-day conference is designed to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation, with professionals at every level coming together to share ideas.  The event is expected to bring more than 500 attendees to Cedar Rapids.  “EntreFEST is an incredibly valuable experience for members…
Pitchly to hold Premiere Party as it expands into new sectors
Since forming in 2014, Pitchly, a data collaboration application for business teams, has focused on selling its software to global professional services firms—law firms, banks and accounting firms. Now, six years later, the company is expanding its scope, offering its software to a larger variety of businesses. Pitchly's data collaboration platform allows business teams to…
Four startups receive funding from IEDA
Four startups received funding from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board on Friday.  In total, the board awarded $600,000 to the four startups. Here are the startups that received funding: automed (Ames)  Automed is a supplier of hardware devices and software systems for medication delivery, compliance, disease prevention and traceability for the livestock industry. The company was…
Pitchly 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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