"These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund.ĭhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech.įor its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director.Īs 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. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. and DuPont Pioneer.Įach investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies.
The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. 9, 2019Ī central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. Jefferson takes big leap forward with opening of Forge -Sept. Speeko is using technology to create better public speakers -Jan. The three other finalists included: Sean McKay with Handrail, a supportive platform for research data collection Brad Dwyer with Roboflow, a computer platform that makes everyday objects interactive and Mahdi Eghbali with VerdiLife, a bio-mass converter to turn feed stock items into organic fertilizers and pesticides.
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He said he will use the $25,000 toward further development of the app and make it available for Android phones.
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The app offers a free tier for users and a paid subscription tier that provides more advanced analytics.Īguilar is a 2014 University of Iowa graduate with a master’s degree in healthcare administration and policy. Speeko’s app launched last October at TechStars Demo Day and already has tens of thousands of users in over 160 countries. The app then gives you coaching specifically tailored to how you can best improve your speaking skills. Speeko is a smartphone app that uses artificial intelligence and automated speech recognition to listen to how you speak, measuring a variety of metrics including words used and pacing to see if you sound professional. The winner of the pitch competition was Nico Augilar for his company Speeko. Four startups gathered at the Forge in Jefferson on Tuesday evening for the chance to win $25,000.ģ0 people applied for the Startup Pitch Day and four finalists pitched their ideas and products to a panel of three judges: Sands, along with Ben Milne, the founder and CEO of Dwolla and Ryan Broshar, founder and managing partner of Matchstick Ventures.
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