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EntreFEST 2019: Announcing a new software developer track

EntreFEST is one of Iowa’s largest entrepreneurship and innovation conferences. For the past few years it has primarily focused on high-impact speakers and workshops aimed at entrepreneurs and innovators in existing companies. Previous keynote speakers include Scott Belsky of Adobe, marketing icon Seth Godin, and Warby Parker’s Neil Blumenthal. As we planned the 2019

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A seated crowd listens attentively to a speaker at a 1 Million Cups event

A new year, a new format for 1 Million Cups Cedar Rapids

As one of the oldest 1 Million Cups chapters in the U.S., we’ve experimented with a variety of approaches to our mission of helping educate and grow Eastern Iowa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Going into 2019, the team that runs the Cedar Rapids program has some exciting new changes planned. One big

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NewBoCo’s Five Year Plan

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output] This is the third post in a series about NewBoCo’s plans for 2022. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. We’re extremely proud of the bold work that NewBoCo has done over the past three years to support entrepreneurship, education, and innovation. We’ve laid a lot of the groundwork

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Iowa Isn’t Ready for Economic Disruption

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output] Despite enormous progress, we have more work to do to face the challenges of tomorrow’s economy. We’ve accomplished a lot at NewBoCo in the last three years. But it’s not enough. We are in the midst of a transformation of our economy as big and far reaching

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NewBoCo in Review: The First Three Years

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output] Part 1 in a series: A huge leap forward for entrepreneurship in Eastern Iowa Several years ago, we decided it was time to help build Eastern Iowa’s startup community. When we looked at our region’s resilience after the 2008 flood and our density of successful tech

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The power of Agile in startups

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text] Above: Matt Rooda, CEO, and intern George Elossias, in front of a Scrum board, in 2015 A few weeks ago, I sat in on SwineTech’s sprint

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A facilitator navigates a students laptop as other students around look attentively at their own laptops

Huge progress in Computer Science education this week

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text] A lot has happened this past week in our effort to build computer science education in Iowa — and nationally — to help address the gap in computer science

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NewBoCo employees paste Post-It notes to a whiteboard with grid lines during an Agile exercise

Agile as a strategic weapon

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output]A few weeks ago I went to Singapore to the Scrum Alliance Global Gathering, which brought together Agile experts from around the world to talk about the future of Agile and how it’s being practiced today in Asia. As I listened to the sessions and talked

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What happens after I pitch Corridor Angel Investors?

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output]If you’re selected to present to the Corridor Angels, there are three possible outcomes you should be ready for. After your presentation, usually within a few business days, our team will communicate to you where you stand. Option 1: Lots of interest from investors Usually the

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The state of Iowa’s innovation ecosystem: so much progress, yet so much more to do.

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output] Last night, the NewBoCo team attended the annual Prometheus Awards put on by the Technology Association of Iowa (TAI). Having been a long-time member of the organization, and a current board member, I’ve been attending this event since the very beginning 12 years ago. Back then,

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