Media Contact
Jessalyn Holdcraft, NewBoCo Director of Marketing
jessalyn@newbo.co
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, August 1, 2016 – The six teams for the ISA 2016 Cohort represent the results of NewBoCo’s efforts to accelerate world-changing ideas, from Iowa: all of the startups are from Iowa.
This crop is the result of many of the entrepreneurial efforts happening statewide:
- Iowa Startup Accelerator hosted seven Innovation Summits targeting Iowa’s top industries, and two of the 2016 teams presented during the Summit Series.
- NewBoCo partnered with Iowa Women Lead Change (IWLC) to found Women’s Entrepreneurship Collaboration Council with the goal to make Iowa the best state for females to found and run businesses; three of the six CEOs in the cohort are women.
- Most of the founders have presented at 1 Million Cups, and half have participated in University of Iowa’s Venture School program, including one that completed the Venture School Student Accelerator this summer.
“In 2014, there were far fewer Iowa-based startups. With several years of ecosystem building under our belts and with strong collaborative relationships statewide, we’re proud that this year we had a record number of strong applicants, but the best were all from Iowa,” Accelerator Managing Director David Tominsky said.
In addition to the six startups, following last year’s corporate innovation pilot (CareDrop), there is an additional team working on an educational test scoring application. The prototype was built for a beta customer by NewBoCo’s internal development staff. The team will be focused on determining whether there’s a market for the product beyond the beta customer.
“With six startups and one corporate innovation team, we’re really developing Iowa’s ability to accelerate big ideas, wherever those ideas come from,” NewBoCo Executive Director Eric Engelmann said.
Meet the ISA 2016 Cohort:
AMP’d Cycles
Team: Kyle Gatzmeyer (CEO/Co-founder), Nik DuPuis-Lund (Social Media Manager), Grant Kamin (Lead Mobile App Developer), Bruce Lehrman (Co-founder)
Home Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Idea: Smart bicycles creating a safer experience for cyclists.
Industry: Transportation
AssetRover
Team: Jeri Frank (CEO), Uriel Barillas (CTO), Bill Kearney (CFO)
Home Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Idea: AssetRover is real estate investing simplified. It provides new investors with a guided path and intuitive tools that solve the complexities of residential real estate investing.
Industry: Financial technology
Girls With Ideas
Team: Allison Poss (CEO), Britney Tracy (COO), Angie Magazino (Chief Curriculum Officer), Abbie Schneider (Director of Organizational Development)
Home Location: Iowa City, IA
Idea: Leadership development program for young females.
Industry: Education
Hang
Team: Dalton Viggers (CEO), Mike Pruszinske (CFO), Austin Benson (CTO), Austin Dorenkamp (CTO)
Home Location: Des Moines, IA
Idea: Hang is a mobile app that increases awareness of gatherings, hangouts, and local events to help users be more present in their lives and communities.
Industry: Social, community engagement
Streamweaver
Team: Keevin O’Rourke (CEO), Wes Merrill (COO)
Home Location: Iowa City, IA
Idea: Influencer marketing platform for e-sports.
Industry: Gaming, eSports
Written Apparel
Team: Emily Carlson (CEO), Meegan Hofmeister (VP, Sales & Research and Development)
Home Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Idea: Homegrown high-end fashion for women.
Industry: Fashion, manufacturing
Corporate Innovation Team: Quick Score
Team: Tim McDougall, Jay Cooper, Keith Dahlby, Jessica Bertling
Home Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Idea: Rapid test scoring for assessments with data analysis.
Industry: Education
Launch Day is November 3. Reserve your ticket today: http://isalaunchday2016.eventbrite.com
