Iowa Startup Accelerator’s Community Connection Welcome Party
Media Contact
Jessalyn Holdcraft, Marketing & Communications Coordinator
319.382.5498 / jessalyn@iowastartupaccelerator.com
Cedar Rapids, IA, August 25, 2015
Iowa Startup Accelerator’s Community Connection Welcome Party
In 2014, Iowa was the worst state for minority-owned businesses according to a report produced by the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. In 2015, Iowa ranked dead last in the number of women-owned businesses.
These statistics coupled with the Iowa Startup Accelerators’s mission and recent announcement as a recipient of the SBA’s Growth Fund Accelerator Competition motivated its staff to organize the ISA 2015 Community Connection Welcome Party.
“This event is the first step in an aggressive approach to making our startup community more inclusive,” Managing Director Eric Engelmann said.
The event is open to the community and Engelmann hopes that it will “bring new people into the thriving startup community we have been growing in the Creative Corridor, especially women and minorities as they’re underrepresented today.”
ISA added Alizabeth Jetter to its staff as the Diversity Experience Volunteer Liaison to help coordinate and host the event.
“Alizabeth worked with the accelerator last year and has proved to be a tremendous asset to our startup community. She offered to help get this project off the ground and I immediately said yes,” Engelmann said.
Although this welcome party is aimed at introducing the ISA 2015 Cohort to the community, Engelmann points out that it is “more for the region as a whole.”
“The ability to reduce the friction in a social network – so people can easily talk to others and get advice or introductions – is critical to early stage businesses. We aim to cross-pollinate and connect people with different backgrounds as they build their businesses so that they’re more likely to know the universe of resources and people who can help them to be more successful,” Engelmann said.
Sponsors:
Iowa Startup Accelerator
Chuck and Mary Ann Peters
Diversity Focus
Iowa Women Lead Change (IWLC)
Geonetric
Special Thanks To:
Alizabeth Jetter
Stacey Walker
Jasmine Almoayed
Andre Wright
Kim Vogel
Caroline Luter-French
SBDC
City of Cedar Rapids
The Leviathans, string quartet comprised of Iowa BIG students (Ella Wake, Aren Buresh, Taylor Zeller, Rachel Maly, Jordan Boettger, led by Ebony Watkins)
Featured Vendors:
Allen’s Orchard
Brewhemia
Dumpling Darlings
Far East Foodie
Goodies Apetit
La Reyna
Shawnie Cakes and Moma Pearl’s
Sweet Raw Joy
VBJ Beverages – BLEU Vodka
