Rob Merritt

Rob Merritt is an award-winning writer, editor, and videographer who crossed over into his current role after a decade of working in the journalism industry. He is a longtime Eastern Iowan and a graduate of the University of Iowa and volunteers with multiple nonprofits and theatre organizations. Rob is always exploring new ways to tell the stories of his community.

NewBoCo staff poses with rocketship and lightning bolt cutouts (NewBoCo's icons) at an event with the Iowa Lieutenant Governor in 2016

Iowa Startup Accelerator launches third cohort

November 7, 2016

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output]Media Contact: Jessalyn Holdcraft, NewBoCo Director of Marketing (319) 382-5128 jessalyn@newbo.co Iowa Startup Accelerator launches third cohort All of Iowa Startup Accelerator’s 2016 cohort companies were born and built in Iowa. Tonight, the six teams took the stage to celebrate the end of 90 days of

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NewBoCo launches Iowa’s first adult code school

November 7, 2016

Media Contact: Jessalyn Holdcraft, NewBoCo Director of Marketing (319) 382-5128 jessalyn@newbo.co NewBoCo launches Iowa’s first adult code school CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, November 7, 2016 – NewBoCo, the parent organization of several programs that focus on education and innovation in the Creative Corridor, announced the launch of a new program designed

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Gov. Branstad, Lt. Governor Reynolds to attend Iowa Startup Accelerator Launch Day on November 3 in Cedar Rapids

October 31, 2016

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output]Media Contact: Governor’s Office 515-281-5211 Media Contact: Jessalyn Holdcraft, NewBoCo Director of Marketing (319) 382-5128 jessalyn@newbo.co Gov. Branstad, Lt. Governor Reynolds to attend Iowa Startup Accelerator Launch Day on November 3 in Cedar Rapids CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, October 31, 2016 – Iowa’s first accelerator will have

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NewBoCo Workiversary: Kaitlin Byers

October 13, 2016

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output]On September 22, our Director of Development Kaitlin Byers celebrated one year with NewBoCo. Byers joined the nonprofit on September 22, 2015, and her addition doubled the size of the staff. Over the last year, she has led the fundraising efforts to triple the size of the nonprofit’s budget. Now,

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Imagination Iowa Partners with the Belin-Blank Center

October 10, 2016

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output]Imagination Iowa is partnering with the Belin-Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development (Belin-Blank Center) to offer enrichment courses in Cedar Rapids for gifted middle school students this fall. With Cedar Rapids students releasing early on Fridays throughout this academic year, this is a

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NewBoCo to Expand K-12 Computer Science Instruction

October 5, 2016

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output]Jessalyn Holdcraft, NewBoCo Director of Marketing (319) 382-5128 jessalyn@newbo.co NewBoCo to Expand K-12 Computer Science Instruction NewBoCo Partnership with Code.org and Participation in White House Computer Science Event Set to Make Regional, State Impacts CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, October 5, 2016 – NewBoCo is proud to announce

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Rising River and Remote Working: Vault Away From Vault

September 30, 2016

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output]With rising waters in the Cedar River this week, we were unable to cowork from our home in the Geonetric building. Luckily, Vault members found temporary remote working spaces in makeshift offices, coffee shops, Iowa Coworking Collaborative member spaces, and Kirkwood College.[/text_output][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/3″][text_output]Levi Bostian

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Mentor Perspectives: How Mentoring Helps Mentors

September 19, 2016

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output]Like most accelerators, the Iowa Startup Accelerator is mentor driven. A strong mentor network is the linchpin in a successful accelerator because it provides the bulk of the actionable information for the teams. This year, the ISA mentor network grew to include over 160 mentors in

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We’re Halfway There: ISA Week 7

September 16, 2016

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output]Saturday marks the official midpoint for the ISA 2016 Cohort. We’re halfway to Launch Day! This week kicked off with a FOCUS work session led by Keevin O’Rourke and Wes Merrill of Streamweaver. During this session, they shared tips from what they learned on how to

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Two Ways to Use General Solicitation and Public Advertising to Raise Capital

September 15, 2016

[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][text_output]More rants from the Grumpy Old Company Lawyer. So, you need to raise money to build your dream company. You heard at a meetup that there are these things called “Reg D’s,” “private offerings” or “crowdfunding” that you can use to raise the cash you need

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