This Week Dana Rae poses with some holiday-inspired crafting materials Join us for engaging conversation between Capital Access Manager for Kiva Iowa, Kaitlin Byers and entrepreneur and recently-funded borrower, Dana Rae of DanaRae-llc! DanaRae-llc provides a crafting experience and stress-free workshop environment where people can go to be crafty and where, as Dana says, "coloring […]

This Week When a manager does know how to do the work but focuses on tasks and statistics and not the people, it creates poor leadership. Though this isn’t intentional, this mindset creates bosses and managers, not leaders. The solution is to teach, coach, mentor, inspire, and motivate people on becoming better leaders. Inspiring, process […]

This Week We Sparkle Co. is this week's guest! We Sparkle Co. helps solopreneurs, sidepreneurs, and small business owners save time + increase revenues via a suite of software tools that makes it easy to sell their products/services, schedule meetings, and leverage AI to answer frequently asked questions.   Program schedule 8:30-9:00 - Coffee & […]

This Week Hear from Nate Kalkwarf, cofounder and COO of Restoration Counseling and Community Services, and Eric Engelmann, General Partner of ISA Ventures! They talk about knowing your numbers, the metrics and math to focus on when scaling a business. Restoration Counseling and Community Services (RCCS) is "dedicated to providing proven community-based programming for individuals […]

This Week Join us to hear from Little Miss Finance! Little Miss Finance (LMF) is a financial education company with a mission to help individuals build wealth by translating the confusing and overwhelming world of personal finance. While working in corporate America, Malia Gudenkauf started LMF as a blog in 2019 to share with others […]

This Week Join us for a special workshop lead by ISA Ventures General Partner Eric Engelmann. Eric will be discussing capitalization tables — cap tables, for short — specifically, understanding how ownership changes with investors. Bringing on cofounders or investors in a business is a momentous decision. The result of those decisions can be significant. […]

This Week We are excited to welcome Gabrielle Williams of Meal Prep Queen to 1MC Cedar Rapids! Gabrielle is a funded Kiva borrower who runs a meal preparation business in Iowa City. Meal Prep Queen offers healthy and affordable pre-prepared meals for weekly pick-up, as well as nutrition and fitness coaching! Gabrielle grew up in […]

This Week Today, join us and the 35(!!) members of Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance’s Leadership for Five Seasons Youth Program. These 35 high school students are participating in the Corridor's premier leadership program. Through 8 days of in-depth learning from August through March, the program has introduced these select students to "community needs, opportunities, […]

This Week This Wednesday, we'll hear from Eric West of Music League! Music League is a social platform wrapped around a game that changes how people discover, and rediscover, great music. It connects people to old (and new) friends while re-introducing them to their favorite (and soon-to-be favorite) brands & artists. Music League's current business […]

This Week This Wednesday, we'll hear from Eric West of Music League! Music League is a social platform wrapped around a game that changes how people discover, and rediscover, great music. It connects people to old (and new) friends while re-introducing them to their favorite (and soon-to-be favorite) brands & artists. Music League's current business […]

This Week Eric Engelmann, ISAV's General Partner, and Krista Martin, a Startup Growth Advisor, will talk about the challenges and opportunities in early stage companies and how they change over time. Examples include how generating your very first sales or building a product for your first few customers changes as the company grows, or how […]

This Week Join us to hear about The Iowa Podcast! The Iowa Podcast is an interview-style format, featuring weekly 30-minute discussions with Iowans you want to hear from. They discuss current events and things that impact you TODAY. They also discuss events, businesses, culture, news, and, yeah, they even wade into politics, albeit from the […]

This Week Join us to hear from Green Mason! Green Mason is a ready-to-eat mason jar salad company that provides convenient healthy eating to the residents of Des Moines. Their  mission is "to help busy people feel better." They offer 7 variations of 32-ounce salads, including a new line of Mini Mason 16-ounce salads for […]

This Week This week, we'll hear from Comic Sandwiches! Grayson Burgess started Comic Sandwiches started in 2015 with their first product: frames to hold Comic books—hence the name. After that, the company expanded into Captain America Shields, managing its retail business mainly on Etsy. Once Comic Sandwiches refined the design of the shield, it started […]

This Week Hear from Jeff Grusy of Vertex Partners, which works with research-based startups to identify federal funding sources. Mr Grusy, with Eric Engelmann, ISAV's General Partner, will discuss how the process works and share examples of technologies that have been developed through collaboration with and funding from the federal government.   Program schedule 8:30 […]

This Week Kevin Bradley of ISA Ventures (formerly a commercial banker at Blackhawk Bank & Trust) will interview Spencer Goettsch of F&M Bank to discuss the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and discuss best practices for business owners to manage risk. We'll talk about FDIC insurance, CDARS, and Insured Cash Sweeps and how […]

This Week This week, we'll hear from Atlas Specific Chiropractic out of Hiawatha! Atlas takes pride in their commitment to providing precise and helpful upper cervical chiropractic adjustments in Hiawatha. Helping every patient experience a life free from pain and suffering is their number one mission. Atlas Specific Chiropractic takes a different perspective on chiropractic […]

This Week This week, join us to hear from Grace Gudenkauf, cofounder of Good Morning Investments. She will share her journey with investing in real estate and help you understand how you can do it too. Grace is excited to share about what her business has done in the community and its plans for the […]

This Week This week, we will hear from Portico and their founder and CEO, Brian Nigg. Portico is "a digital platform designed by independent educational consultants to help families navigate the college planning process through a series of learning modules and interactive tools". Attending college has become one of the largest investments a person will […]

This Week Join us this morning for a conversation between Hass Machlab, founder of Innovative Software Engineering, and Eric Engelmann, general partner of ISA Ventures. Hass and Eric will discuss a wide range of topics including Hass's successes and challenges as a founder and his vision for what's next after having sold Innovative Software Engineering. […]

This Week Join us this week to hear from Elly Steffen of FindingForward Business Coach and Consultant! "One of the common mistakes business owners and leaders make is focusing on revenues, not profits. Revenues feed your ego and tell a good story. Profits feed your family and allow you to reinvest in your business and […]

This Week Join us to hear from Hanna Nuss, Kiva borrower and founder of Local in Denver, Iowa! We'll learn about her journey as an entrepreneur in Iowa and her mission with Local. "Local. believes in the power of rural communities and the power of the people within them. Everything we do expands local brands […]

This Week In the U.S. alone, 61 million adults (1 in 4) have some type of disability. Yet, it is estimated that 70% of websites, ranging from top ecommerce sites to presidential campaign sites, have critical accessibility gaps. Join us this week to hear from NewBoCo's Stacey Milder on the benefits and approaches to website […]

This Week Join us for a conversation between Bill Staib, CEO and co-founder of College Raptor and Eric Engelmann, General Partner with ISA Ventures. Iowa City-based College Raptor is a college planning platform that matches prospective students to schools based on academic and financial fit. ISA Ventures is a multi-stage venture fund that focuses on key […]

This Week This week, we'll hear from Cat Cantrill of The Heart Agency! Cat is a professional matchmaker, an international dating and relationship coach, CEO and founder of The Heart Agency. The Heart Agency is the only Iowa-based matchmaking service helping single professionals find their forever match. Services include matchmaking, dating coaching, workshops, mixers, and […]

This Week This week's 1 Million Cups Cedar Rapids is cancelled in observance of the holiday. Thanks for continuing to support our efforts to build a stronger and more connected entrepreneurial community. We'll see you next time!   Typical Program Schedule 8:30–9:00 - Coffee & Conversation 9:00–9:45 - Official Program 9:45–10:00 - Q&A Want to […]

This Week This week's 1 Million Cups Cedar Rapids is cancelled because we're preparing for you all to have an awesome time at EntreFEST, happening June 8th and 9th in Iowa City! So instead, we encourage you to join our dear friends on Wednesday morning in Iowa City for 1 Million Cups Iowa City at […]

This Week Join us in Iowa City for 1 Million Cups Iowa City at MERGE! Purchase your tickets for EntreFEST in Iowa City, June 8th & 9th     Typical Program Schedule 8:30–9:00 - Coffee & Conversation 9:00–9:45 - Official Program 9:45–10:00 - Q&A Want to stay up to date on 1 Million Cups Cedar Rapids […]

This Week This week, we'll hear from Hera Aviation! Hera Aviation is a software startup founded in August of 2022 located in Iowa that is developing a web and mobile based Peer-to-Peer and Peer-to-Business networking application that will connect the various facets of the private aviation industry. Long term plans for the application development include […]

This Week This week's 1 Million Cups Cedar Rapids welcomes fp Music Academy! fp Music Academy is expanding! We are in our fifth year, offering musical instrument learning that fits your lifestyle. We have long supported our students with sales of teacher-approved musical instruments, books, supplies, and accessories, but those sales have been confined to a […]

This Week This week's presenter is Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. The Mandela Washington Fellowship empowers young people through academic coursework, leadership training, and networking. This is a nation-wide program funded by the U.S. Department of State and consists of three main program tracks: Business, Civic Engagement, and Public Management. For the eighth […]

1 Million Cups Cedar Rapids is on Summer Break This Week! Join us nexr Wednesday at 8:30AM to connect with other community members and hear from a new founder, entrepreneur, creative, business, or organization! Are you a creative, founder, executive, or subject matter expert with stories to share or questions to ask? Apply to be […]

This Week This week's presenter is Sheri Zevenbergen with The DASH Mindset, helps individuals, teams & organizations unlock their potential & live authentically by developing & applying self-awareness. If you're someone who wants to make the most of your life, unlock your full potential & minimize regrets, the DASH mindset is for you. Join us […]

1 Million Cups Cedar Rapids is on Summer Break This Week! Join us next Wednesday at 8:30AM to connect with other community members and hear from a new founder, entrepreneur, creative, business, or organization! Are you a creative, founder, executive, or subject matter expert with stories to share or questions to ask? Apply to be […]

This Week: Kiva This week’s presentation will be a panel discussion with three Kiva entrepreneurs; Larry Tiah (Hela Designer African Clothing), Teepeu Pewu (Tee's Liberian Dish), and Darius Nupolu (Nupolu's Emerging Farm LLC). All 3 business owners reside in Cedar Rapids and identify as Immigrant Entrepreneurs. The panel will discuss their business, how their Kiva […]

1 Million Cups Cedar Rapids is on Summer Break This Week! Join us next Wednesday at 8:30AM to connect with other community members and hear from a new founder, entrepreneur, creative, business, or organization! Are you a creative, founder, executive, or subject matter expert with stories to share or questions to ask? Apply to be […]