Innovation Expo 2017: Entrepreneurs seek feedback, potential financing in Coralville

CORALVILLE - Brandon Lovested and Jay Hamilton were looking for constructive feedback as they continue to grow their company, Optimum Fleet Health.

They received it Tuesday after making a presentation to a panel of experts at Innovation Expo 2017 at the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.

The annual event, which alternates between Cedar Rapids and Coralville, is organized by the Entrepreneurial Development Center in Cedar Rapids.

Optimum Fleet Health, a five-year-old Davenport company, provides fleet maintenance reports to commercial vehicle owners - primarily truckload carriers and bus companies. The company analyses data from onboard computers and sensors to spot potential issues before they become a serious problem.

'Basically we are taking advantage of a sea of data that is generated by modern trucks and buses,” said Lovested, chief operating officer. 'Other systems out there today are overwhelmed by it.

'We pull that information down from the cloud where it is stored, run it through our predictive analytics engine and create a weekly report that is sent to service managers. That gives them the insight to schedule maintenance when they want to or head off a problem before it results in serious cost or downtime.”

Alec Whitters, a panelist and founder of Higher Learning Technologies of Coralville, asked Hamilton and Lovested why they plan to charge only $8 per month for a service that is far better than offered by competitors at more than twice the price.

Lovested said the company, in connection with receiving a grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, determined that $8 per month is considered an appropriate fee and will attract partners who will help the company to attract owners of large vehicle fleets.

Eight companies made presentations to the PitchLab at Tuesday's event. Eight additional companies made presentations at a seed and venture capital forum, receiving feedback as they look to raise financing.

At the conclusion of the Innovation Expo, 88 Iowa companies exhibited their products and services. Christie Remley, marketing director for the Entrepreneurial Development Center, said the Innovation Expo connects Iowa entrepreneurs with resources, partners and potential talent to help them grow a successful business at a faster pace.