Five takeaways from the Midwest Creative College Town Conference

We Create Here was an initiative within the Gazette Company to develop evolving narratives and authentic conversations throughout Iowa's Creative Corridor. read more

The first-ever Midwest Creative College Town Conference, hosted Saturday in Iowa City by the UI School of Urban & Regional Planning, had ambitious goals, bringing together new urbanists and entrepreneurs, planners and doers, artists and analysts.

What emerged was a conversation on how economic development is changing; how people, places and programs work together to shape vibrant startup communities.

“Let's stop thinking like economic development professionals, and start thinking like urban planners,” said Geoff Fruin, assistant city manager for the City of Iowa City. “Let your public spaces and your built environment be the marketing that you need.”

A series of panels included representatives from economic development, city government, education and startup communities from three cities: East Lansing, Mich., Iowa City and Lincoln, Ne.

Several of the key themes will be familiar to regular readers of We Create Here, but it was interesting to see how different communities are evolving along similar paths:

Focusing economic development efforts locally:

“Traditional economic development has gotten lazy,” said Jeff Smith, director of new economy for the Lansing Economic Area Partnership. “You cannot go out and hunt and gather, and hope your economy is going to grow… the hunter-gatherer approach is a zero sum game.”

Instead, LEAP and other organizations in the Lansing area collaborate to produce events for the entrepreneurial community. Smith said he hopes to spark “small fires” that have the potential to grow.

Likewise, moderator Nick Benson, program director of the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities, asked if economic developers are truly “growing the pie” or simply moving the pieces around.

Eric Hanson, communications manager for the Iowa City Area Development Group, added that for most of the organization's history it promoted the region to outside corporations based on factors like proximity to Interstates, the airport, or the infrastructure. In recent years, however, ICAD has focused on building startups by opening the IC CoLab, hosting several events each month, organizing a local group for angel investors and more.

Does the college town have an identity outside of the college?

Brian Ardinger, managing director of the NMotion Accelerator, also holds a position at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. However, he started NMotion because he saw a need in Lincoln for startup resources and events that weren't tied to the University.

“Entrepreneurship takes a lot of different people,” he said. “What we found was, it doesn't usually happen on the University campus. It happens at Startup Weekend, it happens at Open Coffee.”

Jill Thayer Liliedahl, CEO of Lincoln-based startup Sit Stay, noted that the evolution of the startup community in Lincoln and Omaha has happened organically, by treating the community like a company and responding to the needs of the “customers.”

“That's where the fun comes in, when there's something unique to the community” she said. “Interview your customers, keep talking to them, and try to figure out what they want.”

Designing places and programs to include all:

One audience member asked if the enthusiasm and resources dedicated to startup communities are “adding privilege to privilege.”

Ardinger answered with the example of Turbine Flats, a former warehouse transformed into collaborative office space for startups and small businesses (The Cherry Building might be a local parallel). He noted that the neighborhood was depressed, but the influx of creative young people made it more attractive.

Nancy Bird, executive director of the Iowa City Downtown District, spoke about how urban planning can impact how welcoming a community feels.

“It's not for tourists, it's not for students – if it's all working well, it's for everyone,” she said.

Representatives from Lansing agreed.

“What we're trying to do is find people's passion, and build an economy around it – regardless of race, creed, belief,” Smith said. “Are we opening the doors for all, or is this for just a few?”

Regionalism:

“The economy has no idea where a jurisdiction starts and stops,” Smith said. “Nobody cares if it's Lansing Township or City of Lansing.”

He noted that Lansing and East Lansing have an agreement where the cities won't recruit businesses from each other. Similar agreements have been discussed in the Corridor, but are not yet finalized for all major cities in the region.

Hanson mentioned ICAD's #IowaBrag campaign, which promotes the entire state, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids in addition to Iowa City.

“The strategy for us is, a rising tide raises all boats,” he said.

Creating a network for entrepreneurs to thrive:

“Young people have amazing ideas, and have a burning desire to do good in the community,” said Andy Stoll, co-founder of Seed Here Studio. “When you can connect them to the existing business and community leaders, it's like rocket fuel on these ideas.”

Several panelists spoke about a desire to bring established companies along in an entrepreneurial ecosystem – to make them feel like part of the movement, to expose them to the “wins” in the community.

David Conrad, assistant vice president for economic development at the University of Iowa, noted that that participation requires a culture shift.

“To the extent that individuals or organizations feel the need to be in control, to that extent it will fail,” he said, mentioning what he calls the three c's – cash, credit and control. “That's when things start to go down.”

Ardinger noted that he's spent a lot of time simply spreading the message that startups are important.

“Startups matter because they create legacy for a community,” he said. “What are those companies we're creating now that can be those legacy companies in 15 or 20 years.”