EDC caters to unique needs of startups and veteran businesses alike

This story first appeared in Celebrating Entrepreneurship, a new special section that highlights the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Corridor.

No two entrepreneurs are truly the same. That is how the Entrepreneurial Development Center approaches supporting its client companies.

The needs of entrepreneurs across the state of Iowa vary for both the fledgling startups and the longtime staples. For 21 years, EDC has been giving individualized service to meet those needs.

EDC has worked with nearly 1,500 Iowa businesses since it was founded by president and CEO Curt Nelson in 2003. The business accelerator offers a suite of services and supports to help entrepreneurs take their big ideas and turn them into success stories.

“With new businesses, we help them build the right business model and team that will attract the capital necessary for them to execute,” Nelson said. “When it comes to existing businesses, we help them better understand market dynamics and how they can grow in the market they’re in.”

Greg Edwards is among the first entrepreneurs to work with EDC, seeking its services shortly after it was founded. He has worked with EDC on three businesses he started.

Edwards’ first company, WatchPoint IT based in Cedar Rapids, is an information technology and cybersecurity services company that started in 1998. He then founded AXIS BACKUP, an offsite data backup and disaster recovery company. In 2016, Edwards founded Canauri, an anti-ransomware software company.

EDC has been there with Edwards along the way with each business. In the case of AXIS BACKUP, Edwards found EDC helpful while he was going through the process of exiting and selling the company to the Los Angeles-based tech company J2 Global.

“Curt has been a CEO mentor of mine since then,” Edwards said of first working with EDC. “From the initial business idea, to planning, all the way through the exit, they have helped.”

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At any given time, EDC is working with about 30 entrepreneurs. Some may meet weekly or biweekly. Others may have meetings monthly. Ultimately, EDC’s experienced business experts fill the knowledge gaps that may exist, offer an outside perspective, and connect companies with resources from the state and local level.

Those companies have gone on to generate more than $3 billion in new revenue and create more than 3,500 new jobs.

EDC offers several services. It helps with strategic planning, financial and market analysis, development, marketing and growth management, as well as networking and connecting to resources.

“It helps me see outside my own scope,” Edwards said. “Some of the best things Curt helped me to do was not start certain businesses. As an entrepreneur, I have lots of ideas. Having Curt as a mentor and utilizing the EDC helped to keep me focused on what is truly important in the business.”

Jeri Frank is the co-founder and CEO of STRATAFOLIO, a software company that helps companies manage their real estate businesses. She launched the company in 2020 with fellow co-founder Uriel Barillas.

The company has a broad reach, with clients across the United States and Canada. Its goal is to make its clients more efficient and more profitable through automation and portfolio management.

EDC was there with Frank and Barillas as they developed the concept of their business in 2017. They meet with EDC biweekly and occasionally more frequently to discuss sales strategies and marketing.

“They have been a partner to us through all the steps of concept creation, shifting to a different space, thinking about promotion of the company, pricing of the product and accessing our client base,” Frank said. “Now we’re launched. We have a product in the space that’s well accepted, and now it’s about scaling to that next level.”

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Frank said Nelson and EDC helped her temper her eagerness to grow and ensure STRATAFOLIO remains strategic in its growth.

“As a startup, it’s very easy to go after everything you think is revenue,” Frank said. “Whenever we’re talking through this, it’s always, ‘Who is your ideal client? What is the ideal customer profile?’ (Curt’s) very good at helping keep new founders or entrepreneurs on a single path. Not too many paths.”

Working with EDC starts with filling out an application on its website: edcinc.org. This is a way for a business owner to introduce themselves. From there, an initial meeting will be scheduled for EDC’s experts to learn more about the business, the owner’s goals and what type of support they need.

The average engagement between EDC and its client companies is about seven years, according to Nelson. There are several entrepreneurs, like Edwards, who have continued that engagement for 20 years or more. In some cases, a company will simply contact EDC for a referral or more brief engagement about a specific need.

“If you’re running an interstate commerce business, you owe it to yourself to have an initial meeting with us to see if we can be helpful,” Nelson said. “This is a community sponsored organization. It’s really free to figure out if we can help you.”