Innovation Index: Iowa Startup Accelerator launches and more startup news

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Welcome to the Innovation Index! Each week, we'll round up links and stories from around the web relating to startups, innovation and entrepreneurship in Iowa's Creative Corridor and around the state. You can help! Email me news and notes.Plus, a new way to read this curated feature - check out wecreatehere.net/innovation-index. Better? Worse? Indifferent? Let me know.

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News and notes:

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[naviga:li]The Iowa Startup Accelerator's Launch Day drew more than 800 people to celebrate startups, in a high-energy event with 10 polished pitches. There were several big announcements throughout the night:

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[naviga:li]HowFactory announced a partnership with Accelerated Cooking Products that will put their software into 76 companies[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]SwarmBuild announced an integration with SolidWorks, a design program commonly used by makers and engineers.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Vinveli announced a partnership with Gamesa, a large manufacturer of wind turbines[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Kids Calendar is on track to launch in 100 cities by the end of 2017[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Punctil announced a partnership with Coralville-based MediRevv, bringing their total amount of funding raised to $250,000[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Built By Iowa invested $50,000 in LendEDU before the event, and decided to invest an additional $50,000 in HowFactory and $50,000 in the remaining teams live on stage[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Dreamfield Ventures also pledged to invest in at least one ISA company, although details were not announced.[/naviga:li]

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More ISA coverage:

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[naviga:li](Re)Introducing the 10 teams of the Iowa Startup Accelerator[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Built By Iowa makes a bet on community, collaboration at ISA Launch Day[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Support the Iowa Startup Accelerator teams by using their products and services[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Gallery: Photos from Launch Day[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Iowa Startup Accelerator teams ready to launch on The Gazette[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Created in the Corridor: Accelerator pitches on CBS2[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Iowa Startup Accelerator launch day draws 800+ to Cedar Rapids on Silicon Prairie News, including a collection of tweets[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Iowa group invests $150,000 in Accelerator startups on the Des Moines Register[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]SwarmBuild was featured on KCRG earlier this week[/naviga:li]

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[naviga:li]Wes Beary is seeking nominations for speakers at the next Mission Creek: Innovation conference. Fill out the form here, read more via Silicon Prairie News or check out our coverage of last year's first-ever Mission Creek: Innovation conference.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Iowa City was featured in Driverless Transportation, a blog about intelligent vehicles: "Iowa City, the intersection of driverless policy and testing." Read the full article at the link, or find our earlier coverage of ICAD Group's push for driverless cars here.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Cedar Rapids' Eco Lips was featured on START UP, a public TV show out of Detroit. Find the full segment here. Two more local companies will be featured this season, per the show's website - Yotopia and ZaZa's Pasta, both based in Iowa City.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]The Corridor Business Journal is seeking nominations for the 'Most Influential Person' in the Corridor. You know what to do, startup community.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]The fifth cohort of the University of Iowa's Venture School wrapped up this week, with 12 teams completing the program. The next local cohort will start in early 2015 in Iowa City, check out informational sessions on Nov. 17, 19 and 20 to learn more.[/naviga:li]

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Quotable:

“It's not just startups over in the corner, it's everyone getting together to do it."

Eric Engelmann, managing director of the Iowa Startup Accelerator

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Mark your calendar:

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[naviga:li]November 7-8: Designing the Digital Future, a human-centered approach to informatics. A new conference happening in Iowa City. More information and registration at designingthedigitalfuture.com.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]November 11: The Gift of Failure: Todd Smith, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Dreamfield Ventures, will speak at the Sandage Entrepreneurial Lecture Series. Information on iowajpec.org/events.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]November 16: 3D Printing 101 at the S.T.E.A.M. Room Fab Lab. Information on thesteamroom.org[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]November 17, 19, 20: Informational sessions for Venture School. Information on iowajpec.org.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]November 21-23: Startup Weekend Cedar Falls. The first for that community, and part of Global Startup Battle! Information on swcedarfalls.com.[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Send any startup community events I missed to sarah.binder@sourcemedia.net.[/naviga:li]

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