Local connections, resources continue to nourish Eastern Iowa’s ‘entrepreneurial ecosystem’

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

Grace Karns’ business is growing. Literally.

“I’m filling that niche that a lot of companies don’t want to take on,” Karns said. “I’ll come up with a maintenance package for them: here’s what your plant is, how and when to prune it, those things. Or I just come in and help maintain their yard.”

Karns launched Growing Effects in June. After earning a horticulture degree from Iowa State University, she’d returned home to Cedar Rapids to start her family. Unable to work in the field when her children were younger, she worked with a software development consultant to develop an application for landscapers to manage scheduling, billing and other services.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t do my due diligence researching with this development company trying to build this web application,” she said. “They just took my money and ran, which was a nightmare, which led me to start researching locally-based companies.”

One of those local web developers steered Karns to NewBoCo.

“She said, ‘If you’re new and starting out, reach out to Alex Taylor and NewBoCo to work on developing your business,’” Karns said. That led to the seven-week Venture School at the University of Iowa John’s Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.

“That was phenomenal,” she said, although it didn’t lead to progress on the web app.

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“I decided to pivot,” Karns said. “Alex said ‘You love landscaping, why don’t you try to pivot and offer garden coaching, and see where that takes you?’”

Meanwhile, Michael Flynn and Courtney McClellan were pursuing their own business idea through Venture School, where they too connected with Taylor.

“We really clicked right away,” McClellan said. “There’s so many needs starting a new business and so many answers you’re still looking for.”

With experience running their own business, the North Liberty couple wanted to develop an idea from Flynn’s experience in construction. Working with skid steer loaders near buildings quickly pointed out the lack of rear visibility from the machine’s cab.

That problem became an opportunity as Flynn looked for aftermarket parts.

“We tried some other things that were on the market,” he said. “They were just small plastic things with magnets that didn’t work, so we built our own.”

Which led to Steer Clear, a sturdy mirror that mounts easily to a loader’s cab, providing a clear view all around the machine. The Steer Clear prototypes in rectangular and round convex-lens versions are currently being tried by a few operators.

“We have some sets out being tested for us,” Flynn said. “We’ve learned a few things, and that’s the point. We assumed it’s going to take a few different iterations.”

Besides connecting Steer Clear with suppliers and potential financers, NewBoCo and the Venture School helped both new businesses identify their markets and how to meet them.

The annual EntreFest “was a great opportunity to connect,” Flynn said.

“At Venture School, we did between 40 and 50 customer-discovery interviews,” McClellan said. “Six of those partners we have now are from our discovery base.”

Taylor makes it a point to attend Venture School’s pitch competition at the end each semester.

“I like to be there to see who these startups are and introduce myself so I can introduce them to others,” he said. “It’s a team sport, and entrepreneurs really enjoy helping each other and as they help each other.”

Karns has been a two-time presenter at NewBoCo’s bi-monthly 1 Million Cups events “trying to help others not make the mistakes I’ve made along the way. It has been the best thing for my business, learning and becoming a business owner.”

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Connecting new entrepreneurs with each other and outside resources are part of what Taylor calls NewBoCo’s outreach priority.

“I get the impression there was a lot of waiting around for people to knock on my door,” he said. “For us to be successful in growing our entrepreneurial ecosystem, people like myself and the Small Business Development Center and economic development people and chambers of commerce really need to be outward-facing. We need to go to those locations and meet them where they work, rather than wait for them to come to us.”

Working through her own experience helped Karns arrive at her new business’ niche. While she offers design and hands-on guidance, Growing Effects emphasizes upkeep.

“If they’ve fallen behind on maintenance and aren’t sure what to do, once we get it back to working order, I can advise them on additional plants they can put in to fill the spaces, some things you can do and help guide them,” she said.

Growing Effects’ first season proved Karns’ new focus.

“It has been the best pivot I could’ve done,” she said. “By the end of the season I have close to 20 clients.”

With NewBoCo’s help, the prototype process has led Steer Clear to advice on patents, manufacturing and distribution. McClellan and Flynn found a manufacturing partner in Iowa and plan to meet with distributors in Eastern Iowa.

“There’s a whole lot to learn,” McLellan said. “We have a bit of knowhow when it comes to business, but we’ve never done manufacturing before.”

Flynn hopes the first Steer Clear mirrors will be on the market next spring or early summer, Flynn said.

“It’s challenging, but there’s always something to do which is fun,” McClellan said. “And when you get those answers, it feels pretty good.”