Corridor entrepreneurs among Silicon Prairie Award winners

Coralville-based  Higher Learning Technologies was named New Start-up of the Year on Thursday at the second annual Silicon Prairie Awards.

Silicon Prairie News recognizes individuals and companies for products, leadership and contributions to the start-up community. The awards were presented at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines.

Higher Learning Technologies makes test-preparation apps for dental and nursing students. Adam Keune, a co-founder of Higher Learning Technologies and its chief marketing officer, has said the company plans to release 10 new apps by the end of the year.

In addition to being named Start-up of the Year, Higher Learning Technologies's NCLEX Mastery was named Mobile App of the Year and Innovation of the Year.

In other awards for Corridor businesses, Andy Stoll and Amanda Styron, co-owners of Seed Here Studio, were named Champions of the Year. Joe Dallago and AJ Nelson of ClusterFlunk were named Student Entrepreneurs of the Year.

"It's a really meaningful recognition to come from the whole Silicon Prairie community," Styron said Friday of her award. "For them to as a community and just as an organization to recognize what we're doing in this part of the state ... is really cool.

"In addition to the Seed Here Award, Higher Learning Technologies swept all of the categories, and they took home the Student of the Year award. I think that all of them together just shows strengths and momentum that we have here.

"I still think that we're on the brink of it being really big and really successful but these are great signs that we are absolutely headed in the right direction," Styron said. "We're playing at a scale that is comparable and worth recognizing in the Midwest."

Keune did not respond to a call for comment by deadline Friday.