EntreFEST has new home; to return in 2017

EntreFEST, the largest entrepreneurship and innovation conference in Iowa, is getting a new home at the New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative in Cedar Rapids and will return in 2017.

In 2015, EntreFEST attracted 1,000 attendees. The leadership team at the University of Northern Iowa's Center for Business Growth and Innovation (CBGI) decided to take a year off to find a long-term sustainable plan for the program going forward.

The New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative (NewBoCo) operates the Iowa Startup Accelerator in Cedar Rapids, Vault Coworking & Collaboration Space, and other startup programs across Eastern Iowa. It is housed in the Geonetric Building at 415 12th Ave. SE.

Eric Engelmann, Geonetric president and NewBoCo executive director, said in a news release that EntreFEST is critically important to the state.

'It has changed the lives of many entrepreneurs in Iowa and across the Midwest,” Engelmann said.

EntreFEST will be May 4 and 5, 2017, in Iowa City. Engelmann said NewBoCo will work with the University of Northern Iowa to transition the event to a new, year-round operational team, which will lead the event's planning, coordination, and operation.

'We anticipate the 2017 event will be very similar to the amazing EntreFEST events in 2014 and 2015, with speakers, panelists, and workshops for entrepreneurs and corporate innovators,” he said. "We also have some new ideas to help take the event to the next level.”

In 2015, Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds labeled EntreFEST the largest gathering of entrepreneurs across the state.

Registration for EntreFEST 2017 is expected to open later this summer.