Iowa Startup Accelerator aims to boost creativity

The Iowa Startup Accelerator charted an ambitious goal - and 10 companies from around the world answered the call.

In the first three weeks, the fledgling companies have completed hundreds of meetings. By the end of week five, each company will have met with at least 100 mentors and interviewed at least 100 potential customers.

Mix those thousands of interactions into a neighborhood already inhabited by creative professionals of all stripes. The accelerator, which opened Aug. 4, shares its new, state-of-the-art building with Vault Co-working and Collaboration Space and established software company Geonetric, at 415 12th Ave. SE and all just steps away from the artists' studios, shops and meeting places in New Bohemia - and the organizers hope that Iowa's first startup accelerator can have an exponential effect.

'That New Bohemian mind-set was already here - we wanted to just add to it, with a new spin, but the same concept,” said Eric Engelmann, founder and managing director of the Iowa Startup Accelerator and CEO of Geonetric.

Three of the 10 teams already called Iowa home, but all had a reason to come here for the intense, 90-day experience.

Boris Kogan, founder and CEO of SwarmBuild, moved to Cedar Rapids from Israel to launch his online marketplace for advanced manufacturing designs and services. The Midwest's traditional strength in manufacturing attracted him to apply to the ISA, but his interactions with local community builders were what ultimately convinced him.

'We saw that this was a serious organization, with serious people who were very committed to making this happen,” Kogan said.

'We were very happy to come out here, instead of a more traditional startup hub …

. There, you're startup number 58,571 for this month - good luck if you can make it out the other end.”

After completing customer discovery interviews and mentor meetings, the 10 start-ups will focus on building something to present at the Nov. 6 demo day - it might be a prototype, a basic version of a software product or a demonstration video - and polish their pitches for potential investors. The event will be open to the public - tickets are required and information can be found at www.iowastartupaccelerator.com/demo-day.

'Now it's just making sure that they have everything they need. The job of the Accelerator is to stack the odds in the favor of the entrepreneur,” said David Tominsky, program manager of the ISA.

The ISA staff realize that not every business in the inaugural class will succeed - but the philosophy is that it's better to fail within 90 days than to spend years building a product or business that has no customers.

In addition, if even one company strikes it big, the reward to the individuals who invested into the ISA's seed fund could be huge. Each startup handed over a six percent ownership stake in exchange for $20,000 at the beginning of the program.

'The Gazette Company's We Create Here initiative explores storylines that will shape the future of Iowa. Learn more at wecreatehere.net or by contacting Sarah Binder at (319) 368-8568.