Local 1 Million Cups chapters provide support, feedback for brewing entrepreneurs over coffee

This story first appeared in Celebrating Entrepreneurship 2025, an annual special section that highlights the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Corridor.

As a self-proclaimed “serial entrepreneur,” Janice Baldes, of Iowa City, knows the pressures that go along with starting your own business.

“You have this vision, no one knows the vision but you, and sometimes it can be hard to think forward with it because no one else sees it,” she said.

It’s one of the things she loves about being on the planning committee of the Iowa City chapter of 1 Million Cups, a networking and support organization for entrepreneurs started by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in 2012.

“Entrepreneurship is one of the loneliest journeys,” Baldes said. “You have all these dreams in your heart. You have a vision that you’re trying to execute. We bring together people who all see opportunity and want to do something about it.”

“It’s a unique opportunity that doesn’t really exist anywhere else,” she added.

Ewing Marion Kauffman was an entrepreneur and humanitarian whose efforts have benefited thousands in his hometown of Kansas City and across the country. He was a salesman and creator of Marion Labs and eventually helped establish the Kansas City Royals baseball team. Entrepreneurship is at the heart of what his foundation is based on.

1 Million Cups — or 1MC — was developed on the idea of giving entrepreneurs and their communities a safe place to gather and connect, to share ideas and feedback, and to identify challenges and find opportunities. Its name is reflective of its mission: the notion that entrepreneurs discover solutions and engage with their communities over a million cups of coffee.

Every Wednesday, 1MC communities across the country meet over coffee and provide support, encouragement, and feedback.

There are 115 chapters — or communities — across the country, including five in Iowa: Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Dubuque, Des Moines and Ames. The Cedar Rapids chapter was started in 2014 as the sixth community to join.

The success of 1MC follows the growth of entrepreneurship in general, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. There were approximately 430,000 new business applications each month in 2024, up 50 percent from 2019, according to a September 2024 report from the U.S. Treasury Department.

“There are no signs of (entrepreneurship) slowing down, not by any means,” said Jan Finlayson, one of the organizers of the Cedar Rapids 1MC community. “Seeing how everything has ebbed and flowed and with economic concerns, there is no better time to be an entrepreneur.”

Something beginning or budding entrepreneurs can gain from 1MC are more tools for their entrepreneurial toolbox, she said, such as support and brainstorming from their peers. And, she said, entrepreneurship is more accessible than traditional business ownership, especially with online businesses and remote work.

“Now nobody cares if you work out of your house or if you’re in a co-working space,” Finlayson said. “It’s become so easy to have a space to meet with clients or do so many other things without having the overhead,” by renting or owning a traditional brick-and-mortar storefront.

Maddox Liechty at the farm. (Submitted photo)

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From left: Mark Latta, Mary Auliff and Kory May present their business, Tellers Bridge, at 1 Million Cups Cedar Rapids. Tellers Bridge is a nonprofit working with individuals and groups on speaking and storytelling skills. (Submitted photo)

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“1 Million Cups is creating space for entrepreneurs to get together in a welcoming environment,” she said. “You can be in any stage of your process, get up and pitch your idea and get really honest, constructive feedback from other entrepreneurs.”

That feedback is extremely valuable, Baldes agreed.

“You can tell your friends about your ideas, and they’re going to tell you it’s great and cheer you on,” she said. “When you pitch your idea at 1 Million Cups, you’re going to get, ‘This is great, but did you think about this, or did you talk to this person, or how is it going to make money?’”

“You’re arm in arm with people who know the slog, they know what you’re up against,” Baldes added. “They understand the feelings that come with entrepreneurship; it takes a lot of courage to put your idea out there, because there’s always a fear of how it’s going to be perceived, what people are going to think of you or your idea.”

For 17-year-old Maddox Liechty, 1 Million Cups has provided support for an already-growing business he started with his grandfather in 2019. The Cedar Rapids junior at City View High School is owner and chief executive officer of Majonty Cattle Company, raising cattle as both a food supply and for dog food.

Although he gets advice and guidance from both his grandfather and an aunt who owns a business in Utah, Liechty said 1 Million Cups has provided a different kind of mentorship and support.

“You can only get so far with what you know, and the organizers at 1 Million Cups have really thought my business was a good idea,” he said. He’s been invited to be a speaker for other entrepreneurs as well.

Liechty is just one of many entrepreneurs at varying stages who have benefited from the Cedar Rapids community, Finlayson said, and there are more in Iowa City and other communities. The promise of a safe space to ask questions, get answers, and face challenges together is a big reason people keep coming back and new people keep attending.

“We get people who are so brand new to their own ideas they don’t know how to pitch it, or what to pitch,” she said.

Baldes agreed.

“I think the biggest obstacle is just getting going,” she said. “When you’re in an environment like this and people are pitching ideas that may just be half-baked, but they’re taking that step — it gives them a next step to move forward.”

“We help them develop their ideas before they get up to talk about it,” Finlayson said. “It’s all about that connecting, and coffee is just a good part of it.”

Learn more about 1MC and where to find a community at 1millioncups.com/s/communities.