Silicon Prairie News covers the tech startup scene across Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. Here are some of our favorite Iowa stories from this year:
1. Pear Deck wins Rise of the Rest competition at SXSW [Video] (Iowa City)
Last March education startup Pear Deck won a $150,000 investment from Steve Case after winning the Rise of the Rest pitch competition at SXSW. They were also a finalist for the SXSW’s LaunchEDU pitch competition.
2. Upcraft Club wants to change the way you think about sewing (Des Moines)
Upcraft Club is an ecommerce marketplace for sewing patterns. With over 14,000 users in a growing market, Upcraft Club was the first company to create industry standards for indie sewing. Founder Elizabeth Caven won a total of $36,000 in 5 months from Iowa pitch competitions this year.
3. MetaCommunications closes $8 million in Series A, led by Next Level Ventures (Iowa City)
In September MetaCommunications (now Meta), a workflow automation company, announced the close of their $8 million Series A. Founded in 1997, the company now works with several Fortune 500 companies. They plan to use the investment to increase partnerships, marketing and hiring new staff.
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4. Sioux City’s startup community has no illusions (Sioux City)
Sioux City may have been the first place to coin the phrase “silicon prairie”when Gateway Computers launched there in the mid-1980’s. Now 30 years on, the city has had a long history with tech startups, which gives it a unique perspective when it comes to the new wave of thinking about “startup communities.”
5. Swineguard protects piglets from being crushed to death (Cedar Rapids)
Swineguard (now SwineTech) stops piglets getting crushed to death by analyzing piglet squeals. This is an industry problem that costs pork producers $689 million a year with over 13 million piglet deaths. They also had a pitch at the Iowa Startup Accelerator’s Launch Day that’s probably unlike anything you’ve seen before.
6. Clickstop gears up for $6 million expansion (Urbana)
In June ecommerce company Clickstop announced an expansion that will allow them to hire on 100 more employees by 2018. As of last summer, they expected to have the project complete by August 2016.
7. “Dear Cedar Rapids” expresses one man’s love for his city [Video] (Cedar Rapids)
Courtney Ball, creator of Corridor Characters, wrote this video love letter to his adopted home town of Cedar Rapids. In the video he describes the resiliency and diversity of one of Iowa’s most dynamic communities.
8. Iowa Startup Accelerator debuts 8 companies at Launch Day (Cedar Rapids)
The Iowa Startup Accelerator launched its second cohort in November this year with 8 companies. One of last year’s cohort, HowFactory, has received national recognition and was the winner of the “Best New Startup of the Year” at this year’s Silicon Prairie Awards.
9. 10 questions with WorkHound’s Andrew Kirpalani and Max Farrell (Des Moines)
One company that epitomizes what’s great about the Silicon Prairie is WorkHound, which went through Omaha’s Straight Shot accelerator this year, and returned back to Des Moines. Founders Andrew Kirpalani and Max Farrell are the very definition of hustle (the good kind).
10. 1Comm Medical announces 2.5M fundraise, led by Next Level Ventures (Ankeny)
Since starting in 2013, venture capital group Next Level Ventures has been making sizable investments in high-growth Iowa companies, including BirdDogHR and Meta (see above).
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Ryan Pendell is the Managing Editor of Silicon Prairie News.
