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MyEntre.Net, an online hub for Iowa entrepreneurs of all kinds
My first official post here at Silicon Prairie News is on an organization that I’m closely tied with, MyEntre.Net, a division of my employer, the Incubation Services at the University of Northern Iowa. Truth be told, my editor actually requested that MyEntre.Net be my first topic. MyEntre.Net has come to be the face and a…
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Dachis Group founder discusses Archrival acquisition, recent funding
On a recent visit to Nebraska, Jeffrey Dachis, founder and CEO of Austin, Texas-based Dachis Group, offered his advice for entrepreneurs: “Do what you love, don’t do anything you don’t love. I’d be doing this whether I’m getting paid or not. This is the stuff I believe in, this is the stuff I’ve always wanted…
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Startups tune in at 8/7 Central – custom screenprinting & design
(Zach, left, and Ben Anderson of 8/7 Central. Photo courtesy of Eric Rowley/Juice.) Custom-designed T-shirts are a hot commodity among tech startups, and custom screenprinting and design studio 8/7 Central (87c) has positioned itself as the provider of choice for the local entrepreneurial community. “I’m not smart enough to be an engineer or developer, but…
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Benaissance reaches profitability in under two years
The Omaha-based insurance software administrator Benaissance didn’t start overnight. It started about 15 years ago when John Jenkins (left) founded COBRA Outsourcing Company, the company that would lead Jenkins and Mark Waterstraat (right) to found Benaissance. In 1995, Jenkins built COBRA Outsourcing Company (COCO) as a third-party…
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Doug McGregor sets precedent for banking solutions on-demand
Before moving his recently-acquired Glenwood, Iowa, company to the 10th floor of the Omaha World-Herald Building in downtown Omaha, Doug McGregor went “dark” for nine months to repackage it. McGregor, a recently transplanted Minnesotan and former managing director of the private equity firm Rational Equity, had partnered with ECI, a provider of enterprise-level lending solutions…
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Chris Burns, Nate Becker & Ben Sinclair share the SHift story
Most don’t have it easy when they launch their startups. Companies will universally go through the initial process of finding office space, or converting a basement into workspace, building a client list, or finding vendors and consultants for day-to-day needs. SHift, a web and mobile application development firm founded this past February by Ben Sinclair,…
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Twittad, GeoClip.it, Uppward: James Eliason is a part of them all
This week I had an opportunity to sit down and get to know one of Des Moines’ most active entrepreneurs, James Eliason. A 1997 graduate of Valley High School in West Des Moines, Eliason had a decision to make: play baseball for Central College or Wartburg College, or take a shot at the University of…
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From craft beer to rum, Zac Triemert tells the Lucky Bucket story
Before the days of can and bottle distribution, only local breweries were to thank for the pure enjoyment of what is considered today’s oldest and most widely consumed beverage. Fifteenth-century beer drinkers only had one option for savoring hop bitterness: walk down to the local brewery, fill up a bucket with beer and carry it…
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With Facebook app, Brad Dwyer hatches career as ISU undergrad
Brad Dwyer, 22, launched his entrepreneurial career around a Facebook game he put together while procrastinating instead of studying for a test at Iowa State University in 2008. “It was just something that I programmed over a weekend and put out there to see what kind of reception it would get,” Dwyer said. The game,…
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disRUPT: FTNI helps clients streamline payments
(Left: Financial Transmission Network Inc. CEO Kurt Matis. Photo by Marlon Wright.) Merchants offer customers many ways to pay, including checks, credit cards and online transactions. This creates customer convenience, according to Kurt Matis, but it also leads to back-office complexity for merchants and higher costs for everyone. “If a business wants to scan checks,…