StartupIowa organizers Tej Dhawan (far left) and Christian Renaud (far right) pose with Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and Startup American Partnership CEO Scott Case in the StartupCity Des Moines office in April.
“If (Iowa) can do it, we can all do it,” Startup America Partnership CEO Scott Case says in a white paper released Thursday that examines the Startup American Partnership at the 18-month mark. The Kansas City, Mo.-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which provided funding for the Partnership’s launch in January 2011, published the paper, “The Start Uprising.”
StartupIowa, along with the other 28 startup regions, follows a new grassroots model that was instituted by the Startup America Partnership (SUAP) earlier this year.
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The paper explains SUAP’s recent shift in strategy. Now, instead of focusing on offering startups free and low-cost services and connections to large companies – the initiative’s original model – SUAP focuses on mentorship and fellowship from other entrepreneurs, aiming to be the catalyst for a movement of entrepreneurs led by entrepreneurs.
“Whether it’s our work in the private sector or social sector, we are reminded time and time again that impactful, dynamic networks are powered by grassroots structures and community-minded ideas and people,” Steve Case, chairman of the Startup America Partnership, said in a press release.
The paper traces SUAP’s evolution and shares around a dozen lessons learned along the way, including the aforementioned “If Iowa can do it” lesson by Scott Case (page 19). The paper also presents interviews with regional startup organizers and members of SUAP. Among the interviews is one with StartupIowa organizers Christian Renaud and Tej Dhawan (page 26).
A lesson from Startup Nebraska is also shared in the paper (page 13).
Read the paper below or visit kauffman.org.
Credits: Photo from StartupCity Des Moines on Flickr.
