Geonetric CEO Eric Engelmann presented at 1 Million Cups in Des Moines on Wednesday morning.
After months of planning, organizers behind Iowa’s first 90-day startup accelerator are taking another major step in its planning: applications for the inaugural class of the Iowa Startup Accelerator opened Wednesday morning.
“The idea is that we can pull within certain sectors to create the right mentor network and program to appeal to someone in San Francisco or Bahrain or Dubuque, Iowa, to come here,” Geonetric CEO and managing director of the Iowa Startup Accelerator Eric Engelmann told Silicon Prairie News. “We’re just trying to find the right mixture of pieces and I don’t think that’s something that has been done here before.”
Thanks to our sponsor
The Accelerator, which will run Aug. 4 to Nov. 6 and be based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has narrowed its applicant focus to three primary sectors, all in the general tech space: health-related technology, agriculture-related or bio technology, and education technology. Engelmann says the Accelerator will potentially add financial technologies as a fourth sector—plans are still in the works—or consider companies outside of its focus areas if the fit is right.
The Iowa Startup Accelerator also is targeting early-stage companies, generally about six to 12 months old, Engelmann says. Up to 10 companies will be accepted for its inaugural class.
“The company has to be early stage, but the experience of the team might be further along,” he said, noting that the hope for the first cohort is a diverse mix of new and experienced entrepreneurs. 
Upon entering the accelerator, companies will receive $20,000 in funding in exchange for six percent equity in the startup. Engelmann says startups also will have an opportunity for an addition $100,000 in convertible debt funding upon exiting the program.
Inspired a few years ago at Thinc Iowa, Engelmann (right) reached out to a group of community leaders and organizers—primarily from eastern Iowa—to start a dialogue about creating an Iowa-based accelerator. Currently about 30 mentors from around the country are listed on the Accelerator’s website, about one third of what it hopes to recruit in total.
Engelmann spoke about the Accelerator at 1 Million Cups in Des Moines on Wednesday morning and afterward Engelmann appeared on the Welch Avenue Show, sharing why startups would want to participate and why the program is beneficial to the Iowa entrepreneurial community.
“We’ve got people leaving, at least temporarily, because they like what they see there,” Engelmann said, citing companies like NextStep.io and Men’s Style Lab that have relocated for out-of-state accelerators. “I think that’s a pretty big risk to us.”
In September, Geonetric announced its plans to launch Iowa’s first 90-day accelerator, which will be housed in the company’s new 45,000-square-foot office space—currently being built in Cedar Rapids’ New Bohemia district. Geonetric has partnered with ImOn Communications to supply high-speed 10GB Internet to the company’s new building.
The Iowa Startup Accelerator’s application and program is heavily modeled on Techstars’ structure. Engelmann says discussions with other accelerator directors have helped mold Cedar Rapids’ program, but fellow organizer and Ascent Iowa founder Lydia Brown agrees that there certainly will be surprises along the way. 
“One of the things I think we’re going to have to be comfortable with, and should be since we’re entrepreneurs, is that we’re going to try some things that aren’t going to work,” Brown (left) told Silicon Prairie News. “We can stack the deck as much in our favor as possible, but we’ll have to adjust as we go.”
Like other accelerators, the inaugural Iowa Startup Accelerator class will conclude with a demo day this November, though Engelmann says there will be some tweaks to the event’s traditional model.
“For me, the demo day is pressure,” he said. “It’s not even so much the show, and it is a show. If there’s nothing to show off, the 90 days was sort of a waste of time. More importantly, that day doesn’t move. The investors will be sitting there on that day and if you want to waste your time, it’s up to you, but that day is locked in.”
Engelmann says organizers will work to spread the word about the Accelerator’s inaugural class through a road show this summer. While it will accept applicants from all over the world, Engelmann says he suspects the first class will have a heavily Midwestern bent.
In the meantime, Engelmann’s biggest advice for startups considering applying is to really think about the decision and the commitment it requires. Applicants have four months to mull things over: applications close June 22.
Credits: 1 Million Cups photo by Megan Bannister. Eric Engelmann photo from Geonetric. Lydia Brown photo from LinkedIn.
 |
 |
 |
