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Tom Swartwood

  • 10 people to grab coffee with if you’re new to the DSM startup community

    10 people to grab coffee with if you’re new to the DSM startup community

    While the Silicon Prairie may span across several states, include vastly different types of companies and entrepreneurs with diverse backgrounds (and football rivalries), supportive communities are one factor that tie them all together. Whether you’re in Omaha or Des Moines, Kansas City or Cedar Rapids, you’ll find people who really care about helping their fellow…

  • Drake alum’s Hatchery lets students spend summer building companies

    While most college students spend their summers working part-time jobs or interning, six Drake University students have the opportunity to spend their time creating a startup. Through a $50,000 grant from Drake alum John Lorentzen, the Lorentzen New Venture Hatchery allows students to construct a business idea and recommit their time to a company they’re…

  • Ascent helps bring Startup Boot Camp for Women to eastern Iowa

    Iowa organizations are coming together to support a program that helps attract and train more female entrepreneurs. Next month when the fourth Iowa Startup Business Boot Camp for Women kicks off, the program will be presented by Cedar Rapids-based Ascent, an organization focused on strengthening female entrepreneurship in Iowa.

  • Drake, startup leaders reach out at 80/35 under Startup Central tent

    Des Moines’ annual 80/35 music festival is generally the site of rock ‘n’ roll headliners, summer fashion and even a mosh pit or two, but this year Drake University’s Buchanan Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership brought an added element with Startup Central, an entrepreneurship-focused tent…

  • Des Moines community addresses need for better capital pitches

    Access to capital is an important element of any entrepreneurial ecosystem. Often, the path to that capital begins with a pitch where you have a limited amount of time to educate, persuade and convince an investor that your idea is worth their time and money. The ability to put together a cogent pitch is not…