Accelerated Ag Technologies, aka PowerPollen, Receives Additional Funding
On the 21st of August, Accelerated Ag Technologies, the parent to PowerPollen, filed paperwork with the SEC that it had received debt financing of more than $600k. As you may recall, SPN profiled...
View ArticleMeet a Venture Firm: Innova Memphis
The Innova Ag Innovation Fund IV has invested in five of the Silicon Prairie’s leading startups. However, its origin suggests just how unlikely this was. In 2007, Innova Memphis was founded by Ken...
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Iowa State Fair hosts Iowa State University pitch competition
More than 200 Iowa State University student and alumni entrepreneurs representing 168 business ventures gathered to pitch their products and services as part of Iowa State University’s exhibit in the...
View ArticleGross-Wen Technologies Continues Strong 2019
Ames, Iowa based Gross-Wen Technologies (“GWT”) filed paperwork with the SEC on Tuesday that it had raised an additional $1.25 million dollars. The company which provides revolving algal biofilm...
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Research: State Funding Report for the Silicon Prairie
2018 was a terrific year for the Silicon Prairie regarding venture dollars deployed. More than $6.1B was deployed in the region. While the number of companies receiving funds was about 8% lower...
View ArticleKingland Systems Raises Another Round of Capital
Last week, Kingland Systems which has offices in Clear Lake and Ames filed paperwork with the SEC that it had received $1 million in angel capital. September 2019’s $1 million is in addition to the...
View ArticleMeet a VC: Firebrand Ventures from Kansas City
In August of 2016, John Fein started the process of raising a venture capital fund in Kansas City. He had a target of $7 million as his fund size and as he describes – “zero connections” to the high...
View ArticleFlywheel founder Dusty Davidson at TechBrew
Last week, Dusty Davidson visited TechBrew in Council Bluffs, Iowa. We were in attendance and taped some of what he had to say. In particular, we thought that his response to a question about growing...
View ArticleFunding Round Up: Week of September 30
The funding round up is an aggregation of a variety of sources, including Pitchbook, Form Ds, and Crunchbase. After building a list from these sources, we look for press releases and other mechanisms...
View ArticleSilicon Prairie Podcasts: A List
In honor of the IO Summit, which was born out of the IO Podcast, Silicon Prairie News has compiled a list of some of our favorite podcasts from the Silicon Prairie: The Inside Outside Podcast –...
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Research: Talent Attraction Case Study (Nebraska)
Last summer, the Aksarben Foundation approached Chapman and Company about creating a landscape analysis on talent for Nebraska. While this analysis is about Nebraska, there are many lessons for...
View ArticleWeekly Funding Report
The Silicon Prairie had an excellent week as deals appear to be closing before the holiday rush. St. Louis and Minneapolis had strong weeks. And we had a big round in Oklahoma. The Zero Card of...
View ArticleHybrid85 passes profits onto farmers
At the very top of the Nebraska State Capitol building stands a 32-foot tall bronze statue of the Sower, a figure representing agriculture’s vital role in the development of modern civilization. Maybe...
View Article“At Home in a Crisis Trying to Work”: Cheered on by the Startup...
Erica Wassinger, Senior Director of Entrepreneurship & Innovation for the Greater Omaha Chamber, exerts considerable energy and influence helping entrepreneurs weather the storms of starting up....
View ArticleDeveloping Leadership When Things Are Not Good
Originally posted on the AIM Institute blog No one knows how the coronavirus pandemic will evolve, how long the economy will stay underwater, or even what recovery looks like. But the radical...
View ArticleIT support company REDiTECH plans Iowa expansion
Omaha tech support company REDiTECH, which provides clients with outsourced computer support around the clock, is expanding into Iowa, opening an office in Des Moines next month. REDiTECH is not...
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Des Moines-based Pitchly doesn’t balk at raising funds during pandemic
Raising an investment round for a startup is never easy. Try doing it during a global pandemic. But it is possible with a combination of bold leadership, committed VCs and a good idea. Just ask Ryan...
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IO2020: the New Innovators’ Summit connects entrepreneurial community (and...
Great ideas start with curiosity. Bringing those ideas to life is its own challenge. That’s what longtime entrepreneur Brian Ardinger believes, and that’s why he’s made it his mission to help Nebraska...
View ArticleCorn pollinating drone technology earns Iowa City agtech firm $7.5 million...
On its own, a corn plant will pollinate itself: the golden tassels topping the slender green shoots that comprise nearly one-third of U.S. cropland naturally release pollen that fertilizes the silky...
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Op-ed: Our digital recovery: how Iowa’s businesses will bounce back
This is an op-ed by Brian Waller, president of the Technology Association of Iowa, a statewide, member-based organization uniting Iowa’s technology community by connecting leaders, developing talent,...
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