First Iowa Startup Accelerator class graduates

CEDAR RAPIDS, Ia. — The launch of the first 10 companies out of the Iowa Startup Accelerator is more proof that startups can thrive in Iowa, organizers said this week.

About 860 people came together Thursday for the accelerator's Launch Day, where each of the participating teams pitched their companies.

"It takes everybody in this room to give that energy back to the startup community for it to be successful. This is a real testament to us as a community, the fact that a place like Cedar Rapids can put close to 900 people in a room to listen to 10 pitches," David Tominsky, the accelerator's program manager, said during the event.

The accelerator — the first of its kind in Iowa — brought entrepreneurs together for 94 days of long hours and hundreds of meetings to build, adapt and start their companies.

Three of the startups are Iowa-born and the others came from New York, Delaware, Texas, California, Kansas, Australia and Israel.

The startups worked out of a new $5 million building that also houses other local startups and Geonetric, founded by Eric Engelmann, who is the accelerator's managing director.

Amanda West, the accelerator's director of education, said the building and the three-month program "represent and propel forward our innovation ecosystem."

"It shows the sophistication that we have, the world-class facilities, the world-class programs," West said. "What we hope to accomplish through the building, and the organization and the programs is everyone who hopes to build their company in Iowa has access to the connections and resources that they need to be successful."

The 10 teams had six minutes each to woo the crowd on Thursday.

Starting with hand-picked launch songs, such as Dick Dale's "Miserlou" or Disturbed's "Down with the Sickness," each startup discussed their company, their team, customers they had attracted, revenue generation and future growth plans.

None of the 10 left Thursday's event empty handed.

Built by Iowa, a private group that invests in early-stage companies, announced Thursday it will give $50,000 each to two of the teams leaving the accelerator.

The group chose Lendedu, a company created by two Delaware students that lets students compare loan options online, and HowFactory, a Cedar Falls startup that created an online way for companies to manage training and instruction materials.

Two of Built by Iowa's founders raised the stakes, however, by pledging an additional $50,000 Thursday night that they will spread across the other teams.

"We knew this would be a tough decision. We had no idea it would be as tough as it was," said Adam Ingersoll, co-founder of Built by Iowa. "Ultimately, we would be bad investors if we weren't betting on every one of these companies."

Those investments come on top of $20,000 in starting money provided by the Iowa Startup Accelerator's Seed Fund. That fund will provide $1 million from private investors to 50 companies during five years — or $20,000 each to 10 companies every year.

Punctil, which created an app to eliminate patient wait times, also said Thursday it had signed a $250,000 contract with MediRevv, a Coralville-based health-care company.

Punctil came to the accelerator from Palo Alto, Calif., but has moved to Fairfield.

Iowa Startup Accelerator by the numbers

$150,000: Investment made by Built by Iowa.

$20,000: Seed money given to each startup chosen for the accelerator.

45,000: Square feet of space the accelerator used.

860: People who attended Thursday's launch day.

131: Startups that applied to the accelerator.

100: Practice pitches, mentor meetings and customer calls each startup made.

94: Days the accelerator ran.

50: Investors who attended Launch Day.

10: Startup teams who participated.

2: Iowa Startup buses that brought people to Launch Day from Des Moines and Cedar Falls