It’s only mid-April but details around four new programs to help fund very early stage startups in Iowa have emerged. One of the programs, NestMint describes this stage as "idea-level":
“Unlike other most funds, NestMint is focused on idea-level and early stage businesses that typically are seen as too early to raise capital. For example, in the tech space, many teams coming out of a StartupWeekend who wish to proceed with their idea, could apply to Nestmint for support.”
All combined, the four programs are planning to deploy $1.33MM in capital in this state.
Student Programs
Drake and the University of Iowa are offering similar programs this summer that allow students to get paid to work on their own companies in lieu of taking on an internship or summer job. In either case, it's my understanding that the university will not receive equity in the student companies.
1. Lorentzen Hatchery at Drake University*
- $10,000 per team expecting one to three teams - up to $30,000 available overall
- Begins deploying in May
2. Student Accelerator at the University of Iowa
- $10,000 per team expecting ten teams - $100,000 available overall
- Begins deploying in May
Accelerator Program
3. The Iowa Startup Accelerator*
- $20,000 initial seed investment per team expecting 10 teams - $200,000 available overall
- Begins deploying in August
Investment Fund
4. NestMint
- $25,000-50,000 investment per company - expecting to have $1MM available overall
- Planned to begin deploying in September
Hat tip to Sarah Binder whose story on NestMint sparked the idea for this post.
*I'm involved in varying capacities with these two.
Geoff Wood has been helping tell the story of the Iowa startup community since 2009. In addition to writing here daily, he hosts a weekly podcast, speaks at conferences and organizes several events in the community.
Photo Credit: Thomas Hawk on Flickr.