Michelle Galvin (r), owner of Velvet Coat in downtown Iowa City has forged a unique partnership with designer Emily Carlson, owner of Cedar Rapids fashion startup, Written.
Downtown Iowa City is open for business and the Iowa City Downtown District (ICDD) is hoping to lure a growing market of entrepreneurs to set up shop there: Women.
Women already own and operate 59 downtown businesses, according to ICDD Executive Director Nancy Bird. Yet they remain underrepresented overall, making up just 20 percent of total downtown businesses.
"We know that the growth of female entrepreneurs is on the rise and that data reflects that many women often need to be directly invited," Ms. Bird said. "We also know that women are driving soft good retail trends, so why not be deliberate in our invitation to join us and open the portal to downtown location opportunities?"
Michelle Galvin, owner of Velvet Coat, an upscale clothing boutique on the pedestrian mall, is pioneering one of those trends: partnering local e-commerce entrepreneurs with brick and mortar storefronts. Velvet Coat forged a partnership with Cedar Rapids online startup Written last fall allowing Written's signature pencil skirt to complement in-store offerings.
"We have something to offer here that many places can't touch with the spirit of community and collaboration that exists among our businesses in downtown Iowa City," Ms. Bird said. "It's a unique culture. These women are supporting each other every way they can - be it through hosting collaborative events, showcasing each other's work, or mentoring newcomers with their business and marketing strategies."
To help better match entrepreneurs and small business owners with suitable spaces, the ICDD plans to host vacancy information on downtowniowacity.com that may not be listed on the Multiple Listing Service. Those interested in finding "retail right" opportunities downtown will be able to review available spaces online and contact ICCD directly.
Iowa Startup Accelerator rolls out its spring roster
ActWorthy CEO Ross Katz talks with CBJ Editor Adam Moore at ISA's Spring Batch media event this week. PHOTO NEWBOCO/JESSALYN HOLDCRAFT
The Iowa Startup Accelerator in Cedar Rapids formally introduced the four teams of its 2018 spring batch his week along with the pilot team for its new
Social Good Accelerator program.
Three of the teams - Actworthy, Kho Labs and Cedar Rapids Marketplace - were founded in Iowa. The full cohort represents key Iowa industries such as health tech and ed tech, and addresses Iowa issues about disaster preparation and developing tech talent.
Following orientation week, the teams will have 13 weeks of structured curriculum and a year of facilitated mentoring and networking.
"While there's a formal timebox on our program, we continue to work with our startups long after their time in the accelerator ends," Accelerator Managing Director David Tominsky said in a press release. "Our most successful startups work closely with us years after they joined our portfolio."
The 2018 Spring Batch includes:
ActWorthy, founded by CEO Ross Katz, aims to create the "Netflix for political action," in which users can surf for social media feeds offering "actions" - concrete opportunities to get involved with local issues, from volunteering to calling legislators - and inspiration from others doing those things. Organizers will pay a low monthly subscription fee to list potential actions on the site. A new website will be launched April 1. (actworthy.org)
Cedar Rapids Marketplace, founded by Cherie and Robert Edilson, offers local small businesses an online platform to sell their wares. Businesses will pay a small monthly fee to use the site, which has become the main digital presence for several companies on the site. The company, which launched in early 2017, already has about 32 local businesses signed up, and has set a goal to reach 100 by the end of the ISA program. (cedarrapidsmarketplace.com)
Codemoji, a Chicago-based startup founded by Livio Bolzon, Will Goff and Chase Engelbrecht, is creating unique computer science curricula for K-8 students. Already in use in more than 1,500 classrooms around the globe and featured in magazines like the Atlantic and Inc., Codemoji uses emjois to teach students the basic concepts of computer coding. Mr. Bolzon has already relocated to Cedar Rapids and will be joined by his co-founders soon. ( codemoji.com)
Kho Labs, founded by Ian Warner, Declan Land and Bryce Colston, aims to connect injured athletes to local health care providers through a mobile app. The founders first met at Iowa State University, where they spent time dealing with track injuries. The app will allow athletes to ask questions of local health care providers who can pay for a listing on the app and provide advice to those dealing with injuries. The team released its first full version in December for iPhone, with an Android version due out in about two weeks. (kholabs.com)
GSI Works, the Social Good Accelerator pilot team lead by Stacie Johnson, is working to reduce and prevent localized flash flooding in urban areas by spurring investments in green infrastructure. The organization, started in January, will focus on community education, service learning projects and connecting commercial and industrial users to city and state resources that can help pay for infrastructure upgrades. It also hopes to offer work and volunteer opportunities to those with employment barriers. (gsiworks.org)
The ISA Fund also announced the first successful exit from its investment portfolio. LendEDU, a member of the inaugural 2014 cohort, exited the ISA Fund at a "significant multiple" from the original investment, according to the ISA. The terms of the exit were not disclosed.
Applications for the Iowa Startup Accelerator's Fall Batch are open until July 28th. Interested teams can apply here.
(Look for more coverage in next week's edition of the CBJ.
Kalona Creamery to launch ice cream line next month
Kalona Creamery & Deli, which took over the former Kalona Cheese Shop last year, will launch its line of fresh, house-made ice cream at a celebratory ice cream social next month.
The launch party, set for Saturday, April 21st from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., will offer samples of the company's frozen wares, photos with company mascot Lona the Cow and an Ice Cream Challenge that invites entrants to try eating 10 scoops of ice cream in 10 minutes for the chance at a free t-shirt, a gift card and free ice cream. The cost is $15 for those daring the challenge.
The former Kalona Cheese Shop closed in the fall of 2014 amidst changes within the dairy industry, such as advanced food safety guidelines, quality assurance requirements and more stringent environmental regulations. The business re-opened as Kalona Creamery early last year after Open Gates Business Development Corp., of Kalona, purchased the facility from Ankeny-based Proliant Dairy Ingredients.
The ice cream will be available in the store's dipping case and in pints to take home. The store plans to change its line-up of flavors with each change of season. The first eight flavors will include: Parlor Pie featuring Miller's Strawberry & Rhubarb Jam and
The Perfect Blend shortbread (both sold in the shop), Pecan Pasture, blending Kalona Creamery's Udderly chocolate with chocolate, caramel and pecan brownie bits, and Chicken Feed, a combination of vanilla ice cream,
O'brien's Own Chocolate Chip Granola and M&Ms.
SynderBio co-founder Sarah Vigmostad (center) received $5,000 and 'top company' honors from IowaBio Executive Director Joe Hrdlicka and IowaBio Associate Director Melissa Moyer at the Partnering for Growth Biotech Innovation Showcase this week.
Coralville-based
SynderBio was awarded the top company award at this year's Partnering For Growth Biotech Innovation Showcase held in Ankeny on Tuesday.
"Our expert panel felt SynderBio made the most compelling case for best company," Iowa Biotechnology Association (IowaBio) Executive Director Joe Hrdlicka said in a release. "We had 12 companies from around the country. SynderBio's work exemplifies a leadership position in bioscience."
SynderBio is a lab automation and cancer diagnostics company that offers novel techniques aiming to expedite and enhance cellular analyses through label-free, targeted capture of cells from biopsy tissue in both research and clinical settings.
The company was awarded $5,000 in a presentation following the event, which serves as a forum for biotech leaders in Iowa and beyond to present their innovations to potential investors.
"The showcase has been an outstanding experience for SynderBio and we're humbled and surprised by the top honors selection from an exceptional group of exciting up-and-coming companies," said Dr. Sarah Vigmostad, SynderBio's co-founder in a statement. "We were here presenting with some tremendously innovative companies and it inspires us to keep innovating."
Consulting: Give your business a spring cleaning, too
In this week's consulting spotlight, Greg Dardis of Dardis Communications discusses the life-changing magic of tidying up your home - and your workplace.
To survey our garage is to glimpse an Iowa family with too much stuff: 10 bike helmets, seven bikes, one beat-up Burley and an assortment of footballs, flags and cleats.
With the arrival of each additional child, we have amassed more, spurred along by generous friends and two grandmas with a penchant for cute baby clothes. Our possessions come in all shapes and sizes - from the backyard trampoline to the sheet music spilling off the piano to countless bobby pins for competitive cheer - a sport that, I am told, requires practice shoes as well as competition shoes.
My wife and I felt a wave of relief after a recent spring cleaning netted 10 bags of old toys bound for Goodwill and five bags of clothing to consign. We were guided, in part, by wisdom from the 2014 bestseller "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up," written by professional organizer Marie Kondo.
This is a woman who receives standing ovations after demonstrating her clothes-folding technique.
Her central premise is simple: Before you can clean, you must purge. She offers a host of guidelines to help you dispose of stuff. ("If you see a cord and wonder what on earth it's for," she writes, "chances are you'll never use it again.") She urges readers to overcome nostalgia and to keep family members from seeing the give pile.
Only then can the real work of cleaning begin, which should be conducted by category, not room. The way to eliminate clutter, Kondo asserts, is to ensure that everything has a place.
She promises big results: "When you put your house in order, you put your affairs and your past in order, too."
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Business PM, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Urban Acres Real Estate, 250 Holiday Road, Coralville. Join fellow chamber members for networking, appetizers, hors d'oeuvres and more. Free for chamber members. For more information, call (319) 337-9637.
March 26 Coralville Roundtable, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, noon-1 p.m., Iowa River Power Restaurant, 501 First Ave., Coralville. Roundtables are social lunches over the noon hour. All are invited to network and keep up-to-date with chamber and community events. Free for members. Call the chamber at (319) 337-9637 if interested and not a member.
Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
DJ Datsik, the main act for a sold out concert, did not take the stage after organizers say several sexual assault allegations surfaced against him, but organizers at Iowa City's Blue Moose say that opened the door for a new opportunity. Lucas Froeschner who works in promotions at Blue Moose tells CBS2 News he helped organize the United Sound benefit concert with 100 percent of the proceeds going toward the University of Iowa Rape Victim Advocacy Program. $1,030 was raised and donated for RVAP. Everyone involved worked for free to ensure every spare dollar would be donated to the cause. Executive Director of RVAP Adam Robinson says they need all the help they can get. "Last year the state of Iowa decided to cut victim service funding in a pretty drastic way. We lost 15 staff and lost 35 percent of our state and federal funding."
Not to rain on anyone's parade, but the St. Joseph's Day Parade scheduled for Saturday in Cedar Rapids has been cancelled due to weather. However, it isn't rain that is the reason for the cancellation, but the potential for snow. CBS2/FOX28 meteorologists are
forecasting 3 to 6 inches of snow on Saturday. Other events in the Czech Village are still on as scheduled.
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
CBS2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails' Weather First Forecast
Spring warmth lies ahead of our next winter storm. Today will be mostly cloudy as moisture begins to move into the area with a breezy east wind. Rain then develops Friday evening after 6 p.m. That rain may be heavy at times with an isolated thunderstorm. Rain will continue through Friday night as a strong storm system hits Eastern Iowa. Saturday morning, spring changes back to winter. Snow accumulations of at least 3 inches are likely north of I-80, with an axis of heavier snow in excess of 6 inches.
Downtown Iowa City is looking for a few good women 
