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Scouting Report: Limelight Health coming to Des Moines

July 23, 2018

Limelight Health, an insurtech software company based out of San Francisco, is coming to Des Moines.

Limelight Health delivers a technology platform and solution for health insurance and employee benefits professionals. Its platform connects and integrates data with other beneficial technologies like payroll, CRM, benefits administration, and compliance tools.

Its product, QuotePad, is a quote engine that provides quoting, integration, and census data collection solutions for everyone in the employee benefits space.

“When we started looking at the location, we noticed a high density of people in the Des Moines workforce who are heavily involved in insurance,” said Young Han, Director of Operation at Limelight Health. And that’s exactly the type of people we’re looking for to help us bridge the gap between technology and insurance.”

Limelight Health hopes to hire around ten people for their Des Moines location over the next six to nine months and say that might actually scale all the way up to twenty positions.

To learn more about the positions or to apply, check out the Clay & Milk job board.

“The biggest reason for moving to Des Moines is that it’s the insurance capital of America,” said Han. “We also have clients in Des Moines and many of our customers that we’re hoping to attract are located in Des Moines.”

To celebrate their expansion, Limelight Health is having a mixer to get to know the community better and share more about what they do. If you’re looking to join their team or learn more about the company, they will be at Gravitate in downtown Des Moines this Thursday from 4:30 – 6:30.

Scouting Report: Limelight Health coming to Des Moines | Clay & Milk

A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.

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