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Start Up Demo Day: An event showcasing business pitches - Thursday, December 12, 2024

Featuring 10 business pitches, Iowa State Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship held its Startup Demo Day. Hannah Kirkendall, a program specialist in the business department, said preparing for this event consisted of an 18-week incubator program.

“So we’ve been working with all 10 companies for the whole semester over 18 weeks when we go through really basic business elements and help them identify markets for their technologies,” Kirkendall said.

Kirkendall mentioned that it’s free to get involved in the program.

“Everyone who is participating in the program is participating voluntarily,” Kirkendall said.

Furthermore, she said attendees don’t have to be affiliated with Iowa State.

“The program is open to anyone in the community,” Kirkendall said. “We see it as a fulfillment of our land grant.”

Maddie Peiffer, a junior in agricultural business and Molly Freese, a sophomore in agriculture communication, are both interns for the Pappajohn Center.

“We’re here just to help with the logistics for the day,” Freese said. “So the Pappajohn Center helps to support the startup factory and all those that participate in it.”

Peiffer said this event is for people to pitch their businesses, and people who are interested in investing or helping the companies can get more insight about these companies.

“They’ll pitch the business for about five minutes, and then afterwards, they all get to mingle and talk a little bit more,” Peiffer said.

The cohort of the program included 16 companies, and 10 of them participated in presenting.

The Pappajohn Center of Entrepreneurship website lists the 16 companies involved as follows:

EazeClasp (Emily M.S. Worrall and Megan Lenzi): An accessible jewelry company that creates innovative, stylish designs for all, including those with limited dexterity.
ReMag Solutions (Ihor Hlova): Delivering critical materials solutions by developing innovative technologies for energy and chemical conversion, with a focus on a sustainable future.
The Athletes Health (Gabe Rummel): A mental performance coaching service aimed at improving athletes’ confidence and composure to help them reach peak performance.
MedLib, Inc. (Eranda Sooriyarachchi): Empowering physicians and informing patients using AI technology.
MedTrans LLC (Hala Deng): A medical interpreting software providing real-time speech-to-speech interpretations, making complex medical jargon accessible to patients.
Lunar Lighting Alternatives (Adam Thiessen): Conducting research and development on elementally doped receptacles to light low atmospheric missions for non-terrestrial missions.
Immuno Nano Med (Balaji Narasimhan, Michael Wannemuehler, Kevin Legge and Tom Waldschmidt): A start-up focused on developing particle-based vaccines against infectious diseases.
Pocianet (Wensheng Zhang): A decentralized platform for social networking and personal data management, enabling users to fully own and control their data.
Ecoessence Solutions (Silas Ongadi, Warda May): A Kenyan company specializing in eco-friendly briquettes made from sorghum bagasse and other local waste materials, aiming to reduce agricultural waste, combat deforestation, and provide sustainable, affordable energy alternatives.
CeraExel (Anand P.S. Gaur, Jun Cui, Xiaoli Tan): Developing energy-efficient capacitors for advanced green electric vehicles (EVs).

Hala Deng, MedTrans LLC founder, said she came up with her business idea in February and won $5,000 from the pitch-off competition, but this program has changed her viewpoint.

“It changed my entire viewpoint of starting a business because when I came up with this idea in February, people were like, great idea,” Deng said. “It’s amazing. We need it. I used that $5,000 to create a prototype. I was like, okay, now I’m going to create the MVP, now I’m going to create the product.”

Deng said before this program, she hadn’t done a customer discovery, a business model or a financial model.

“I thought I was just gonna create something and release it,” Deng said. “So this program just really provided me with that structure of knowing what starting a business is all about, from the technicalities of like the actual software programming, to like the financial aspect and the business aspect.”

Additionally, Deng said you have to have the mentality to be coachable and to be able to learn and absorb new information.

“I’m not an entrepreneur, so this is a whole new endeavor for me, so it’s just providing me the groundwork of what it means to be an entrepreneur and start a business,” Deng said.

Deng said this program provided a lot of networking.

“Each week we were presented with a new board of individuals that had a background in either finances, legal, just a whole bunch of different advisor boards, and that just allowed us to be able to learn about the different sections of business,” Deng said. full story

ISU Research Park's new $18M ag innovation lab encourages research and collaboration - Tuesday, December 10, 2024

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Iowa State inventors recognized by NAI for tackling real-world issues - Tuesday, December 10, 2024

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Iowa State University Vice President of Economic Development & Industry Relations Recognized with Visionary Leader Award - Tuesday, October 22, 2024

David Spalding, Iowa State University Vice President of Economic Development & Industry Relations has been named by Envision Iowa as a Visionary Leader. He will be recognized at an awards ceremony on October 22, 2024.

Economic Development & Industry Relations (EDIR) has a statewide impact, outreaching to all 99 counties with business development resources. Organizations that are included in EDIR include the ISU Research Park, America’s Small Business Development Center Iowa, Center for Industrial Research & Service, Office of Innovation Commercialization and ISU Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship. All five entities have experienced significant growth and collaboration under David’s leadership.

VP Spalding’s efforts have not only enhanced the university's economic development ecosystem, but they have also garnered recognition from many prestigious national and global organizations. Iowa State University was named the #1 Entrepreneurial University of the Year by the Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities, a reflection of the university-wide approach to supporting innovation that Spalding has championed. In 2023, Iowa State was also recognized with numerous awards for its work in economic development, including the 2023 top “Connections” award from the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities’ Innovation and Economic Prosperity awards. Iowa State won category awards in best of Talent, Place, and Innovation in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2022. In 2021, the ISU Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship won the model program award from the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship and in 2022 received the NASDAQ Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence Award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers.

VP Spalding also serves as the Raisbeck Endowed Dean of the Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business at Iowa State University. Under his guidance, the Ivy College of Business has seen a 33% increase in total enrollment over the past decade, a testament to his commitment to fostering an environment where faculty and students thrive.

Spalding's achievements as dean include growing undergraduate and graduate enrollment to record levels, establishing new academic programs to address Iowa workforce demand, completing a 45,000 square foot addition to the Gerdin Business Building, unprecedented success in fundraising including a $50 million gift to name the Ivy College of Business, raising the college's profile and record high rankings in "U.S. News & World Report." The Princeton Review also ranked Iowa State #11 in the nation for the best undergraduate entrepreneurship programs for three consecutive years.

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Biobased Products Funding Opportunity-Innvovation Grant - Monday, September 23, 2024

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH, IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY Fall 2024

BIOBASED PRODUCTS FUNDING OPPORTUNITY – INNOVATION GRANT

Background
The Iowa Economic Development Authority and Governor Kim Reynolds have identified four bioscience platforms as key growth engines for Iowa’s economy. Iowa State University (ISU) is uniquely positioned to provide innovation leadership for three of the platforms – Biobased Products, Digital & Precision Agriculture, and Vaccines, Diagnostics, and Immunotherapeutics. ISU is working in partnership with BioConnect Iowa to establish nationally renowned innovation ecosystems in these Iowa-advantaged bioscience platforms, foster commercialization of new technologies and innovations, and help the state continue to grow and diversify its economy. To support these efforts, the state of Iowa has provided new funds to Iowa State University to work across university, industry, and government partners to accelerate transfer of technologies to commercial product development in these three large and growing markets.
The Biobased Products platform includes biobased chemicals and biomaterials, biofuels, biobased fertilizers, ag biologicals and biopesticides, alternative proteins, fermentation and nutritional products, carbon mitigation technologies and upcycling of waste and byproduct streams. A total of $600,000 in awards is available for this grant call.

Award Duration and Size: The projects are generally for 12 months with a maximum of $60,000 per project. Potential for follow-on funding based on progress and availability of funds.

Proposal Due Date: October 16, 2024

Eligibility
• Any applicant meeting ISU PI eligibility guidelines with a desire to develop commercial-relevant expertise in the above Biobased Products categories. Postdoctoral Associates and graduate students are encouraged to apply as Co-PI’s.
• Projects need a letter of support from partner company(s) that must either be headquartered in Iowa or have a significant footprint in the state.

Proposal Requirements and Considerations

The proposal should include the following components:

• The proposal should clearly state the goal of the biobased products innovation project including how the funding would be used to develop expertise and technology relevant to commercialization.
• The proposal should include a clear statement about the economic development potential and impact of the work related to the state of Iowa. This criterion can be met through, for example, the intended commercial product addressing an issue of particular importance within Iowa and/or product development or production providing economic benefit to the state through jobs, tax revenues, etc.
• There should also be a discussion of how the project will be leveraged to create follow-on funding either from the company(s) or through partnered proposals to other funding agencies.
• Special consideration will be given to applicants that are commercializing ISURF intellectual property.
• Special consideration will be given to project applicants that include prior participation or a commitment to participate in I-Corps or Startup Factory training programs.
• Applications from prior awardees are allowed, provided that prior reporting requirements have been met.

Applications
Proposals should be completed in Times New Roman or Palatino, 11-point font size, and not exceed three pages.
Additional documents required are (not part of the above 3-page limit):

1. Cover Page – Title, PI, Co-PI’s and company partner(s)
2. Budget and budget justification (one page)
3. CV of ISU PI (2-page)
4. Letter of Commitment from industrial partner(s) – Company commitments of significant value to the project will be reviewed favorably.

Application and Review Process
Please submit your application as a single, complete PDF file via the Smartsheet form linked HERE by October 16, 2024.

Proposals will be reviewed by a committee convened by the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), with membership including representation from the OVPR, ISU faculty, ISU EDIR, BioConnect Iowa, and industry representatives without conflicts.

Proposals will be evaluated on:
• Potential for impactful development in a Biobased Products scope area
• Project technical merit
• Commercialization potential for Iowa
• Potential for continuation of the work beyond the funding award
• Evidence of prior or commitment to other entrepreneurial activities, including IDF filing, ISURF patents, I-Corps and Startup Factory participation

Selections will be made no later than November 15, 2024. Please contact CTO Kevin Moore, [email protected], if you have any questions about this opportunity.

Reporting Requirements:
A final report will be due to the Office of the Vice President for Research at the completion of the project. The final report should outline progress toward stated goals. Potentially patentable results should include the filing of an Invention Property Disclosure and Record with the OIC. In addition, the final report should describe future plans. Award recipients will receive an email notification containing links to reporting templates several weeks in advance of the due date. Report narratives and supporting material will be submitted via Smartsheet.

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CropX Acquires EnGeniousAg for Breakthrough Nitrogen Sensing Technology - Wednesday, September 18, 2024

EGA Brings Patented Technology for Plant, Water, and Soil Nitrogen Monitoring

San Francisco, 18 September 2024 – CropX, a leader in digital agronomic solutions, announces the acquisition of EnGeniousAg, a startup focused on advanced nitrogen sensing applications for agriculture. EnGeniousAg developed an innovative nitrogen sensing technology with the potential to transform nitrogen management by offering farmers new precision tools to optimize nitrogen fertilizer application and minimize environmental impacts.

EnGeniousAg’s patented technology provides users with near-instantaneous, in-field nitrogen measurements. This data can inform nitrogen fertilizer applications to ensure plants have the proper levels for maximizing profitability, sustainability and crop performance during various growth phases. Specifically, EnGeniousAg’s technical breakthroughs greatly extend the range of ion-specific electrode sensing in precision agriculture. The company’s patented technology permits in-situ monitoring of nitrogen in plant tissue, drainage and irrigation waters, and soil. CropX will integrate EnGeniousAg’s technology into its agronomic farm management system, enhancing its capabilities in agricultural nutrient management.

Precision nitrogen fertilizer management is a critical challenge in modern agriculture. Nitrogen fertilizer represents one of the largest crop input costs in agriculture worldwide. Inefficient nitrogen usage costs farmers billions of dollars each year while substantially increasing greenhouse gas emissions and nitrate loading to watersheds and aquifers.

EnGeniousAg’s technology will offer significant cost-savings and operational efficiencies for farmers and agribusinesses on the CropX platform. By allowing simple and effective in-field nitrogen measurements coupled to data-driven agronomic recommendations, CropX’s integrated system of sensors and analytics will provide a powerful and practical new method to boost crop nitrogen use efficiency.

"Acquiring this nitrogen sensor technology underscores CropX's commitment to providing farmers with one-stop-shop agronomic solutions," said Tomer Tzach, CEO of CropX. "Nitrogen management is a critical, unsolved challenge of modern farming. We are eager to provide a solution with such transformative potential. In our global search for synergistic technologies in the nutrient management space, EnGeniousAg stood out with high-potential technology that is ideally suited to our mission.”

Mike Castellano, one of four co-founders of EngeniousAg, said, “We have spent years optimizing and field testing EnGeniousAg’s nitrogen sensor technology and are excited to work with CropX to bring the benefits of this technology to the global market at scale as part of CropX’s agronomic farm management system. The combination should be a big win for farmers’ profitability and environmental sustainability.” Co-founder James Schnable said, “We are grateful for research funding from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programs of the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Agriculture. Turning fundamental scientific discoveries into real world products is a key goal of these programs. We’re excited to work with CropX to enable that translation.”

CropX’s agronomic farm management system leverages data from soil to sky to deliver real-time decision support and data management to enhance farm profitability and sustainability. The acquisition of this advanced nitrogen sensor technology further solidifies CropX's position as a leader in agricultural innovation, empowering farms to be successful and sustainable. This is the sixth acquisition for CropX, following its most recent acquisition of Australia’s Green Brain in December 2023.