Taxes have been filed, snowblower put away, and the sounds of farm equipment can be heard outside the opened window of my home office. These are the signs that spring is finally here! The other sign of spring, at least for me, is that I’ve been constantly moving from one event to another, much of it networking with other freelancers and entrepreneurs in the area. It’s been fun connecting with dozens of other entrepreneurs in the area over the past month, and things are just getting started.
I took the kids along to the open house for MERGE’s branch coworking location in Coralville, Coworking @ 808. When the folks at MERGE in downtown Iowa City had announced a new location along 5th Street in Coralville, I wanted to go check it out. My younger kiddo will be going to preschool out that direction starting in the fall, and it would be nice not to have to drive all the way home each day after she is deposited at school. On top of that, parking is free out at that space, as compared to one dollar per hour downtown. Working there a couple of days a week while the kiddo has fun at preschool seems like a win-win.
The following week, I was invited to take part in a couple of university-sponsored get-togethers highlighting the two major programs with which I help each summer – JPEC’s student entrepreneurs and the Mandela Washington Fellowship. The first part of the event was a symposium put on by the Institute for International Business focused on the ties between our entrepreneurial ecosystem here in eastern Iowa and ecosystems throughout sub-Saharan Africa. While the summer program brings entrepreneurs here to Iowa City, this symposium featured dignitaries and professionals from several of the countries several by the Mandela Washington Fellowship. It was really fascinating listening to the dignitaries describe their workforce challenges and the hurdles they’ve had to overcome so far in building their own entrepreneurial ecosystems.
I think they had an incredibly wide variety of viewpoints, with panelists coming from several different parts of the continent. To me, it seemed like the countries struggling the most with building their ecosystems are the countries with more government control over the economy. In those countries, people tend to look to the government for employment first, and to the private sector second. The people on the panel are working diligently to change their populations’ view of the private sector and private businesses are “less” than government work. It’s a completely different issue than what we face here, but from what I’ve read, it’s a similar problem to many of the economies in the developing world, especially some in Asia. Either way, it will be interesting to watch what happens over the next few years in those parts of the world.
The second part of the afternoon involved JPEC’s student entrepreneurs showing off their businesses at the Founders Club Fair. There were representatives from last summer’s student accelerator in one part of the ballroom, with newer companies scattered throughout. I was able to connect with several of the teams who were applying to this summer’s student accelerator – I’m looking forward to connecting with them further if they get into the program, as I’ll be mentoring teams and giving pitch critiques again this summer. The ideas and businesses spanned just about every different industry, from tech to consumer products, from food to services. I’m always impressed by the businesses and products that the students create – it’s a sign of a fantastic program here in our own backyard.
To round off the start of “entrepreneurial season” here in Iowa City, I was able to bring together representatives from several of the big entrepreneurial events in the state for a panel discussion at 1 Million Cups Iowa City. Most of the events would have had a difficult time filling an entire hour alone, so it was nice to bring everyone together at a neutral site. We had representation from the Des Moines Tech Crawl, the Young Entrepreneur Convention, EntreFEST, and Startup Weekend Iowa City. We had wanted to try a panel format at 1MC Iowa City, but we just hadn’t gotten to it until this month. Our audience seemed to really enjoy the format, and I’m going to try to organize one or two more panel discussions before the end of the year – probably something involving resources for entrepreneurs, like mentorship or financial resources. Stay tuned to our 1MC Facebook page to see what I end up planning!
I’ll be hitting the road first thing tomorrow, on my way to Des Moines for the Tech Crawl, and then Ames on Friday and Saturday for the Young Entrepreneur Convention. The Des Moines Tech Crawl is going to be a fantastic way to connect with the entrepreneurial ecosystem in central Iowa. As I’ve said before in this blog, our ecosystem here in eastern Iowa doesn’t do the best job in cross-pollinating with the folks in Des Moines in Ames. I think we can do better, and I’m doing everything I can to connect the two groups in meaningful ways. I’m also really excited to see the new Gravitate space – I’ve watched the construction progress on social media, but the experience is always better in person.
The new format for the Young Entrepreneur Convention also looks promising. They’ve done away with the influencer stuff from previous years, and the event is just focusing now on entrepreneurship and founders. Like previous years, I’m bound to run into friends from previous years, which makes the event more fun. The convention’s move to Ames will also throw new variables into play outside the confines of the convention, especially the social aspect. I have high hopes for this year’s event, and I’m looking forward to reporting back in my next blog post.
If you’re going to be at either event – the Tech Crawl or the Young Entrepreneur Convention – let’s connect! I’d like to make the most of the trip, both at the events proper and outside the events. I’ll be arriving in Des Moines around lunchtime tomorrow, working somewhere in central Iowa during the day on Friday, and then hitting the road for home Saturday evening, right after the convention concludes. Send me an email or give me a call. I’d love to hear from you!