2017

#newboco #thisisiowa

Three years ago, the organization that would become NewBoCo started with a dream to make Eastern Iowa the best place to be an entrepreneur. We founded the Iowa Startup Accelerator to give funding and mentorship to new startups to help them become high growth companies in Eastern Iowa. We brought together investors, mentors, and interns to support those accepted into Iowa’s first tech-based accelerator program. As we grew ISA, we saw that supporting entrepreneurship alone would never be enough to turn Eastern Iowa into a thriving entrepreneurial community. Our startups needed more to thrive here than our community provided.

In order to make our community grow, we needed to think bigger and bolder. That’s why what was once just the Iowa Startup Accelerator grew to become the New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative.

Since 2014, we’ve expanded from two guys with more than 100 mentors working with startups to an 18-person nonprofit whose programming covers everything from kids’ tech education to the area’s only angel investor network. NewBoCo supports education, innovation, and entrepreneurship in order to build a resilient region that’s ready for a changing economy.

2017 was a major year of growth for NewBoCo. We launched new programs and invested heavily in improving our existing programs through structural changes and increased staffing. In this report we will highlight the impacts these changes had on our community over the past year.

We’re excited and humbled by our community’s growth. Eastern Iowa has a much broader and deeper array of resources than most regions of this size. With support from other entrepreneurial, nonprofit, and corporate partners, we made immense progress in ensuring tech education, innovation and entrepreneurship are accessible to everyone.

We have a long way to go to get where we want to be, but the progress we made in 2017 sets us up to have an even greater impact in 2018.

Eric EngelmannExecutive Director, NewBoCo

Accelerating world-changing ideas, from iowa

NewBoCo Staff (left to right) 3rd row: Aaron Horn, Frank Camp, Eric Engelmann, Nate Adams, Ben Kaplan 2nd row: Keith Dahlby, Jessica Bertling, Mandy Webber, Jill Wilkins, Kaitlin Byers, Laura Kaiden, Jessalyn Holdcraft 1st row: Samantha Dahlby, John Foster, Diane Dutton, Kristine Sorensen, David Tominsky, Molly Monk

Entrepreneurship2017 highlightsAfter running the Iowa Startup Accelerator for three years, we critically evaluated how we could increase its impact on our entrepreneurial community. By reworking the structure of ISA in 2017, we made the program more rigorous and open to entrepreneurs at multiple points during the year. We also increased opportunities for entrepreneurs by relaunching EntreFEST, launching Corridor Angel Investors, and expanding the capabilities of our coworking space, Vault, by adding prototyping services for hardware and software startups.

• The ISA Fund invested in 7 startups, and we built products and prototypes for 7 other startups in 2017.

• Through a partnership with the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, we brought back EntreFEST, one of the largest celebrations of the Midwest’s entrepreneurial and innovation community, after a year-long hiatus.

• We launched Corridor Angel Investors to give Eastern Iowa startups access to much-needed angel capital.

• We enhanced events like Open Coworking, Open Coffee, and 1 Million Cups to give our community more Opportunities to build connections.

STATS

600+ EntreFEST attendees

30 Investors in Corridor Angel Investors

95 Current Vault

Members

33 companies participated in ISAto date

$9.25m capital raised by ISA companies

Coming in 2018• Invest in 10+ high quality startups, in two

ISA batches

• Have at least one startup on an active path to exit

• Grow Corridor Angels to 100 angel investors

EDUCATION2017 highlightsWe believe anyone can learn how to be innovative if they have an open mind and the opportunity to learn new skills. Through our K-12 Imagination Iowa programs and DeltaV, our adult code school, we offer hands-on educational opportunities to help kids and adults alike be ready to build the future. 2017 was a major year of growth for our education efforts. We focused on increasing our impact by expanding our offerings to more students, future computer science teachers, and adult career switchers.

• We launched Iowa’s only adult code school, DeltaV, and 75% of students who completed the program found work in less than a month.

• we took over the statewide operations of Future city, one of the nation’s leading engineering education programs, and engaged more than 500 students in its hands-on programming.

• we trained 32 teachers in Iowa to teach computer science through our pilot partnership with Code.org, making it possible for more than 900 new students to take computer science classes.

• DeltaV Became a Registered Tech Apprenticeship Training Program for Software Development in Iowa.

“Our teachers are excited about this new opportunity [from NewBoCo] for their own professional learning, but more importantly, they are even more excited for our students who might discover a new passion or even a new way to solve complex problems.”

—Noreen Bush, Eastern Iowa School Administrator

Coming in 2018• Expand Future City to 35 schools statewide

• Train 250+ Iowa teachers on our Code.org Computer Science curriculum

• Expand DeltaV Code School to Des Moines and rural areas, enroll 250 students, and at least 20 complete the full curriculum

Innovation2017 highlightsThis year, we dramatically ramped up our corporate innovation programs to help established companies explore new technologies and become more resilient. Our goal is to help Eastern Iowa companies develop a culture that fuels innovation by embracing experimentation and rapid iteration.

“Agile training was one of the most rewarding and exciting things I’ve ever been through. NewBoCo didn’t just teach us the processes and tools to succeed; they taught us the reasons why and how it will affect us in the long run.” —Anna Haney, CEO of Noviqu

• We launched our innovation workshop series, with attendees coming from all over the state of Iowa.

• We Supported 60+ organizations on their innovation journeys through workshops and in-depth consultations.

• Our staff spoke at conferences including Prairie.Code(), Iowa Lean Consortium, dsmAgile, Eastern Iowa Agile meetup, Professional Developers of Iowa, Iowa Code Camp, CodeMash and more.

Coming in 2018INTRAPRENEUR ACADEMY

Intrapreneurs use an innovative mindset and entrepreneurial spirit while working inside an established company to drive meaningful change. This year-long training program is for cross-functional teams looking for a practical way to increase their productivity and innovation capacity. Teams will receive access to workshops, off-site tours, webinars, passes to NewBoCo events, discounts on standard NewBoCo workshops and training, guest speakers, and more. Each quarter focuses on a different innovation competency: Agile Mindset; Process & Methods; Culture, People, and Leadership; and Strategy.

MORE AGILE PROGRAMS

New Agile certifications and training from nationally-known coaches, as well as enhanced coaching from our in-house staff.

ENTERPRISE TRANSFORMATION SERVICES

Bringing it all together: strategies to re-engineer businesses around new technologies and emerging business models.

What’s next In three years, this community has made tremendous progress in developing a vibrant, world-class startup community. And we’re really proud of the bold work we’ve done at NewBoCo to help make that possible. In some cases, our programs have already begun to make a meaningful and measurable difference. Others will take another year or two to really show results as they gather steam and continue to build.

However, there’s more work to do to build up our region’s entrepreneurial community.

We need to think bigger and bolder.

Much bigger. Much bolder.We aim to push the envelope in education, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Eastern Iowa.

Over the next five years, we will:

• Scale Iowa Startup Accelerator so it accelerates 100 startups

per year • Generate EXCEPTIONAL returns for angel investors

• Invest millions into Eastern Iowa-based startups each year through Corridor Angel Investors

• Make EntreFEST a nationally-known entrepreneurship conference

• Ensure that every public school in Iowa has at least one qualified Computer Science teacher

• Graduate 100+ students per year from DeltaV Code School

• Develop 20+ business leaders each year in our Intrapreneurship Academy

A big thanks to our network of generous Supporters:

With your help, we can ensure that Iowa is known, around the world, for making big things happen. Consider making a donation today that will allow us to invest in the ideas of tomorrow.

Visit newbo.co/donate or contact Kaitlin Byers at kaitlin@newbo.co for more details. NewBoCo is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

NewBoCo Sponsors

512 Creative7G Distributing LLCAlliant EnergyAmazon SmileBest Buy FoundationBrewhemiaBRL HR ConsultingBrownWinickCedar Rapids Bank & TrustCity of Cedar RapidsCedar Rapids Metro Economic

AllianceCode.orgCoe CollegeCollective DataCommunity Foundation of

Greater Des MoinesCompost NinjaConverge ConsultingCRST International, Inc.de Novo Alternative MarketingDelta Dental of IowaDiamond V MillsEastern Iowa AirportEco LipsEntrepreneuria Services Group

LLCF&M BankFiberutilities Group LLCFrontier Co-OpFuture City NationalGeonetricGoDaddy Google, IncGrant Wood AEAGreater Cedar Rapids

Community FoundationGuaranty BankHill BankImOn CommunicationsIowa Association of BusinessIowa Bankers AssociationIowa City Area Development

GroupIowa Economic Development

AuthorityIowa Innovation CorporationIowa Lean Consortium

Iowa State UniversityIowa Women Lead ChangeJohn Pappajohn Entrepreneurial

CenterKirkwood Community CollegeKum & Go FoundationLil’ Drug Store ProductsMcGrath Family of DealershipsMcKee, Voorhees & Sease, PLCMcLeod Charitable FoundationMedQuarter Regional Medical

DistrictMicrosoft CorporationMidAmerican EnergyMidWestOne BankNational Engineers Week

FoundationNext Level VenturesNextEra EnergyNIACC Pappajohn CenterNordstrom DirectPancherosPhysicians Clinic of IowaQuick Action Accounting &

Business Solutions LLCRenew Rural IowaRings Law, PLCRockwell CollinsRotary Club of Cedar RapidsRSM US LLPSCOREScrum AllianceShive HatteryShuttleworth & Ingersoll, PLCSkogman RealtyStrategic Print SolutionsThe Hall-Perrine FoundationThe University of IowaTransamericaTrueNorth Companies LLCU.S. Small Business

AdministrationUnited Fire GroupUniversity of Iowa Community

Credit UnionUniversity of Northern IowaUS BankValues Coach Inc.Van Meter Inc.Verizon FoundationVortex Business Solutions

Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield

West BankWorkiva Inc.

NewBoCo Donors

Aaron & Stephanie HornAaron J. BlairAbraham EspinozaAdam & Bridgette IngersollAlex and Kelly PelzelAmanda & Ryan WestAmy & Eric EngelmannAndy StollAngie R. NeuvilleAudrey CleppeBarry & Gilda Boyer Ben & Dena DillonBeth & Brett PapendickBill & Tifani DalyBill ProwellSarah HalbrookBrad & Jade HartBrian & Julie FarmerBrian ScottBridget AdamsBritton & Erin LangdonCammie GreifCarol A. OlsonCelina PeermanChris & Suzy DeWolfChristy & Phil RezinChuck & Mary Ann PetersCindy & John BloomhallCraig & Kaitlin ByersDavid & Ellen TominskyDavid BergertDennis & Diane PeterkaDiana BraytonDiane Handler & Robert BeckerEmily RobertsFitzgerald SteeleFloyd OrrGary and Sally FickenGary J. FickenGeoff WoodGordon & Mary DahlbyJacquel & Josh StreetsJanice & Scott ByersJason & Janelle Wonase

Jeff & Laurie QuintJesse A. LaneJessica BertlingJim KropaJohn G. HatchJonathan TaiberJosh KrakauerJulie LammersKaren Ann SwansonKate WashutKathleen E. GoodKatie & Matt GiorgioKeith ChiavettaKevin L. KimleKim & Lee EilersKimm HarrisKris GulickKristen & Kyle WilcoxKristi MurdockKristin & Lon OlejniczakLaurie HamenLiz BennettMaddie BroMarianne R. EngelmannMatthew ManuelMatthew RoodaMetta BeningaMichelle BeningaMolly YatesNick LongbuccoPaula BobackPaula BobackPeter AwadPhillip PlatzSara DoudtSarah ElseScott & Teresa SwensonScott LindgrenStacy Van Gorp Steven SchuetteThomas SwartwoodTim KlimaTim McDougallTim RidderUsha KachegereVernon D. Beninga