Iowa State University Startup Factory
PROGRAMS
ISU Startup Factory
You've heard the buzzwords but to be very clear: we are not an accelerator. We are not an incubator. We are a movement focused on building successful companies. The Startup Factory is not only a movement, it is the physical manifestation where we create.
Our cohort will engage in a 52 week program. The first 26 weeks are a formal education in launching a business. We've customized best practices from the likes of Harvard, MIT, Yale and our own experience in launching successful companies.
ISU StartUp University
ISU Startup University
Our cohort will engage in a 52 week program. The first 26 weeks are a formal education in launching a business. We've customized best practices from the likes of Harvard, MIT, Yale and our own experience in launching successful companies.
ISU Angel Network
The ISU network is powerful and far reaching. Our Angel Network allows our supporters to engage with ISU and be a part of building the movement: the ISU Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. While most think of Angels in this space in the context of the monetary form of capital, we are tapping into intellectual capital.
ISU Mentors
A startup is more likely to thrive when an idea, good business planning, and an entrepreneur are matched with mentors with proven skills and experience. Our cohort members are matched with mentoring teams which will change over time. Interested?
We provide our cohort assistance with navigating the maze of startup financing by combining our deep experience with regional, state and federal funding mechanisms as well as angel, venture capital and private equity firms.
ISU Ventures
Five Years:
BIG
GOALS
5
Top 5 of all Universities Nationally for Startups
1
Top University in the Midwest for Startups
1
Top Entrepreneurial Center in the Midwest
~
National
Recognition as HotBed for Startup Creation
ABOUT
Iowa State University Economic Development and Industry Relations provides an avenue for students, faculty and staff to create businesses. We call it the ISU Startup Factory: a 52-week intensive program housed at the Iowa State University Research Park (ISURP). An affiliated ten week summer program for students, CyStarters, is also located at ISURP.
The Startup Factory movement is led by serial entrepreneur and Iowa native-turned-Silicon-Valley-success-story Bill Adamowski. Adamowski joined the EDIR team to focus on growing the network of innovation throughout campus. He crafted the framework for the Startup Factory using best practices from the likes of MIT, Stanford and other successful accelerators.
Entrepreneurs in the Startup Factory will receive formal training, resources, and access to a network of business mentors, advisors, counselors and investors in two 26-week blocks: the first a formal curriculum centered on business validation, and the second, customized to their individual business needs. The goal is to position Iowa State among the top five universities nationally in startups within five years.
The ISU Startup Factory is a pioneering “super accelerator” program based on best practices from innovative thought leaders, institutions and programs, like Steve Blank, the National Science Foundation I-Corps program, Stanford, MIT, and others. In contrast to a typical 100 day or three month-long program, this 52-week immersion in entrepreneurship provides cohort members with more than just desk space; instead, ISU Startup Factory companies are provided with world-class facilities and access to all the benefits of being located in one of the fastest growing Research Parks in the country while benefiting from a teaching team whose members are steeped in developing startup companies, raising capital, international business development, technology transfer, and who have created lasting impact.
Bill Adamowski, Kris Johansen
PARTNERS
CONNECT
Find Us
Find Us
Economic Development Core Facility
1805 Collaboration Place
Ames, IA 50010
Tel: 515.294.7444
Inquiries
Interested in helping as a mentor, advisor, investor, sponsor, teacher? Drop us a line. Have a great idea but don't know where to start? Drop us a line. You get the idea...