Small Business and Startup Stories DSM

Blk N Bold Coffee Co-Founder Cezar Pernell

Pernell Cezar Jr. is co-founder and CEO of BLK & Bold Specialty Beverages, known for coffee and tea manufacturing that pledges 5% of its profits to programs for youth to develop professionally and fight youth homelessness. The company works with 14 youth pledge partners across the country in its effort to prioritize purpose. BLK & Bold Specialty Beverages is the first black-owned, nationally distributed coffee brand, and it’s headquartered in Greater Des Moines (DSM). The BLK & Bold story h...

Three-Time Startup Owner Creates New Startup to Connect Nonprofit Givers

Matt Ostanik, Greater Des Moines (DSM) entrepreneur, speaks with Greater Des Moines Partnership Executive Director of Entrepreneurial Initiatives Mike Colwell about connecting people and businesses who are willing to give with nonprofits that need additional help. This is the mission of his latest startup, Given. Previously, Ostanik founded three other companies: FunnelWise, a sales and marketing software company that assists in improving marketing ROI; Submittal Exchange, an SaaS company th...

TradeLabs: Where Trade Experts Teach Beginning Investors About Stock Trading

Nick Eltjes and Noah Loffredo share their experience starting TradeLabs in Greater Des Moines (DSM).

Startup Stories — Muddy Bites

One World Supplies Brings PPE to DSM

Sul Huq describes his journey as an entrepreneur and the growth of DSM-startup One World Supplies.

A DSM-Based Startup Merges + Readies for Future Growth

Greg Bailey discusses Denim Social, how he transitioned his startup team and his forecast for the future.

Gabe Glynn

Kerty Levy

Kerty Levy, managing director of Techstars Iowa, speaks with the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Startup Stories host, Mike Colwell. 

Nadilia Gomez

Nadilia Gomez is the executive director of Iowa AgriTech Accelerator. A former research scientist for Corteva Agriscience, Nadilia has been involved in the industry for a long time. Her experience is an integral part of helping to prepare new startup businesses for a successful future. Nadalia sits down with the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Startup Stories host, Mike Colwell to discuss her journey to a female leadership role. 

Erin Huiatt Creates Multiple Ways for Moms and Women to Succeed in DSM

Erin Huiatt began blogging as a way to share her adventures as a young mom. Little did she know that her hobby would grow into an entrepreneurial success story times three. Erin discusses her unique path as a female business owner with one of the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Startup Stories hosts, Christina Moffatt. 

Erin Huiatt Creates Multiple Ways for Moms and Women to Succeed in DSM

Erin Huiatt began blogging as a way to share her adventures as a young mom. Little did she know that her hobby would grow into an entrepreneurial success story times three. Erin discusses her unique path as a female business owner with one of the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Startup Stories hosts, Christina Moffatt. 

Brad Dwyer and Joseph Nelson

Starting your own business can be a difficult decision and complicated journey. But don’t tell that to Brad Dwyer and Joseph Nelson, co-founders of Roboflow and childhood friends, who hope to make developing computer vision and augmented reality (AR) apps easier and more streamlined. Brad and Joseph discuss their successes and hopes for the company’s future with Startup Stories host Mike Colwell. 

Rita Perea – Rita Perea Leadership, Coaching and Consulting

Waking up in the ER sets course to a life-changing career path.  Christina Moffatt sits down with Rita Perea to discuss how a lifelong career in education taught her the most important lesson of her life.

Kyle McMahon – Tractor Zoom

Kyle McMahon shares how his company, Tractor Zoom, is innovating on farm equipment auctions.

Nicole Gunderson – Global Insurance Accelerator

Nicole Gunderson sits down with Mike Colwell to discuss her path to becoming the Managing Director for the Global Insurance Accelerator (GIA).

Kiki Levy – Better HireS

Kiki Levy discusses her business Better HireS and its ability to connect high school talent to business needs.

Allison Davidson Motoyama – Dona Bela Shreds

Allison Davidson Motoyama shares how her company revolutionizes sustainability by reforming textile scraps into designer neckwear.

Mike Draper – RAYGUN

Mike Draper discusses RAYGUN's growth, unionization and status as "The Greatest Store in the Universe."

Steven Brockshus – FarmlandFinder

FarmlandFinder CEO and Founder Steven Brockshus shares how his company creates a way to make the world's farmland information accessible given the shifting dynamics within the industry.

Kate Lyon – Koloni

Kate Lyon shares how her company Koloni is creating a more sustainable world through sharing.

Carl and Torey Maerz – Rocket Referrals

Carl and Torey Maerz share how they found success in the insurance industry by looking for a problem.

Martin Gross – Gross-Wen Technologies

Dr. Martin Gross, one of Gross-Wen Technologies (GWT) founders, discusses how GWT found success during and after their start at a Greater Des Moines (DSM) incubator.

Katie Byers – HomeDitty

Katie Byers explains the success of House Concerts in Greater Des Moines (DSM).

Brian Hemesath – Insurtech

Former Global Insurance Accelerator Director Brian Hemesath discusses how startups find success in the evolving insurance industry.

Kate Wagner – Lidgett

After working for two Greater Des Moines (DSM) startups, Kate Wagner launched clothing line Lidgett. She shares the lessons learned through her journey, and the ones she continues to learn with each new day.

Tej Dhawan — Principal

Tej Dhawan has been the leading driver of the Greater Des Moines (DSM) startup ecosystem. Pulling from his wealth of experience, Dhawan shares his insights on how to succeed as a startup.

Liz Lidgett — Liz Lidgett Gallery + Design

Liz Lidgett grew up with a with a love for all things art. She shares how she carried this passion into a career and business in Greater Des Moines (DSM).

Max Farrell and Andrew Kirpalani — WorkHound

WorkHound Founders Max Farrell and Andrew Kirpalani share their secret to maintaining employee happiness.

Lana Fox – ClinicNote

Lana Fox shares how ClinicNote found its roots in Greater Des Moines (DSM) while still improving the lives of speech therapists across the country.

Travis Ensley – Dwolla

Travis Ensley of Dwolla shares how his military background taught him skills that go beyond a resume, and how he applies these skills in his work.

Scott Carlson – Court Avenue Restaurant & Brewing Co.

Scott Carlson opened his first brewery with a vision to show off varieties to Greater Des Moines (DSM). Since then, he has increased his small business portfolio to four local favorite restaurants and breweries — CABCo, Americana, Gilroy's and Iowa Craft Beer Tent. Hear how he made a name for himself in the restaurant and brewery industry.

Ben Lefever – Certintell Telehealth

Certintell Telehealth founder Ben Lefever shares how he managed to break into the health care industry by finding the right resources through the right mentors.

Sara Jacobson – Fusion Boutique

Sara Jacobson shares how she turned her long-time vision into reality by opening a beauty bar and clothing boutique, aptly named Fusion Boutique.

Omar Jordan – LenderClose

LenderClose bridges the gap in lending, allowing loan officers and lending staff to run a streamlined lending cycle. LenderClose owner Omar Jordan shares how he found success in the financial industry.

Cassie Sampson – East Village Spa

Cassie Sampson started East Village Spa out of a want to help people feel better. This attention to her customers combined with the dedication to her craft has helped foster East Village Spa's success.

Levi Rosol – ScoreYard

Youth sports have ingrained themselves into today's culture. How these leagues are managed is often the determining factor to the experience these up-and-coming all-stars receive. Levi Rosol shares how his startup ScoreYard struck out swinging in the search to build a tool centered around the sports community.

Casey Niemann – AgriSync

More now than ever before, farmers are becoming connected with their local and trusted agribusiness consultants to innovate and challenge biological technologies, practices and advancements. AgriSync works to ensure these connections reach their full potential.

Burch LaPrade – Gain Compliance

Gain Compliance CEO Burch LaPrade shares how Greater Des Moines' (DSM's) status as an insurance hub served as a major motivator for his startup.

Megan McKay – Peace Tree Brewing

At the height of the Great Recession in 2009, Megan McKay decided to build a brewery in the small Iowa town of Knoxville on the edge of Greater Des Moines (DSM). Peace Tree Brewing Company has since expanded to the Historic East Village in Downtown DSM and Grinnell. The business now employs 14 full time and 35 part time employees.

Marry My City

Your loved one is getting married and you’re trying to find them the perfect gift. After you procrastinate too long to make that memorable keepsake, you decide to check out their registry only to find it limited to items found in big box retailers. You print the list of stuff and see the items that remain are a Crock-Pot and an oven glove. So, you opt for the safe bet — a gift card.  If only there was another way.   That’s what sprang to Kaitlin Byers’ mind when she went through that cycle...

Marry My City

Your loved one is getting married and you’re trying to find them the perfect gift. After you procrastinate too long to make that memorable keepsake, you decide to check out their registry only to find it limited to items found in big box retailers. You print the list of stuff and see the items that remain are a Crock-Pot and an oven glove. So, you opt for the safe bet — a gift card.  If only there was another way.   That’s what sprang to Kaitlin Byers’ mind when she went through that cycle...

Melissa Carlson – 818 Design

Melissa Carlson picked up a passion for graphic design as a student in high school. She credits her interest in creativity, art and design to a high school teacher who encouraged her to pursue the field at university.  Carlson studied at Grand View University in Greater Des Moines (DSM). After landing her first job at a publishing company, a second at an ad agency and then at an architecture firm, she then founded 818 Designs.

Ryan Gerhardy – Pitchly

After working in venture capital, Australian Ryan Gerhardy launches Pitchly in Greater Des Moines (DSM).

Gabe Glynn – MākuSafe

By Gabe Glynn’s own account, he has had a winding entrepreneurial career. MākuSafe began in early 2016, with a beta product tested in late 2016. The wearable technology has some smart software behind it that incorporates machine learning. The five devices first tested created seven million data points in a month.

Kate Banasiak – Diversified Management Services

Steve Sherlock – Pablow

The Sherlock’s startup, Pablow, is an insurance aggregate focusing on the travel insurance space. The platform connects with the APIs of six major insurance companies like AIG and Allianz to provide access to travel companies offer travel insurance vacation rentals after the sale.

Tracy Fuller – InnovativEvents

Greater Des Moines (DSM) entrepreneur Tracy Fuller’s story began in 1987. Her son had passed away and she was looking for a way to get off the couch and into the world. Fuller started a company called Happy Occasions. In 2004, the name changed to InnovativEvents when the company’s customer base went international. From the Sydney Opera House in Australia to a castle in Ireland, the company now produces events for corporate clients managing AV, sound, food and décor.

Brad Dwyer – Hatchlings

Greater Des Moines (DSM) games company, Hatchlings, recently turned 10-years-old. In that time, it has amassed 15 million users and shares a prestigious award with Tesla’s Elon Musk.The company began when DSM entrepreneur Brad Dwyer started a Facebook game called The Worldwide Easter Egg Hunt, which became a viral sensation amassing 1 million users in its first year. In the game, players from around the globe try to collect all 5,000+ different eggs and compete to get the highest score each m...

Todd Krone & Jason Cope – PowerPollen

A Greater Des Moines (DSM) startup says they’ve developed a process to cross-pollinate corn that not only eliminates the need for manual labor but also can increase yields by up to 80 percent.

Amy Vohs – Lil' Sidekick

A Greater Des Moines (DSM) mom's mission to help parents across the world, one catch at a time.