A sampling of the sights from our second Des Moines Startup Job Crawl

University and college students from across the state of Iowa shuffled along Silicon Sixth — the heart of the startup community in downtown Des Moines — on April 4 to visit 28 area startups. More than 130 students registered to join the Silicon Prairie News Startup Job Crawl’s second tour de Des Moines, including representation…

SPN’s Geoff Wood (far right) welcomes students to our second Des Moines Startup Job Crawl.

University and college students from across the state of Iowa shuffled along Silicon Sixth — the heart of the startup community in downtown Des Moines — on April 4 to visit 28 area startups. More than 130 students registered to join the Silicon Prairie News Startup Job Crawl’s second tour de Des Moines, including representation from Drake University, the University of Iowa and bus loads of students from Iowa State University, Grinnell College and Simpson College.

Though nearly 80 percent of the students at the event were first-time Job Crawl participants, many said they had become more aware of the startup community and its unique positions for current students and recent graduates from their peers, advisors and mentors who had attended our first Startup Job Crawl in November. 

As we continue to develop the Job Crawl, we focus on continuing to build this awareness and put students in the places where startups set up shop. This event was no exception, as students spent quality face-time learning about the opportunities specifically for them.

Twenty of the participating startups had either internships, part-time gigs or full-time positions available. Whether students were looking for a summer internship or wanting to scout for future opportunities, the Job Crawl provided the forum to make these one-on-one connections. 

Learn more about available positions from Job Crawl companies

Below is a sampling of the Twitter chatter and few photos from the April 4 event.  

 

Silicon Prairie News and various other startups handed out plenty of swag to students.

DomiKnow stacks up dominoes and company information to students along the tour. 

Brian Hemesath (second from left) of VolunteerLocal talks to students about his startup. 

With a stop by the Dwolla offices, students learn more about the startup’s new space and latest developments.

Dwolla drew a crowd to its new downtown space.

Students on the Job Crawl enjoy conversation, snacks and beverages.

Advisors and students circle up to listen to Dwolla COO Charisse Flynn (far right) discuss her company. 

RecBob, a Cedar Rapids-based startup, made the trek to Des Moines for the Crawl. 

Students hear one-on-one about the companies involved in the startup scene. 

Zach Cox of Pongr visits with a group of Job Crawl participants. 

Project Tiki passes out Tiki glasses to students.


At the Foundry Coworking stop along the Crawl, students learn about Ames-based WebFilings, a startup that has experienced considerable growth.

Students make time to visit with one another between conversations with the startups on hand.


Jake Kerber (left), founder of Locusic, talks with a student at the close of the night. 

For another perspective of the Job Crawl, see photos of the event from The Des Moines Register’s photo tour


Credits: Photo by Amy Engle and Brittany Mascio


The Des Moines Startup Job Crawl was sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

With support from Microsoft BizSpark, we were able to create awesome opportunities to connect students and startups. Our thanks to them for helping build this ecosystem and expand our communities. 

 

 

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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