In anticipation of our Silicon Prairie Awards next month, this week we’re highlighting the software, Internet and mobile startups that call our region home. We published a list of “50-plus Nebraska startups to follow on Twitter” yesterday, and today we bring you an installment for the Hawkeye State. (Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post on Kansas City and Columbia, Mo. area startups.)
With these lists, we hope you’ll take time to learn more about the region’s startups, give them a follow on Twitter and, of course, nominate them for a Silicon Prairie Award.
On these lists, however, you won’t find companies we now view as established, such as ClickStop, Social Money and WebFilings. It’s a constant back and forth in our newsroom to decide on a one-size-fits-all definition of “startup,” and though we haven’t come to a decisive conclusion, we do aim to continue highlighting new, early-stage companies. We hope this focused list helps that cause.
Thanks to our sponsor
We’re confident we included most of Iowa’s startups below, but we’re also undoubtedly sure we’ve missed some along the way. To suggest an addition, please contact editor@siliconprairienews.com.
Nominate: Submit nominations for all 12 categories of the Silicon Prairie Awards. What company below is deserving of Startup of the Year or Mobile App of the Year? Or which founder deserves Startup Executive of the Year? You tell us—nominations are open through Friday.
Join us: Tickets are on sale now for our annual community celebration.
Des Moines area
Descriptions taken verbatim from company Twitter accounts.
Appcore automates the business of cloud computing®. Appcore delivers local cloud infrastructure for Enterprise Private Clouds and Service Provider Public Clouds. |
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Bawte is the product catalog of your life. Tag what you bought and instantly register with the brand. Fingertip access to manuals, service, videos and so much more! |
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Bettrlife • @bettrlife (Urbandale, Iowa) BettrLife is an innovative health and wellness platform designed to engage your audience through Mobile Health Coaching. |
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Bid On My Job • @bidonmyjob (Johnston, Iowa) Helping Consumers and Business Connect |
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Change is a cash register app for the iPad. It’s an ideal point of sale solution for independent businesses such as coffee shops and quick-serve restaurants. |
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Online & your phone, Dwolla’s payment network lets you seamlessly send & receive cash thru your social networks, e-mail or location. |
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eDossea brings Dental professionals the newest form of securely sharing and storing health records between offices & Dental Labs. |
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A networking tool for construction individuals and companies. |
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Funeral Innovations • @funeralinnovate Funeral Innovations creates web, mobile and social solutions to help funeral homes grow. |
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Goodsmiths • @goodsmiths (West Des Moines, Iowa) Goodsmiths is the marketplace for makers. We help makers become smarter & more efficient at creating and selling their goods. |
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Hatchlings (AlphaBrawl) • @hatchlings • @alphabrawlgame The world’s largest virtual Easter egg hunt! |
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Jet Set Studio (Tournament Seeker) • @JetSetStudio • @TourneySeeker We develop, promote & manage interactive video game events all around North America. Our innovative product, TourneySeeker, is a search engine for eSports. |
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Local music streaming – live in central IA and MSP. Open the app, pick a genre, and hear great local bands. |
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My Diabetes Home • @mydiabeteshome My Diabetes Home is a breakthrough personal technology platform to help you manage your diabetes. Control your health easily, with the latest technology! |
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Phonebank.org • @Phone_Banking Organize Different. Find and create calling campaigns at http://www.phonebank.org. Want to call Congress? Try our free Digital Switchboard @ 202-999-3371. |
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Safe email for children – A parent-managed advertising-free, SPAM-free service for kids 5 and up. |
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You Dream. We Design. |
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Real Estate Fan Pages • @REFanPages We provide the tools and training to make agent’s ‘Like’able! |
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We build recruiting tools to help you discover and research candidates. |
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Tikly is a ticketing platform that offers lower service fees & opens revenue streams for bands/venues/events. It’s your show, they’re your tickets. |
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Torsion Mobile (Mojaba) • @torsion_mobile • @mojaba The Makers of the Mojaba family of products, we build tools for effective marketing in a mobile world. |
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The official Twitter account for Vookbag. Make your classroom a community. |
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VolunteerLocal • @volunteerlocal Free online volunteer management software for any event. |
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Workstreamz Solutions (Vue-Matrix) • @workstreamz • @vuematrix (West Des Moines, Iowa) Vue-Matrix is a collaborative, web-based Project Risk Management Software that helps you manage your risks efficiently! |
Iowa City and Cedar Rapids
Bandwidth Pool • @bandwidthpool (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Identifying, evaluating and buying internet service for your office is challenging! Luckily, Bandwidth Pool has simplified your internet buying experience! |
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clusterFlunk • @clusterflunk (Iowa City, Iowa) The way our generation does education. Upload, share, and talk with your university classmates. Browse archived semesters. |
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Cyber-Anatomy • @cyberanatomy (Coralville, Iowa) Award winning company developing state of the art interactive 3D anatomy & science content for K-12 to MedVR. Explore, dissect, and manipulate over 200 models! |
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Dibzees • @dibzees (Iowa City, Iowa) The new, fun and exciting way to shop! |
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Health Tech Hatch • @healthtechhatch (Iowa City, Iowa) HTH is dedicated to launching early-stage innovations in #healthcare and putting them into the hands of patients, physicians, and consumers | Create-Test-Fund. |
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Higher Learning Technologies • @HigherLearnTech (Coralville, Iowa) Revolutionizing test prep and learning through the mobile platform. #AdaptiveLearning #TestPrep |
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Koala Pay • @koalapay (Iowa City, Iowa) Koala Pay is the rewarding way to pay. |
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Mazira • @mazira (Iowa City, Iowa) Mazira is a suite of enterprise-level tools for storing, searching, and delivering millions of digital documents around the office or around the world. |
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NextStep.io • @nextstep_io (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Visualize how daily routine affects physical activity – signup to test! Supports Nike+ FuelBand, FitBit & More! Nike+ Techstars Alum |
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Telepharm • @TelePharmTech (Iowa City, Iowa) The most advanced telepharmacy solution. |
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Tutor Universe • @tutoruniverse (Iowa City, Iowa) The largest free-market social learning community dedicated to helping students with coaching and tutoring. |
Elsewhere in Iowa
Banno • @bannohq (Cedar Falls, Iowa) Banno provides data-enriched Web and transaction marketing services with a focus on the mobile medium as its principal means of delivery. |
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Brace Ability • @BraceAbility (Waterloo, Iowa) We provide the latest and most affordable #orthopedic #braces, supports and supplies online! |
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PlayTagger • @playtagger (Indianola, Iowa) PlayTagger is your hassle free way to #GetSeen. |
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Syncbak • @syncbak (Marion, Iowa) TV on Apple & Android devices, over the top of the internet. Released market-by-market with TV station participation. |
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TourneyMachine • @tourneymachine (Ames, Iowa) Spend less time, keep everyone informed and walk into your next tournament in control. Simplify your next tournament. |
Hat Tips: AngelList, Startup Genome and Seed Here’s Andy Stoll for uncovering startups we didn’t have on our radar, and Rick Turoczy of Silicon Florist for the list idea.