Cedar Rapids The Iowa Economic Development Authority on Friday awarded a $100,000 loan to Bandwith Pool, the Cedar Rapids startup that wants to make it easier for businesses to find reliable and affordable Internet providers. The assistance came through the state's Demonstration Fund, a fund that aims to help potential high-growth companies reach a position where they're able to attract later-stage private sector funding. When we first covered Bandwidth Pool in March, it had just released its public beta—users could sign up, pay … read more

Cedar Rapids We take internet access for granted, but a reliable connection is crucial to the success of many businesses. Of course, a stable network with breakneck speeds isn't cheap—especially for larger companies. Ben Anderson thinks he can save office-based buyers bags of cash—and a lot of grief—with his new venture, Bandwidth Pool. … read more

Cedar Rapids RecBob is celebrating its first birthday with a trip to DEMO. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based startup, which was founded one year ago at Startup Weekend Iowa City, has been selected to present at DEMO Fall 2012, which takes place Monday through Wednesday in Santa Clara, Calif. The technology and innovation conference has served as the coming out party for startups like TiVo and E-Trade. "DEMO is a nice opportunity for us because it gives us the eyes and ears of millions of people that will help grow our base of users,” RecBob co-founder Chris Quartier said in a release. "The interest we gather … read more

Cedar Rapids John Schnipkoweit (left), the co-founder and now former CTO of Ovation Networks in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has gone full-time with an idea he first pitched at Startup Weekend Iowa City in October. And he's not alone. "I've sold all of my shares in Ovation Networks to my co-founder," Schnipkoweit said in an email interview on Friday. "There are three of us that are going ahead on RecBob full-time and two going part-time." Schnipkoweit, who's taken on the role of CEO, said RecBob is bootstrapping … read more

Cedar Rapids Downtown Cedar Rapids is getting an office space like it has never seen before. Vault, a coworking and collaboration space located on the fifth floor of the historic Guranty Bank Building (302 3rd Ave SE), is offering free community workspace every Wednesday in August for area entrepreneurs and creatives with plans for a full business launch this fall. Vault is a partnership of Corridor CoWorks and Seed Here. Corridor CoWorks owner Theresa Bornbach has created … read more