Silicon Prairie News

West Des Moines Articles
INTERVIEWS

‘Hacker spirit’ pushes Shift’s Sinclair to keep tinkering, building

3594_33823b722b_small February 8, 2012 by Michael Stacy

West Des Moines If it’s Friday and it’s lunchtime and Ben Sinclair isn’t at Performance Marketing’s West Des Moines offices, it’s a pretty safe bet where he is instead. He’s making a beeline to the buffet line. Mind you, he’s not there for the fare — Sinclair gives the food a review that’s lukewarm at best — but to satisfy another appetite. “The food isn’t the best,” Sinclair said. “But it’s mainly an excuse to get together and talk about radio stuff.” Sinclair, 33, is a developer of Web … read more

NEWS

SmartyPig named to Entrepreneur’s ‘100 Brilliant Companies’ list

2347_248fab82c1_small June 6, 2011 by Geoff Wood

West Des Moines SmartyPig, the West Des Moines-based online social savings company that bills itself as a "free online piggy bank," was … read more

NEWS

Entrepreneurial Technologies debuts altruo.us

2164_fab2853342_small April 28, 2011 by Geoff Wood

West Des Moines Entrepreneurial Technologies announced the debut of a new service, altro.us, late Wednesday. I caught up with Erin Ginkens, the company's president, over email to learn about it. Silicon Prairie News: What is altro.us? Erin Ginkens: It’s a giving platform that focuses on the individual and allows them to raise money online on behalf of their favorite charities, without the need for a fancy (and expensive) custom website. It also lets charities have their own pages to collect donations. We decided to emphasize simplicity over … read more

INTERVIEWS

With marketing mojo, eComegy’s Justin Schoen helps clients connect

2050_01fe960691_small April 12, 2011 by Christopher New

West Des Moines Justin Schoen won't build your e-commerce website. That is to say that he's not a designer. Though his business is helping businesses market themselves online, don't just assume he's all about web design. "A lot of people ask," Schoen said as he sat in office in Clive, Iowa. It's a point of confusion that the University of Iowa graduate and MBA student is quick to clear up. He has a couple of experienced firms he consults that do design work… read more

NEWS

GeoLearning acquired by SumTotal Systems

1641_4406080d46_small January 5, 2011 by Geoff Wood

West Des Moines Last year's Technology Association of Iowa's large "Software Company of the Year," GeoLearning, announced this morning that they have been acquired by SumTotal Systems of Gainesville, Florida. The West Des Moines-based company builds solutions for the learning management systems industry and claims more than 800 clients across a broad spectrum of fields. Here's the press release sent out today… read more

INTERVIEWS

Chris Burns, Nate Becker & Ben Sinclair share the SHift story

1596_86d4292ee6_small December 22, 2010 by Christopher New

West Des Moines Most don’t have it easy when they launch their startups. Companies will universally go through the initial process of finding office space, or converting a basement into workspace, building a client list, or finding vendors and consultants for day-to-day needs. SHift, a web and mobile application development firm founded this past February by Ben Sinclair, Nate Becker and Chris Burns, had a leg up… read more

NEWS

SmartyPig announces new banking partner BBVA Compass

963_acd803d8bd_small June 7, 2010 by Geoff Wood

West Des Moines This morning, SmartyPig, a social banking startup headquartered in West Des Moines, announced they are moving to a new banking partner, BBVA Compass. read more

NEWS

City of West Des Moines opens business plan competition

887_0c803dbf02_small May 8, 2010 by Geoff Wood

West Des Moines The City of West Des Moines, the Mid Iowa Small Business Development Center, and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced that they are accepting applications for their business plan competition. Top prize in the competition is a seed capital award of $25,000, prizes of $15,000… read more

NEWS

City of West Des Moines announces business plan class and competition

691_0686de34c1_small March 2, 2010 by Geoff Wood

West Des Moines Working in conjunction with the Small Business Administration, the City of West Des Moines’ Community and Economic Development office has opened up a 20 seat “New Beginnings” small business class as preparation for business plan competition this summer. That competition, to be held on dates not yet determined, will feature prizes of $10,000, $15,000, and $25,000. This course will meet weekly for seven weeks at the Des Moines Area Community College West campus in West Des Moines… read more

NEWS

EntreFest! for small businesses comes to West Des Moines

635_cf3a8db022_small February 12, 2010 by Geoff Wood

West Des Moines Later this month the third iteration of EntreFest! will be take place at the West Des Moines Marriott. I caught up with Amy Kuhlers, a Program Manager with MyEntre.Net an "entrepreneurship support system" out of the University of Northern Iowa's Regional Business Center in Cedar Falls, who is coordinating the event. In the Q&A below, Amy tells us what to expect from the event, why you should attend, and more about the MyEntre.Net program. read more