Des Moines Here we go again with the ag stuff. As most of my friends will tell you, it peeves me when the national media stereotypes Iowa based on its agricultural history. By almost any account, Dwolla's announcement Tuesday of its $16.5 million Series C round led by Andreessen Horowitz was a great thing for Des Moines' startup community. It brought continued attention to what's been growing here, added more than 30 startup jobs here … read more

Kansas City Storytelling is a beautiful, ever-evolving art form and Instagram is one of its vehicles. As I was scrolling through my feed last Friday, I stopped for a second to reflect on the events of the past few months and the impact of those events on the Kansas City startup community. Our inaugural Big Kansas City event came and went with high fives and smiles, moments of inspiration and moments that emotionally moved each of us. Standing to the side of the stage as Scott … read more

Des Moines Iowans are everywhere; at least that's how it feels to me. I'm the type of person that loves to catalog and share random knowledge, and when I learn that someone has a connection to this state I make a mental note of it. Those connections – people born, raised, educated or who otherwise lived here for a significant amount of time but have now moved elsewhere – are what we're calling "expats." As I wrote … read more

Des Moines Growing the Silicon Prairie startup community has been part of our organization's mission since its earliest days. That includes drawing attention to new startups, shining a spotlight on those making strides, sharing news about great events in the region and highlighting the folks working hard behind the scenes. When I presented "Silicon Prairie News, the Startup," at 1 Million Cups - Des Moines a few weeks ago, one of the questions asked of me was: "What are you doing to bring new people … read more

Kansas City As the momentum of Kansas City's entrepreneurial ecosystem continues to grow and success stories are built, the sustainability of a thriving Silicon Prairie will depend on the quantity and quality of the talent pipeline feeding startups. Developing relationships between the local startup scene and the next generation of talent is a critical piece to our future. A student group tour of Kansas City Startup Village last week opened the door to a new awareness. … read more

With more than 1,300 posts published in 2012, it wasn't easy to choose just 10 stories for our annual look at the past year's biggest stories in the Silicon Prairie. When doing so, I kept coming across stories that even though they didn't belong on the list, they deserved to be shared. From a Microsoft acquisition to a "Silicon Prairie" mention on "The Office," here are 12 stories from 2012 that are worth reading again. … read more

Eyes were on the Silicon Prairie in 2012 as the startup community in and around Kansas City, Omaha and Des Moines earned attention from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company and other outlets. Startups like Dwolla, MindMixer and Hudl were mentioned in many of those stories, as their milestones have earned them a place in the public eye. But who will be the Silicon Prairie startups in those same stories in 2013? For the second year …  read more

Des Moines The Dec. 20 issue of The New Republic magazine includes an article — published online as "Silicon Valley’s Profit-Killing Provincialism" and in print as "No Angels" — by Lydia DePillis on the trials of raising capital outside Silicon Valley. The story includes insights from John Schnipkoweit, founder of Cedar Rapids-based RecBob, and John Jackovin, founder of Des Moines-based Bawte … read more