Iowa Startup Collective Roundup
Entrepreneurship through the lens of Iowa writers and creatives
Success Leaves Clues: Exploring Iowa’s Business Stories
After graduating from Iowa State University, David Safris took his grandfather's advice to heart: "Show up early and work harder and longer than everyone else."
Tej Dhawan’s latest story dives into the early beginnings of Safris’ startup, S2, the merger with Visionary Systems, and its eventual split into two DSM-recognized entities: ESO (Downtown DSM) and Visionary Services (East Village).
Safris, now known affectionately as “Grandpa Dave,” continues to be involved at Visionary Services, offering advice and leadership from the board.
Story link: David Safris, Constraints, and their role in innovation & growth
Next up is the success of Norand Corporation, founded in 1968 by engineers from Collins Avionics. Based in Cedar Rapids, the startup created data entry devices designed to address challenges in inventory tracking, theft prevention, and spoilage—issues prevalent in the retail and food industries.
Tej writes about the people behind Norand’s success. Figures like Mike Colwell, along with peers Rick Terrell, Paul Beard, and Craig McDermott, contributed to the development of critical technologies and software. After the company’s acquisition, Colwell became a key figure in Iowa’s entrepreneurial community, helping shape the state's business ecosystem through his work at the Greater Des Moines Partnership that helped foster the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Story link: The hard thing about hard(ware) things
The Lens Through Lived Experience
From Clayton Mooney’s experience building KinoSol and Clayton Farms, he shares his key lessons about intellectual property.
He writes about how IP strategy should align with your goals: If your mission is to solve a global problem quickly, open source might be the best path. If you're building a venture-backed company in a competitive field, IP protection might still be necessary, but with an eye on speed to market. Dive in below!
Story link: The Best IP Attorneys Don’t Just File Patents—They Innovate
Diving into Jay Cooper’s Substack corner, he advises how the entrepreneurship journey begins with solving your problems, big or small. For instance, Cooper’s app, Cider Finder, was inspired by the simple problem of wanting to know which local spots had certain types of cider.
Story link: Getting Started Involves Looking Inward
If you're looking to gain early support, make marketing easier, and build a loyal following, growing in public might just be the right approach for your startup.
Adam Viet’s latest shares how in the past, startups operated in secrecy, with founders working in “stealth mode” until their product was ready for launch. Today, however, some founders are embracing transparency.
Story link: Building in Public
In Mikayla Mooney’s latest Ag Startup Engine post, she argues that capital should be seen as a tool, not a trophy. Excess funding can remove the constraints that drive creativity and urgency, causing startups to lose focus.
Through her experience with bootstrapping, she shares how leveraging available resources and staying resourceful can often be a more effective path to success than chasing the next funding round.
Story link: Raising Millions Won’t Save Your Startup
PODCAST CORNER
Moneyball Before Moneyball: Ewing Kauffman and the Royals Baseball Academy (Kevin Kimle)
Unlocking the Future: Dive into Crypto, Blockchain, and Decentralization with Scott Herren (Kaylee Williams)
Join the Iowa Startup Collective! If you are interested in being a writer or are already publishing content via a different channel (podcast, blog, articles, etc), please fill out the interest form here.
Proud to be a partner of the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative
Jay Cooper: We Are All EntrePartners
Tej Dhawan: A cultural record of Central Iowa’s technology
Kevin Kimle
Mikayla Mooney: Ag Startup Engine
Clayton Mooney: Open Clayton
Sree Nilakanta
Adam Viet: Iowa’s Startup Silo
Kaylee Williams
Diana Wright: Startup Iowa Hot List and Iowa Startup Collective
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this Substack are my own and those of each writer. The views do not reflect my employer or place of work.
Thanks for sharing!
good to see this group, by chance I wrote a small piece in part of entrepreneurship last week you may like: https://stevesemken.substack.com/p/the-invisible-is-just-so-obvious