Iowa Startup Fair & Coworking Space Ribbon Cutting in Downtown Cedar Rapids January 31
Innovators from across Eastern Iowa will gather in downtown Cedar Rapids from 3-6PM on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012 to celebrate big ideas, the regional, statewide and national startup movement, and the opening of the region’s first entrepreneur and startup-focused coworking space, Vault Coworking & Collaboration Space. Hosted by Seed Here, the Entrepreneurial Development Center (EDC), Corridor Coworks Conference Center and Startup Iowa, this event, taking place at Vault, is free. The public is encouraged to attend.
Tuesday, January 31 Schedule:
- 3:00PM Iowa Startup Fair and Open House for Vault and the new Corridor Coworks Conference Center
- 4:30PM Vault Ribbon Cutting & Toasts
- 5:00PM Startup Drinks Cedar Rapids #7
Drinks and light refreshments will be provided throughout the afternoon by the EDC. Please RSVP at StartupFairCR.eventbrite.com to help the organizers with space and refreshment planning.
“We’re calling it an unofficial Startup Day. The fair and other events will be a great opportunity to take an afternoon to celebrate the innovative ideas and the people cultivating them in our community,” said Amanda Styron, Founding Partner of Seed Here and Vault Coworking & Collaboration Space. “At the same time we are participating in statewide Iowa Startup Fair, we are also commemorating the opening and first members of Vault, the region’s first entrepreneur and startup focused coworking space. Business and community leaders with a vested interest in our region’s future should stop by on January 31 and meet some of the area’s up-and-coming innovators.”
ABOUT THE EVENT
Iowa Startup Fair
The Iowa Startup Fair is a multi-city statewide event that will take place concurrently in Des Moines (Midland, Bank of America, and Liberty buildings downtown), Pella (Central College and Veel Hoeden), Cedar Falls (Far Reach Technologies) and Cedar Rapids. The fair will run from 3 to 6PM across the state and is free both for exhibitors and visitors.
The fair is designed to help local entrepreneurs at various stages of development showcase their projects for local businesses, investors, and community members. Fair attendees are encouraged to meet local entrepreneurs, get to know their products, cheer them on and connect them to resources and people who may be able to help them get to the next stage of business.
Startups registered for the Cedar Rapids fair include: ActiveGrade, RecBob, Flat-D Innovations, and Josa Enterprises. More to come! Startups interested in participating, are invited to register at startupia.org/startup-fair to reserve display space. Display space is free but limited.
Vault Ribbon Cutting
At 4:30PM Seed Here, Corridor Coworks and other key partners will officially commemorate the opening of Vault Coworking & Collaboration Space, a flexible and affordable shared office and community space designed for entrepreneurs and creatives. Vault provides desks, outlets, coffee, meeting space and supportive coworkers, with the aim to create a productive and collaborative work environment for startups, innovators, entrepreneurs and creatives in the heart of downtown Cedar Rapids. The business community, local startups, entrepreneurs and curious citizens are invited to join the celebration and meet Vault’s first members.
A short program and toasts to innovation, collaboration and community will begin at 4:30PM. An open house for Vault and the new Corridor Coworks Conference Center (on the floor above) will go from 3 to 6PM.
Startup Drinks Cedar Rapids #7
At 5PM, entrepreneurs, innovators and creatives are invited to meet in the Vault common space for Startup Drinks CR #7. A drinking group with a startup problem, Startup Drinks is an informal gathering to talk about startup ideas in the works, new resources for entrepreneurs and how the group members can help each other make their big ideas happen. Startup Drinks is free—the Entrepreneurial Development Center will provide the drinks and everyone is welcome.
Directions & Parking
Vault's address is 222 3rd Street SE, Suite 500. The space is located on the 5th floor of the Guaranty Bank Building on the corner of 3rd St and 3rd Ave SE in downtown Cedar Rapids. To reach Vault, enter the building through the bank and take the elevator to the 5th floor. There you will be greeted by energetic entrepreneurs. Metered street parking is available and a surface lot is located directly next to the building (parking lot entrance is on 3rd Ave by the ATM drive through, cost is $0.75 an hour).
Event Contacts:
Amanda Styron, Seed Here & Vault Founding Partner
(319) 400-7782
amanda@seedhere.org
Andy Stoll, Seed Here & Vault Founding Partner
(424) 888-2434
andy@seedhere.org
ABOUT THE EVENT HOSTS
Startup Iowa
StartupIowa was the eighth region to join the Startup America Partnership, a national effort to encourage and accelerate entrepreneurship across the country.
StartupIowa is a combination of people and organizations from the entrepreneurial ecosystem around the state. StartupIowa does not aim to create new organizations or programs, but rather to highlight the wealth of existing programs and organizations and help connect entrepreneurs with those resources.
Seed Here
Founded Independence Day 2011, Seed Here cultivates the conditions and community that give entrepreneurs the best possible chance to thrive in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids region.
By developing new partnerships, networks, events, resources, tools and relationships, Seed Here seeks to grow a thriving and prosperous entrepreneurial ecosystem leveraging resources and knowledge across the Silicon Prairie, the country and the world.
The EDC
Established in 2003, the Entrepreneurial Development Center, Inc. (EDC) is a private/public sponsored business accelerator. The EDC's mission is to provide economic growth in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Corridor and throughout Iowa through the expansion and development of entrepreneurial enterprise.
The EDC's primary function is to connect entrepreneurial needs with qualified community and state resources and to provide hands-on professional and business direction. While working with both emerging and existing businesses, EDC supports the development and commercialization of new products and new technologies. Staffed by seasoned veterans, EDC helps entrepreneurs maximize their success by helping them navigate resources, strengthen knowledge, improve skills, form strategic alliances, and secure proper capitalization.
The Corridor Coworks Conference Center
The Corridor Coworks Conference Center provides flexible conference space for businesses and individuals who need to host meetings, luncheons, receptions and other events in downtown Cedar Rapids. The space offers a variety of affordably priced options including conference rooms, reception space, off-site work space, luncheon meeting space, strategic planning work rooms, and HD video conferencing. Small businesses, independent professionals, corporations and nonprofits enjoy this affordable, all-in-one workplace.
