Iowa State’s entrepreneurial ecosystem helps two energy startups set their paths
By chance, the founders of two energy startups aiming to commercialize campus discoveries enrolled in Cohort 14 of the Iowa State University Startup Factory.
During the fall ’23 semester, they attended two-hour sessions on Tuesdays, one-hour workshops on Thursdays and weekly one-on-ones with an assigned mentor. Starting with the assumption that the founders knew little to nothing about starting a business, discussions began with definitions of a startup and eventually got to finance, marketing, law, intellectual property and the like.
The founders wrote commercialization plans for their companies – Rise Energy and Upcycling+. Both are startups that aim to produce liquid fuels and other valuable products from underused biomass or waste plastic. Those plans included a market summary, thoughts on overcoming barriers to entering the marketplace, financials and an 18-month roadmap.
They developed and rehearsed a five-minute pitch, in business-speak, for prospective investors, grant programs or competitions.
