What is Iowa Startup Week? The inaugural 4-day conference is coming to Des Moines, Iowa and will draw startup talent, investors and startup ecosystem advocates from the entire midwest. Founder Kaylee Williams (and host of our own Iowa Tech Podcast) joins us to break down the event, who’s behind it, and why now is the time to start it.
Iowa Startup Week: At a glance
Date: September 28 – October 1st.
Location: Des Moines, IA
Website: iowastartupweek.com
A Four-Day Event: A comprehensive four-day conference packed with speakers, educational workshops, and multiple programming tracks.
“Best of the Midwest” Pitch Competition: The “backbone” of the week, featuring 30 regional startup semifinalists pitching throughout the week.
Main Stage Finals: A free, flagship event on Thursday night, October 1st, at Hoyt Sherman, where the top three startup finalists will compete on stage.
Massive Outdoor Festival Footprint: A vibrant resource fair, food trucks, and a beer garden taking over the Gateway District near the Sculpture Park.
The JPEC 30-Year Anniversary: A special celebration on Tuesday night in the Sculpture Garden honoring John Pappajohn’s legacy, bringing together all the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers from across the state.
Broad Industry Under the Tent: Content and networking tailored around three core platforms: bioscience, advanced manufacturing, and innovative technology/enterprise SaaS.
Deep Programming: Access to a packed agenda of concurrent satellite events scattered all around Startup Week, with exclusive perks unlocked by your conference attendee badge.
High-Value “Collisions”: Organic opportunities to network directly with regional co-founders, local innovators, and coastal investors.
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The Iowa startup ecosystem has historically operated like a sine wave, characterized by distinct peaks and valleys. Reflecting on the last major peak around 2011 and 2012, Kaylee Williams, notes the rapid scaling of companies like Dwolla, the growth of Workiva before it achieved unicorn status, and active entrepreneurial hubs operating out of spaces like Startup City. While it can be discouraging to navigate the downturns, the long-term trend line shows that each subsequent valley remains higher than the last.
Rather than trying to replicate the high-water marks of Silicon Valley or Boston, Williams believes Iowa’s strength lies in serving as a strategic hub that offers a low cost of living and high quality of life. “We don’t have to be Silicon Valley,” Williams said. “We don’t have to be California. We’ll never be those ecosystems.” She emphasizes that the region possesses a distinct competitive advantage by leveraging innovations out of Iowa State University in agtech, and the University of Iowa in healthcare and med-tech. Furthermore, Iowa ranks second in the nation for agriculture, positioning it perfectly at the forefront of the modern movement to fix food and improve longevity.
Shaking the Community Awake with Iowa Startup Week
A primary hurdle in the local ecosystem is a deeply ingrained culture of risk aversion, which often manifests during investor-founder negotiations. To push past this hurdle, Williams spent 2025 laying the groundwork for Iowa Startup Week 2026. “We need to shake this community awake because there has never been a better time to build something new, not in Iowa, not anywhere, and we cannot get left behind,” Williams explained.
The four-day technology conference features speakers, workshops, and the Best of the Midwest Pitch Competition. Anchored at Hoyt Sherman on Thursday, October 1st, the free final event will narrow 30 semifinalists down to three companies. The week will also host the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center‘s 30-year anniversary celebration in the Sculpture Garden. Ultimately, Williams hopes the conference drives intentional collisions that spark new co-founder partnerships and attract coastal capital. “The ecosystem as a result of this event, it simply looks like there are more, more founders, more startup companies, more failures, but more successes too,” Williams said.