Medicis of the Midwest

Part 1 of a 3-part series on early-stage capital across Iowa

We are a species wired to create. But creation—especially in business—requires more than inspiration. It also requires capital.

This story today focuses on foundational seed capital and the ecosystem of private investors that exists to invest in new businesses. The state has a remarkable set of decades-old public funding sources as well as formal venture capital that I’ll revisit in later articles. The ecosystem of private capital is unique and its discussion timely in light of the upcoming annual Iowa Angel Investor Summit returning on November 18, 2025.

A big obstacle in an entrepreneurial journey

We are a species that learned to provide for itself and its immediate dependents by creating things of value to others. Though the industrial revolution took us from individual means of production to group employment, a segment of society chose to remain fiercely independent. Finding or creating their opportunity, these independent souls actively change almost all forms of production and consumption. But starting remains elusive to many and hard for nearly everyone.

Startup capital is the bare necessity — whether to buy land for a farm, equipment for a consulting business, tools for a trade, building for a plant or software for a YouTube channel. Many prospective entrepreneurs lean on personal savings or side work to raise that early capital while others tap into resources from friends and family. This earliest stage of funding is the unsung hero of the continued growth in entrepreneurship.

The three Fs of money - friends, families, and fools

When entrepreneurs share their idea or concept with their three Fs, the general reaction tends toward implicit financial and emotion support - after all they are the closest and forever cheerleaders. The three Fs add excitement to the venture.

When able, the Fs are also the most likely to contribute personal funds to support the venture. These early funds come with the fewest strings attached, are intended to be supportive and often, undocumented. These funds may be as small as a parent funding a child’s lemonade stand, spurring the idea of making money from one’s own labor. It is a check written to buy early supplies or inventories, funds to register a name/company with the Secretary of State, legal fees, education in a trade or skill, and often even buying the entrepreneur’s first product.

Support from the 3Fs establishes confidence and allows the entrepreneur to conjure a future different from the present. Some of the largest names in business today found their start with a partnership formed in schools and colleges - Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Google’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Ben & Jerry’s Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield and numerous other stories bear similar beginnings. We have seen such stories on this Substack in Parsons Technology, Social Money, and Grand Consulting to name just a few

Angels

Patronage has honored and supported creation since the Renaissance - Da Vinci, Botticelli and Michaelangelo - all backed by the Medici family. This method of financing persisted through the 20th century when movie makers found support for their movie dreams. A transition began toward business support for ventures aligned with their knowledge or interest. By the 1970s a practice and the word had cemented itself in the vernacular, and angel investing and angels were born.

Angels in the US today comprise active startup entrepreneurs, retirees, corporate executives, small business owners, investment groups, real estate investors, and others who meet investor criteria established by the Securities and Exchange commission. A set of income and ability guidelines are administered by the SEC to ensure that those who invest in new companies understand the risks and are able to withstand losses. Though the paternalistic rules aren’t welcomed by many, they remain the current law under purview of the US Congress.

These rules state that those who invest in a company must have a minimum of 200K in personal or 300K in family income or a net worth of 1M or greater. Though there are other criteria (link above), the above three thresholds are most commonly met. These numbers represent a significant and growing part of Iowa’s population thus enabling potential for growth in rural and urban centers.

History of Central Iowa Angel Groups

Startup community ecosystem building activity increased significantly in the 2010s with the formation of Startup City Des Moines incubator, an active news and media community with the Des Moines Register, Business Record and Silicon Prairie News. The metro business community actively sponsored events to spur entrepreneurship in greater numbers. Speakers and conferences of national allure found Des Moines. Yet, the ecosystem builders observed that startups were still limited to the three Fs. Many maintained a second job to ensure a livelihood and benefits.

Recognizing a vacuum of formal angel investing, the ecosystem builders looked near and far, to Rockies Venture Club in Denver and Gopher Angels in Minneapolis. They looked north to Ames, where Ames Seed Capital had already built community and successes in companies such as Engineering Animation that had been formed with talent and ideas born on the ISU campus.

Ames Seed Capital

Sponsored by the Ames Regional Economic Alliance, the Ames Seed Capital group began operations in 1986 as a for-profit entity as part of an economic development portfolio of tools. It has created several funds over its life and comprises nearly 100 investors today with investments in numerous successful companies. Some, such as Engineering Animation, Workiva and NewLink Genetics, have grown to the epitome of startup success - an IPO on the national public markets.

Plains Angels

Plains Angels formed the group’s thesis and launched with two startups presenting in July 2012. An ag-tech company from Carroll and a med-tech company from Iowa City were the first two presenters. Both found interested angels and secured investment in the group’s early days, the first eventually finding a successful outcome in an acquisition.

The group’s membership has steadily grown and stands at nearly 100 today. Members span a wide age-range and are active and retired entrepreneurs, corporate executives, solopreneurs, venture funds, and hail from the metro and beyond. They receive two pitches from nearly 50 companies seeking funding each month. Of the 20-24 presenters annually, approximately 8-10 pique one or more investors’ interest and raise funds.

The group’s portfolio now consists of nearly 70 companies.

FIN Capital

Just as Plains Angels was being born, a series of events was underway a few hundred miles south. The Blue Valley School district in Overland Park, KS had created curricula to accelerate STEM education with practical applications to rave reviews. Iowa’s own STEM programs was growing and routinely sought inspiration for its own growth. The then Lt. Governor Reynolds led the STEM initiative for Iowa and was intrigued by the Blue Valley experiment.

She led a delegation to find the district’s secret sauce. In addition to the district, local organizers introduced the delegation to Women’s Capital Connection, an angel group comprising of all women in the Kansas City region. Inspired by both entities, they brought back lessons learned to further bolster STEM programming and helped the Waukee School District launch APEX. They also sponsored the ideation, creation, and leadership to launch FIN Capital under the guidance of The Iowa Center.

Spreading Beyond Des Moines

Investors who meet the SEC’s accreditation criteria aren’t limited to the Des Moines metro. Numerous groups of varying sizes have been born in other population centers such as Ankeny, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Spencer. Ankeny Angels, another long-running and prolific group of Ankeny-based angel investors is an active partner to Plains Angels and FIN Capital.

Shortly after Plains Angels formed in 2012, one of the presenting companies sought an introduction to Nebraska Angels. An idea was born during that call to create a regional group, the Midwest Angel Syndicate. Born in December 2012, it first connected Nebraska Angels, Gopher Angels (MN) and Plains Angels via a handshake to share investment-ready companies. That loosely held partnership persists to this day and now encompasses angel groups from SD, MN, NE, IL, CO, MO, KS, OK with guests sometimes dropping in from LA, OH and ND.

The Iowa Angel Investor Summit

This collaboration and syndication bring us back to the summit I mentioned at the beginning of this article. We have found immense value in the creative collisions that occur when all five entrepreneurial stakeholder groups - entrepreneurs, universities, risk capital, government and corporate entities - convene.

The first occurrence of the summit in 2018 brought members of the Midwest Angel Syndicate to Des Moines to learn, collaborate and invest in nine startups who pitched at the event. The summit hibernated until being revived again in 2022 by Diana Wright of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. It returns on Nov 18, 2025, larger and with greater content for entrepreneurs, prospective entrepreneurs, active and prospective investors.

Extrapolated from wealth indices and economic indicator surveys, there are nearly 70,000 households across Iowa that meet the accredited investor criteria mentioned earlier. Of the 70,000, the number of individuals exposed to this market remains well below 500. The summit is an effort to educate and inform more about the angel community, help interested groups learn about the risks and potential rewards, and provide a venue for entrepreneurs to meet prospective angels.

Why attend the summit?

One does not need to be an accredited angel investor or startup entrepreneur to attend. We are seeking to educate and inform.

The summit begins the evening prior to the full day with attendees welcomed to an optional class designed to be an introduction to angel investing. We will talk about what differentiates angels from venture capital, public markets and other forms of buying a company. We delve into portfolio construction and best practices without a pressure, obligation or expectation for writing a check. Our goal that evening is to educate and inform.

The day of the summit is intended to spur creative thinking, starting with the venue. The stunning Krause Gateway Center will serve as our venue and, surrounded by the Pappajohn Sculpture Park outside and art indoors, attendees will experience a series of sessions curated to showcase entrepreneurship.

In the keynote, attendees will be introduced to an Iowa inventor/entrepreneur who invented her creation out of her own need, commercialized the product via a national brand and store. She has recently extended her success through an investment on ABC’s Shark Tank and will share her story.

Attendees will hear from experienced panelists on what it takes to analyze terms of an investment, view lightning rounds from venture capital, angel investments and learn about the various tax credits available when Iowa investors invest in Iowa funds or companies.

The day will end with fundraising presentations from six companies. There is no obligation for anyone to invest but the diversity of the platforms presented, industries addressed, and the problems solved are worthy of attention. Plains Angels will share how interested angels can optionally further review the presenting companies for their own portfolio. New and existing members have invested in 13 such companies since 2018 spanning technology, manufacturing, ag-tech, education, NIL and college sports, medical innovations and services.

Diana Wright of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, Safiya Lee-Evans of InnoVenture Iowa, Ethan Pitt of Iowa Area Development Group and I hope you’ll attend. More event and signup details are available at the link below.

Angel investing is more than buying a part of a nascent company and possibly profiting from the investment. It is also about finding inspiration through an entrepreneur’s vision, it is building something with someone passionate enough to give it their all, it is guiding an entrepreneur, building your community, city and region. It extends beyond philanthropy or economic development and is, for current and past entrepreneurs, executives and visionaries a way to multiply their impact on their communities by spurring, sponsoring and investing in growth.

I hope you’ll join us in seeing this part of Iowa too!

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I am grateful for the incredible Iowa Writers Collaborative community which inspires me through its curiosity, writing, poetry, songwriting, photography, and selfless service. You can experience the vastness of its expertise here.