Summer Startup Tour: Summary & Photo Gallery
July 16, 2021
We enjoyed being part of stop #2 of the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Summer Startup Tour. Diana Wright of the Partnership kicked off the event and introduced Justin Brady, Founder of The Justin Brady Show as the moderator. The panel, focused on physical product startups, included our very own Gabriel Glynn, CEO and Co-Founder of MākuSafe, Max Gangestad of Gross-Wen Technologies, Brandon Hart of HartSmart Products and Ryan Skaar of NanoBio Designs. The discussion ranged from the process of prototyping to funding to building the right team and skill set.
One of the first questions was “How do you get to a prototype?”
Answers were obviously varied depending on the founder’s experience, but here’s snippet of that conversation:
- Brandon (HartSmart Products) – “Reach out, start talking to people and use your network. Even if you talk to the wrong person, you are going in the right direction.”
- Gabriel (MakuSafe) – “The opportunity to create something has never been more accessible. Maker-spaces are available and STEM is being taught to young kids now. There are so many resources right here in Iowa like Rowe Electronics in Norwalk, IA and HartSmart Products.”
- Max (Gross Wen) – “First, self-evaluate and find what skills you and your team have and what you need to hire out.”
- Ryan (NanoBio Designs) – “Get to a design that’s close enough that you can go talk to the right people and get to the next step. Keep things modular in the beginning so you can add new technology as you find it.”
Learn more about entrepreneurship, startups and resources on the next 2 stops of the tour. Register here.
