We’re excited to introduce you to the Des Moines Summit team, who have been working behind the scenes to curate great speakers, conversations, and activities for Summit attendees. These rockstar ecosystem builders are a huge part of the Des Moines Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and are ready to showcase the city they love.
Your Summit Host: Geoff Wood
Community builder, event planner, storyteller, entrepreneur, and ecosystem builder are just some of the roles Geoff takes on to help promote entrepreneurship and growth in Des Moines. We recently highlighted his work, and why he's excited to bring SCN members to Des Moines on the blog. Read his story here.
Diana Wright
Diana is focused on a single purpose: to help entrepreneurs build real, impactful businesses in Iowa. Through her work as a startup community builder at the Greater Des Moines Partnership, she helps existing and aspiring entrepreneurs connect to the community and speed up their success. Prior to working with the Greater Des Moines Partnership, she worked at Iowa State University’s Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship to lead, create and market a number of the cornerstone entrepreneurial programs, including the creation of the first-ever student accelerator at Iowa State University called CYstarters. Prior to that role, she worked as a Community Builder for tech startup Dwolla. A connector in the Iowa startup community, her leadership includes rebooting Startup Ames, organizing events during the inaugural year for 1 Million Cups Ames and leading due diligence rounds as a member of the first women's angel investing network in Iowa, FIN Capital. More about her work here.
Tej Dhawan
Tej facilitates Plains Angels, an angel network based in Des Moines. The network of 60+ investors was established in 2012 and has invested primarily in Central Iowa companies, occasionally extending to companies shared with them via the Midwest Angel Syndicate and their network of investors outside Iowa. He is also an advocate for startups in the region, mentoring and advising where there is a need and fit, as well as participating in various accelerator programs.
Mikayla Sullivan
Mikayla Sullivan is the Senior Associate at ISA Ventures, the first venture capital studio in Iowa. She regularly meets with founders, evaluates companies for investment, and helps support existing portfolio companies from strategy to fundraising. Prior to ISA Ventures, Mikayla was co-founder and CEO of KinoSol SBC, a social good startup focused on decreasing post-harvest loss by equipping farmers with solar-powered food dehydrators and educational programs. Read more about Mikayla here.
Ready to join us?
SCN Summits take place twice annually and are essentially a live, in-person case study of a member's ecosystem. Over the course of 2.5 days, attendees will get an inside look at programs, initiatives, and best practices within the city while also getting an insider's view of the food, culture, and hot spots. While each summit is unique in terms of agenda, they all have three fundamental goals:
Help Ecosystem Builders connect with key peers and resources
Improve Ecosystem Builders' knowledge and best practices
Help Ecosystem Builders develop mission-critical skills
