For startups in the ag tech and bioscience sectors, success depends on more than a great idea.
It takes the right mix of talent, resources, funding and collaboration to bring innovations to the market. That’s exactly what founders are finding in Iowa.
Three startup leaders shared their experiences during the third session of the “Grow in Iowa” webinar series hosted by America’s Cultivation Corridor. The panel included Jason Cope, founder and chief intellectual property officer at PowerPollen; Craig Rupp, founder and CEO at Sabanto; and Justin Van Wert, chief operating officer of Distynct, and was moderated by Billi Hunt, executive director of America’s Cultivation Corridor. They highlighted the many advantages Iowa offers startups, from its deep agricultural expertise to a supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“Whether you’re a founder with a bold idea, a researcher pushing the boundaries of ag tech, or an investor looking for the next big breakthrough, the Cultivation Corridor is where those connections are made,” said Hunt. “Through initiatives like our virtual Cultivo Academy and partnerships with institutions like Iowa State University, we can provide a launch pad for early-stage companies complete with mentorship, capital, research facilities and most importantly, a welcoming network of collaborators eager to help startups succeed.”
Watch the webinar now
Tapping into a deep talent pool
For many companies, Iowa’s rich pipeline of agricultural and engineering talent, anchored by Iowa State University students, alumni and faculty, is a game-changer.
“With Iowa State, there’s diversity in biology, plant breeding and engineering – all disciplines we’ve engaged with. There’s great opportunity for technology development, fabrication and access to land and like-minded individuals,” said PowerPollen’s Cope. “It’s great to be close to a university that already has such an integrated network of companies active in these spaces.”
PowerPollen was built on the concept of enabling the storage of corn pollen and has developed systems for collecting, preserving and applying pollen in corn production. The company recently launched a system that uses an autonomous drone to identify plant reproductive structures and apply pollen to them in a field setting.
The university’s focus on entrepreneurship programming also provides critical talent to startups.
“We’re based in the ISU Research Park in Ames, in the shadow of Jack Trice Stadium, so we have a great relationship with Iowa State,” said Van Wert. “As we started to build our company and look for like-minded individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit, we had a well-established program at Iowa State to draw on. The dedication to delivering entrepreneurship programming and enabling those folks has been incredible.”
Distynct has also leveraged research and testing resources from the university, including conducting testing at Iowa State’s Ag 450 farm, which is about a mile from the company’s offices. The company launched in 2022 with a smart barn alarm product and has expanded to include feed-bin monitoring and other technologies that turn on-farm data into actionable insights for livestock producers.
Proximity to customers
An Iowa location means founders are never far from a farm field or livestock barn, providing ample opportunities to develop products side-by-side with their customers, leading to better design, faster testing and real-world validation.
Rupp said that getting Sabanto’s technology into farmers’ hands and on their equipment has been critical to understand customer needs and fine-tune product design. The company creates retrofit kits that attach to conventional tractors, turning them into autonomous tractors. There are currently 200 systems in use across 30 states, Canada and Australia.
“It all came down to customers telling us what they needed. It wasn’t about sitting in a cube trying to figure out what the market wants – it was listening to farmers who said ‘we need this functionality’ or “you could improve this,’” he said. “They really drove our product requirements.”
Rupp also shared an example of how Sabanto’s growth benefited from Iowa’s small-town accessibility. The company is headquartered in Nevada, Iowa, which has a population of about 7,000 and is located about 10 miles from Ames. A local farmer approached him with the opportunity to lease a 10-acre plot of land close to Sabanto’s shop to use for product testing.
“This would have never happened if we were in downtown Des Moines or Chicago or another large city,” he said. “Opportunities like that come across our plate all the time in a small, rural community.”
Supportive ecosystem for startups
Panelists agreed that Iowa’s collaborative ecosystem and deep agricultural expertise set it apart from other regions and the coasts. Founders benefit from a number of resources, including the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Innovation Accelerator Fund, the Ag Startup Engine, and entrepreneurship programs at Iowa State and other universities.
“As we got our start, we didn’t realize in the moment how established the ecosystem already was,” said Van Wert. “As long as you lean into the events and opportunities being offered, your network expands, and as it expands, you’ll find companies at all different stages of the journey.”
He noted the willingness of other founders and entrepreneurs to share their experiences and make introductions.
“It’s all about partnership, it’s all about collaboration, it’s networking, it’s taking advantage of funding opportunities where you can,” said Cope. “This is really what we can do together and how we can benefit together. It’s been great to have a business in the state of Iowa, to work with organizations like Cultivation Corridor and have professionals within our network to do technology development together.”
With strong research partnerships, collaborative business community and agricultural roots, the state offers everything a startup needs to thrive.
“Iowa is where ideas in agriculture become action,” said Hunt. “Through collaboration, research and an unwavering commitment to progress, we’re helping innovators grow solutions that will feed, fuel and sustain the world.”
Published October 2025