Iowa State University Startup Factory Announces Cohort 17 Entrepreneurs
Ames, Iowa – [1/29/2025] – The Iowa State University Startup Factory celebrates nearly a decade of impact in fostering high-tech innovation and entrepreneurship. Since its inception in 2016, the program has supported 146 companies across 16 cohorts, raising over $97 million in outside funding and achieving five successful exits. As it continues to shape the entrepreneurial ecosystem at Iowa State University and throughout Iowa, the ISU Startup Factory is proud to announce its latest group of innovators.
This new cohort features a diverse lineup of ventures emerging from across Iowa and the United States, all bringing groundbreaking ideas and technologies to the table. Introducing the founders and companies that make Cohort 17:
- Rachel Eike, Bahar Hashemian Esfahani, Farhad Aghasi, and Damon Eike with WearLab Solutions: WearLab Solutions partners with safety, medical, and military apparel manufacturers to address performance gaps by providing research-backed, user-focused design and testing services, enabling companies to deliver superior products that enhance user satisfaction and loyalty.
- Asle Thorson with My Name Is: My Name Is provides a platform to help people with unique or hard-to-pronounce names share their identity and break down communication barriers.
- John Shaw: Shaw is developing software to help communities optimize street and highway safety.
- Jordan Taylor and Isaac Kalapos with Isthmus Finance: Isthmus Finance is AI-powered financial planning and analysis software tailored for community banks that provides powerful insights and automates tedious processes.
- Joe Driscoll and Pamela Retseck with Driscoll Restoration: Driscoll Restoration utilizes innovative technologies and nature-based solutions to improve the health of Iowa’s waterways.
- Ahmed Ismail with Portfolio Sight: Portfolio Sight helps small and medium-sized wealth management firms to grow their business by enhancing efficiency and compliance in customer acquisition.
- Baker Kuehl, Vivek Garg, Michael Forrester, and Eric Cochran with SABER Chemical: For sporting goods manufacturers aiming to revolutionize performance and safety, SABER Chemical empowers innovation with cutting-edge additives that supercharge strength, durability, and sustainability without breaking the bank.
- Qun Wang with Oravadra: Oravadra provides easy and safe oral vaccines and drugs for those who hate needles.
- Santosh Pandey, Yunsoo Park, and John Wagner with LameScore: LameScore identifies mobility issues in dairy cows using video and sensors in order to treat the condition early.
To learn more about these ventures, join us for the Startup Factory Demo Day on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, where founders will present their progress following the intensive 18-week program. The event will feature presentations, networking opportunities, and insights into Iowa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
For more information, please contact ISU Startup Factory Program Manager, Hannah Kirkendall (hkirkend@iastate.edu) or visit http://www.isupjcenter.org/programs/isu-startup-factory/.
About the Iowa State University Startup Factory
The ISU Startup Factory is an intensive 18-week incubator where startup founders receive training, resources, and mentor support. Participating founders build business acumen, improve communication skills, and gain deep customer insights, and will leave with a commercialization plan in place. ISU Startup Factory is open to all innovators residing in Iowa or having ties to Iowa State University who have scalable product or service business opportunities.