# 3 Small Company: Iowa City Area Development Group

Iowa City Area Development Group
No. 3 Small Company
316 E. Court St., Iowa City
www.iowacityareadevelopment.com/

Iowa City Area Development Group (ICAD) is the economic development agency serving Iowa City, Coralville, Solon, Tiffin, Tipton, Amana Colonies, West Branch, Kalona, West Branch, Kalona, West Liberty and Johnson County.

“The Iowa City Area Development Group creates, collaborates and leads regional economic development initiatives that contribute to the creation and growth of companies, wealth and quality jobs through a spirit of innovation and culture of sharing that transforms knowledge into economic opportunity,” Eric Hanson, ICAD’s spokesman, stated in an email.

The organization, which employs a handful of people, is a good place to work for a number of reasons, he stated.

“We believe in our work and we believe in those who do the work (and, it is such a small team doing a lot for the area),” Mr. Hanson stated. “It’s such a tightly woven web that supports each other, that provides ideas, that’s willing to innovate, that works in the best interest of our clients and investors (and we have to as a private non-profit).”

ICAD opened and moved its offices to IC CoLab earlier this year. The facility provides business incubator space to entrepreneurs and other professionals who need a coworking environment, or simply an office with a phone, copiers and other services.

“We’re taking our vision for the area and accelerating it through a space that benefits innovators, startups, existing industry, and emerging companies,” Mr. Hanson stated. “We are accelerating serendipity to make our region competitive on a global scale.”

In the company surveys, one employee said,

“Because we are a small nonprofit I believe it is the people that make our environment special. We work hard and are committed to each other and what we do in the community. We are given authority to make decisions and our perspectives are valued.”

Another wrote,
“have a team of only four, with such variety in experience and backgrounds, working on such a grand vision for economic and workforce development to help the entire region is very cool. That, combined with the challenges of operating as a non-profit, a schedule that’s never the same day-to-day, and a new environment that’s also a full-time coworking space, puts a smile on my face when I make the 30 minute drive every day.”
-Gigi Wood