7 key takeaways with Debi Durham at EntreFEST

EntreFEST 2023, a two-day conference held around Iowa City featuring local and statewide entrepreneurs, began festivities by hosting Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) and Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) Director Debi Durham for a live podcast conversation. Joining co-hosts Jessica Abdoney, NewBoCo’s marketing coordinator, and Anthony Betters, NewBoCo’s community engagement manager, for an episode of the […]

EntreFEST 2023, a two-day conference held around Iowa City featuring local and statewide entrepreneurs, began festivities by hosting Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) and Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) Director Debi Durham for a live podcast conversation. Joining co-hosts Jessica Abdoney, NewBoCo’s marketing coordinator, and Anthony Betters, NewBoCo’s community engagement manager, for an episode of the Iowa Innovation podcast, Ms. Durham spoke broadly on the state of Iowa’s economic and entrepreneurial viability. Here are a selection of remarks from the conversation:

1. Edtech sector needs innovation

While many sectors were able to adapt to a new normal during the pandemic, education struggled, she explained. “I think the one sector that really wasn’t able to pivot was education, which is so unfortunate when you think of edtech and how we’re kind of the epicenter of that,” she said. “That really began to spotlight that if there’s one area we need to work on, it's really looking at our classrooms differently and using more technology and innovation." Ms. Durham acknowledged she has recognized that certain edtech stalwarts in the region, such as ACT, face an uncertain future. “I was at ACT talking to the CEO and I thought ‘What is the future of ACT?,’” she said. “I mean, no offense, but you can kind of see the writing on the wall. We’ve seen some downsizing.” As recently as May, ACT fired 40 employees at its Iowa City headquarters, 106 employees company-wide, at a time when the company is downsizing from its sprawling campus and universities move to a test-optional model. https://corridorbusiness.com/act-to-lay-off-106-employees-continuing-edtech-spiral-in-iowa-city/ But she left her conversation with the CEO reenergized about the company’s future. “Not only should we be in front of this space, we should own edtech,” Ms. Durham concluded.

2. “Excited” for biobased products market

Ms. Durham teased upcoming announcements regarding the biobased products sector. “I’m most excited for Iowa's biobased products,” she said. “We’re going to be able to make some announcements soon to show some opportunities. I love that we’re moving toward renewables…but you know, the wind doesn’t always blow. The sun doesn’t always shine. Batteries are not quite where they need to be.” She advocated for nuclear energy in her remarks (“I’m a huge fan”), saying the state needs to have a conversation about its potential.

3. COVID-19 exposed broadband weakness

Ms. Durham said that the pandemic showed states their strengths and weaknesses in a very honest way, and that it showed Iowa it needed to improve its broadband connectivity. “Since then, we’ve spent over a billion dollars as a state making sure that Iowa is particularly connected. And we have to do that for good opportunities for innovation in our state.” According to a press release from February, broadband investment between public and private money accounted for nearly $800 million since 2018. Iowa has allocated federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds toward broadband since the pandemic. The Iowa Office of the Chief Information Officer has not yet provided to the CBJ a breakdown of the billion dollar figure mentioned at EntreFEST. 

4. What is the government's role in innovation?

While Ms. Durham conceded that the government does a lot of things well, she said vetting innovation is not one of them. “The state’s role is to set up the funding continuum, to help companies along the way until they can get to the point where they can bring in that outside investment,” she said. “We can do everything from proof of concept all the way up to propel and then we’re able to … find that missing gap in financing. We’ve been able to prop up things like infrastructure funding and entrepreneurial assistance to help with setting up some of these accelerators.”

“And you know, we've been able to partner with a lot of people,” Ms. Durham added. “I think our relationship right now with our universities is stronger than it's ever been.” She highlighted the University of Iowa’s work in the medical innovation space with their protostudios lab, as an example of collaborative research that is spearheading progress in the Corridor.

5. Iowa will soon look different

The statistics are clear: Iowa has an aging population and slow population growth, while most of the growth comes from immigrant populations. By 2030, the minority population will be the new majority population in an Iowa county, a trend that is likely to spread. “When I travel…I often don’t see really diverse leadership around the table, and that has got to change, right? I encourage that,” she said. The state’s recipients for innovation funding, Ms. Durham added, does not go to women or minority populations as much as she’d like to see. “I think we have to recognize that it’s not where it needs to be,” she said.

6. Important to recruit a younger population

A national survey conducted by the IEDA found that seven out of 10 people during the pandemic would consider relocating to a place with affordability and economic vitality. In this case, economic vitality means a newcomer to Iowa would be able to find a new job in the state even if the first job doesn’t work out. The study also found people were looking for outdoor recreation opportunities, like parks and trails, and arts and culture. An advertising campaign, in collaboration with influencer marketing, launched nationwide to attract people to the state. Ms. Durham said the work is paying off and seeing real traction. Based on credential surrendering from the Iowa DOT, the state knows where individuals are moving from around the country when they turn in their old driver’s license. The state will now target individual skill sets needed for high-paying jobs in Iowa in certain counties around the nation. Additionally, the state developed a cost of living calculator to compare how cheap it is to live the American Dream in Iowa in relation to bigger cities in other states.

7. Regenerative ag, carbon sequestration a priority

This month the IEDA released its Iowa Bioscience Strategy report. Ms. Durham said the report emphasized that the state needs to study the regenerative ag and carbon sequestration space more. Regenerative ag, or rebuilding soil through organic and sustainable practices, is not an unfamiliar process to farmers in Washington County, particularly for the Kalona SuperNatural brand and soil health data company Continuum AG. https://corridorbusiness.com/kalona-supernatural-battles-traditional-ag-practices/ “We really need to think about carbon sequestration in the entire supply chain,” she explained. “How do we help companies like ADM, General Mills or Cargill get to these carbon zero goals?  She also noted that when building out interstate systems, the Department of Transportation is looking at how to create transportation corridors to help meet environmental goals.