Where can start-up companies or existing companies on the verge of growth turn to find private funding and expert assistance in Central Iowa? In many cases, there’s been a gap in services available for the very type of high-tech, high-potential companies that Greater Des Moines is seeking, said Martha Willits, president and CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

In a deal to be announced today by the Iowa Department of Economic Development, the state will provide up to $175,000 in funding over the next three years to launch the Ames-Des Moines Business Accelerator, a collaborative effort of the Partnership with Iowa State University, Des Moines Area Community College and the Ames Chamber of Commerce. It’s the seventh such program to be funded by IDED within the past eight months for a regional accelerator project.

“I think our community has been moving always towards better opportunities for businesses to grow and expand,” Willits said, “and there have been great pockets of work at Iowa State, at DMACC, at the Partnership here and at the Chamber at Ames. The fact that there was this opportunity, and that we saw it all together, was certainly accelerated by (the IDED funding). We’ve worked together in different ways all along, but to put together a project that has added value I think is very exciting and very timely.”

With its primary location to be in downtown Des Moines, the accelerator program will also have a satellite office at the ISU Research Park, which has operated a business incubator for new technology businesses for the past 15 years.

The program will improve access in both directions between Ames and Des Moines, said Steve Carter, director of the business park and the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center at ISU.

“I think it does a couple of things,” Carter said. “One, it concentrates effort in the Des Moines community, and as such, with a person in Des Moines, it will also provide the opportunity to expand the resource network that is available to the entrepreneurs.

If a company wanted to make use of our resources, they would have had to travel to Ames, and we have limited resources available. So I think this will definitely improve access for high-growth companies in the Des Moines area.”

The accelerator also provides a good fit with Des Moines Area Community College’s mission, said DMACC President Rob Denson.

“A lot of what the accelerator will do is to help businesses get in a position to expand, and that’s right within our normal business portfolio,” he said. “So we felt it would be good for us to have a position there.” DMACC’s business resources staff will continue to be available to work directly with businesses as well, Denson said.

To facilitate greater deal flow to venture capital firms or angel investors, part of the contract the four organizations will sign with IDED will require the accelerator to refer at least 20 companies it assists each year to the Venture Network of Iowa, an IDED program that provides a quarterly forum for Iowa start-up companies to pitch themselves to potential investors.

The hiring process for an executive director for the accelerator program will begin immediately, said Mary Bontrager, the Partnership’s executive vice president for community development. Though the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center is one location being considered among possible downtown Des Moines sites, a final location for the program’s offices hasn’t been determined yet, she said.

Bontrager said the goal is to have a program in place within the next 60 days in which a company can initiate an application process through any of the four organizations’ Web sites. Businesses that want to be considered for the program will pay a $200 application fee, and their application will be screened by a selection committee. Those deemed to be a fit for the program will be “funneled” to the accelerator, which will offer services both internally and on an outsourced basis through local accounting, legal and other professional firms.

“Our goal is to have some of these (consulting) firms make financial commitments and to be a partner to offer services at a reduced or even a no-fee basis, looking down the road that they may be the firm that will work with these successful companies in the future,” Bontrager said.

Buy into the Circle spinoffs?

The Greater Des Moines Partnership is currently conducting a survey of 100 Buy Into the Circle members that could provide some ideas for new businesses or new market niches.

“We’re looking at what type of goods and services they are purchasing out of the area that might be opportunities for entrepreneurial start-ups locally,” said Mary Bontrager, the Partnership’s executive vice president for community development. “With the (Central Iowa business) accelerator in place, we might jump-start those businesses to fill those needs.”

Through the Buy Into the Circle program, launched in February 2004, more than 320 Central Iowa companies have pledged to redirect at least 5 percent of their supply or service spending to the local economy. In its first year, the program resulted in an estimated $6.7 million in purchases redirected to the local economy.

“The other piece of this,” Bontrager said, “is looking at what might be job-creation opportunities for some of our under-employed population.”

The company survey should be completed by mid- to late-summer, at which time the results will be made available on the Partnership’s Web site, www.desmoinesmetro.com.