Molly Monk awaits a question about NewBoCo in the Q&A session.<\/p><\/div>\n

Ken Sherman, a return attendee who works as a professional portrait photographer, mentioned some of his favorite aspects of 1MC. \u201cNetworking, meeting other like-minded people, people in business and to start forging connections with people in the community. That\u2019s really what my goal is, for me,\u201d Sherman said. He also said he enjoys \u201cthe morning coffee, just people chatting, having a conversation, seeing what’s happening with each other.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n

Des Moines 1MC community organizer Ben McDougal said companies come to the event seeking many different results. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe presenters that we see \u2014 that\u2019s part of the fun, seeing so many different types of businesses and types of industries that they\u2019re interacting with,\u201d McDougal said. \u201cWith that diversity also comes various stages. I think it\u2019s great to see these folks use this (literal) stage as a kind of formal launch and taking that to really evolving their ideas into reality, in addition (to) the folks who have traction, who have been building, who may have even launched, but are using 1MC as a backboard for new ideas.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

After the presentations, the event rolls into a Q&A session. \u201cEntrepreneurialship can be lonely,\u201d McDougal said. He explained that most entrepreneurs have close factions to which they expose their businesses. These factions can include family, friends, or co-creators. The Q&A gives the feeling of experiencing an outside world, moving away from the usual inspectors of the venture and having fresh new diverse eyes examine the business.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat a great community. These guys can ask questions \u2014 I love that,\u201d Monk said. \u201cOne of the hardest things of doing a presentation is not having people ask questions, but this community blew me away with their really insightful questions.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n

McDougal said he truly enjoys being a community organizer for 1MC because of \u201cthat little burst of acceleration that 1MC can provide, whether it\u2019s that person that you meet, or that introduction made or that feedback point you hadn\u2019t thought about.\u201d He likes that it is an event full of the exchange of knowledge, the development of business relationships and a strong platform for young entrepreneurs to work on their business plan.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t have a startup accelerator work if you don\u2019t have entrepreneurs to be in it. If you don\u2019t have entrepreneurs to be in it, you don\u2019t have teams to put through your program,\u201d Monk said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have a strong ecosystem with connections, and people who want to buy your customer’s product and want to be mentors and help them out, they’re going to fail after their out of your program\u2026 if we want to build up businesses in Iowa we need to have a strong ecosystem that supports them.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n

1MC was created by the Kauffman Foundation, based in Kansas City, Missouri. The idea of 1MC was to allow start-ups the opportunity to draw traffic to ideas that are not in the mainstream. Des Moines is one of 1MC\u2019s first expansion communities, formed in 2012, and is in its third year hosting events in the Science Center of Iowa. McDougal said the switch in venue helped the presenter go from a coffee-shop feel to a lights-in-your-face atmosphere. Seating is more focused on the presenter. The changes allow entrepreneurs to give presentations similar to Ted Talks<\/span> for free while also enjoying coffee and the opportunity to expand a professional\u2019s knowledge and network. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ted Talk mixed with Shark Tank gives you 1Million Cups<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n