Advance Southwest Iowa Corporation

What Advance Southwest Iowa Corporation does

Advance Southwest Iowa Corporation is the designated economic development organization for Council Bluffs and all communities in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Founded in 1996 and operating as a publicly-funded, non-profit corporation, it functions as a one-stop shop for economic development across four service pillars: business attraction, retention and expansion, entrepreneurship, and site development. The organization directly serves entrepreneurs and startups launching or scaling businesses, existing businesses seeking expansion support, corporate site selectors evaluating regional locations, and rural communities across the county's 14 municipalities (Avoca, Carson, Carter Lake, Crescent, Hancock, Macedonia, McClelland, Minden, Neola, Oakland, Shelby, Treynor, Underwood, and Walnut, in addition to Council Bluffs). All services are delivered at no cost to the beneficiary, and the company bills no fees for any of its offerings.

The corporation's core offerings include direct economic development consultation, site selection resources delivered through a Location One integration, the Kitchen Council food startup incubator (a 2,500 sq ft commercial kitchen at the Hoff Family Arts and Culture Center), the LaUNch entrepreneurial development program, the annual REV Pitch Competition with TS Bank (awarding $14,000 to Iowa small businesses), the Launchcast podcast/:45 Mogul webinar series, downloadable industry and demographic resources, and the COVID-19 era Back 2 Biz recovery program. A planned entrepreneurial hub and co-working space - CB's first - is being seeded by a $250,000 Google grant announced in 2023 alongside Google's $350 million data center investment in Council Bluffs. Revenue is generated entirely through public funding, foundation grants (Iowa West Foundation is the flagship financial backer), and partnership contributions from board members representing government, utilities (MidAmerican Energy, Black Hills Energy), Iowa Western Community College, financial institutions (TS Bank, American National Bank, Veridian Credit Union), and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

The organization is governed by a Board of Directors that combines voting directors (utility, education, and CRE representation), executive board members (e.g., PowerTech president Josh Kallsen, Heartland Properties VP Mark Hanwright), and ex-officio members drawn from the Mayor's office (Jill Shudak), the County Community Development office (Chris Gibbon), and the Greater Omaha Chamber (Alec Gorynski). The professional staff is small - 1-10 employees - led by CEO Paula Hazlewood and including Conner Mowery (Entrepreneurial Development) and Jason Slajchert (Kitchen Council). The geography served is regional Southwest Iowa with structural alignment to the Greater Omaha metro, but no claims to global reach. Notably, the corporation is not a tech company: it has no proprietary software product, no AI/ML capabilities, and no AI-related roles disclosed; its "platform" is essentially a curated partnership network and public-sector funding channel.

Name

Advance Southwest Iowa Corporation

Legal name

Advance Southwest Iowa Corporation

Website

https://advancesouthwestiowa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Advance Southwest Iowa Corporation is a publicly-funded economic development organization serving Council Bluffs and the 14 communities of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, delivering free business attraction, retention, site selection, and entrepreneurship services, including the Kitchen Council food startup incubator.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Development Services

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Development & Business Licensing (Local) (BPAIACAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Community Education (EDAAAFAK)

Keywords

• Economic development services
• Business attraction support
• Site selection assistance
• Entrepreneurship development
• Community economic growth

Headquarters

HQ city

Council Bluffs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Economic Development Services: Advance Southwest Iowa Corporation provides free economic development services to businesses as a publicly-funded economic development organization. Revenue comes from public funding, grants, and partnership contributions rather than service fees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Advance Southwest Iowa Corporation provides fee-free economic development services for Council Bluffs and all communities in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Its core offerings include business attraction and retention support, site selection resources and consulting, entrepreneurship and small business development programs (Kitchen Council food incubator, LaUNch program, REV Pitch Competition, entrepreneurial hub), and incentive/regulatory navigation assistance. Services are delivered by professional staff in partnership with local government, utilities, financial institutions, and regional economic development organizations.

Product overview

Advance Southwest Iowa Corporation operates as a regional economic development organization offering a unified suite of services focused on business attraction, retention, entrepreneurship, and site development for Council Bluffs and Pottawattamie County, Iowa. The organization provides direct economic development consulting, site selection resources, and manages several distinct programs including Kitchen Council (a food startup incubator), the LaUNch entrepreneurship support initiative, and a developing entrepreneurial hub and coworking space. Additional offerings include the REV Pitch Competition for startup funding, the Launchcast podcast, downloadable industry profile resources, and COVID-19 recovery programs. This is not a technology product company but rather a service-based economic development organization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kitchen Council: A food startup incubator and commercial kitchen program designed to lower barriers to market entry for food entrepreneurs. Located at the Hoff Family Arts and Culture Center.
• LaUNch

Products and services

• Economic Development Services One-stop-shop economic development services including business attraction, retention, entrepreneurship support, and site development for Council Bluffs and Pottawattamie County, provided free of charge to businesses.
• Kitchen Council Food startup incubator offering a 2,500 square foot fully-equipped commercial kitchen and accelerator programming at the Hoff Family Arts and Culture Center to lower barriers to market entry for food entrepreneurs in the region.
• Entrepreneurial Hub and Coworking Space Planned resource hub and co-working space for entrepreneurs in Pottawattamie County, seed-funded by a $250,000 Google grant in 2023 as part of Google's broader Council Bluffs data center investment.
• Site Selection Resources and Consulting Site selector-facing services providing available buildings, land, feature sites, county maps, infrastructure and utilities data, major employer and target industry information, and incentive program details via Location One integration for businesses and site consultants evaluating Pottawattamie County.
• REV Pitch Competition Annual pitch competition hosted in partnership with TS Bank providing $14,000 in cash awards to Iowa small business owners (2022 recipients included Nesting Grounds with $10,000 and Fermented Felon with $4,000).
• LaUNch Program Entrepreneurial development initiative connecting future innovators and existing businesses with local resources, funding sources (Kiva, SBA, IowaEDA), Small Business Development Center services, Nebraska Enterprise Fund microbusiness lending, and Kitchen Council food business support.
• Launchcast Podcast Entrepreneurship podcast featuring the :45 Mogul webinar series covering topics such as pitching, launching ideas, local resources, and Iowa-specific entrepreneurship.
• Back 2 Biz Program COVID-19 recovery program providing support for businesses impacted by the pandemic, including resources archived on the COVID-19 archives page of the ASWIC website.

Quantifiable outcome

• Google $250,000 grant for entrepreneur hub development
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Pottawattamie CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore government partner providing public funding and support for economic development initiatives in the county. Chris Gibbon serves as Interim Director of Community Development as Ex-Officio Board member.
• City of Council BluffscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary municipal partner for economic development activities. Jill Shudak serves as Mayor and Ex-Officio Board member.
• Greater Omaha Chamber of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional economic development partnership for eight-county metropolitan area. Alec Gorynski serves as VP of Economic Development as Ex-Officio Board member. Joint initiatives include Kitchen Council food incubator and target industry development.
• MidAmerican EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary utility provider and economic development partner. Chad Guilliams serves as Business & Comm. Dvlp. Manager as Director Board member. Provides site selection assistance and business development support.
• Black Hills EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUtility partner providing economic development resources and supplier diversity programs. Jim Lund serves as Senior Business Devlp. Account Manager as Director Board member.
• Iowa Western Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partner hosting Small Business Development Center and providing workforce development programs. Dr. Dan Kinney serves as Iowa Western representative on Board of Directors.
• Small Business Development Center @ Iowa WesterncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFree technical assistance for small businesses and start-ups serving 7 counties in Southwest Iowa (Pottawattamie, Mills, Fremont, Page, Cass, Shelby, and Harrison).
• NewBoCo (New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Partners Pilot Program bringing entrepreneurship, tech education, and innovation resources to Pottawattamie County. NewBoCo is a 501(c)(3) organization located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
• Kitchen CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegion's largest incubator for food entrepreneurs - a project of Greater Omaha Chamber with partners including Iowa West Foundation, Council Bluffs Chamber, Conagra Brands, and Iowa Economic Development Authority. Jason Slajchert serves as Director of Kitchen Council.
• TS BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual REV Pitch Competition partner providing $14,000 in awards to local small businesses (2022 winners: Nesting Grounds $10,000, Fermented Felon $4,000).
• Heartland PropertiessecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommercial real estate partner. Mark Hanwright serves as Vice President and Broker/Partner on Executive Board.
• Iowa Economic Development AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState economic development agency providing programs, incentives, and resources including Targeted Small Business certification and loan programs.
• Council Bluffs Area Chamber of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal chamber partner. Chris LaFerla serves as President & CEO as Ex-Officio Board member.
• Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAISRR)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerFreight rail partner supporting logistics and transportation infrastructure in the region.
• PowerTechsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal company partner. Josh Kallsen serves as President on Executive Board.
• CyrusOnesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerData center operator with 60,000 square foot facility in Council Bluffs providing hybrid cloud solutions with 24 MW power capacity.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Iowa Economic Development Authority: State-level economic development agency providing incentive programs and business assistance across Iowa. ASWIC operates as the local delivery mechanism for many IEDA programs, making them an upstream partner and natural comparator.
• Greater Des Moines Partnership: Large Iowa regional EDO covering the Des Moines metro. Operates at significantly greater scale but pursues the same business attraction and retention mission, making it a benchmark for what ASWIC's ecosystem could grow into.

Direct peers

• Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development: Regional EDO serving the Lincoln, Nebraska market with comparable site selection, business attraction, and entrepreneurship programming. Closest scale-comparable peer given similar small-staff structure and Midwest geography.
• Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce: Regional economic development partner that shares overlapping geography (Omaha metro) and co-governs the Kitchen Council initiative with ASWIC. Functions as a complementary rather than competing EDO given shared board representation.
• Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance: Cedar Rapids-based regional EDO and home to ASWIC's partner NewBoCo. Comparable mission of business attraction, retention, and entrepreneurial ecosystem development with similar partnership-driven model.
• Kitchen Council: Region's largest food startup incubator, formally a sub-brand of ASWIC's parent partner network. Provides commercial kitchen access and accelerator programming — a directly comparable food-incubator peer despite the organizational overlap.
• Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce: Local chamber partner with overlapping Council Bluffs territory and shared leadership (President sits on ASWIC board as ex-officio). Provides complementary member-services and advocacy while ASWIC focuses on attraction and entrepreneurship.

Emerging players

• NewBoCo (New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative): Cedar Rapids-based 501(c)(3) providing entrepreneurship and tech education programming. Direct ASWIC partner via the Community Partners Pilot and the most operationally comparable peer in the entrepreneurship-support niche.

Regional players

• Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce: Bi-state regional chamber and EDO serving the Davenport/Bettendorf area. Comparable scale and programs around site selection, workforce, and entrepreneurship — operates across the Iowa-Illinois border.
• Siouxland Chamber of Commerce: Regional chamber and EDO serving the Sioux City area in northwest Iowa. Comparable scale and rural-Midwest service-area dynamics, though operating in a different geography without direct overlap with ASWIC.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AdvanceSouthwestIowa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/advance-southwest-iowa-corporation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Advance Southwest Iowa Corporation