Small Business Edition Thu · Nov 12, 2026 Elevator · Des Moines Prizes for the winning tables

Iowa Business Hackathon · For women who own businesses

Solving small business, together.

Forty Iowa women founders, eight tables, one day. Each table builds one working solution to a real small business problem. Then all eight go live, and every woman in the room gets every one of them.

Get tickets · $49 See how you get 8

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When: Thursday, Nov 12 · 8:30 to 2:45
Where: Elevator, 204 12th St, Des Moines
Prizes: Cash and more, awarded to tables
Tickets: $49, or $225 for a table of five

How it works

One day in the room, eight solutions in your hands

A hackathon is a team building something real in one sitting and showing it at the end. Here the teams are tables of Iowa women founders and the problems come from small business. A solution can be a tool, a process, a playbook or a whole system, with AI wherever it speeds up the build.

Three women working together around a laptop

01
Pick a theme
Choose the theme that matters most to your business when you get your ticket.
02
Get your challenge
At 9:00 each table of five gets one real problem inside its theme, drawn from Iowa small businesses.
03
Build it together
Your table builds one solution. A helper from the Fracs team sits with you all day.
04
Show it working
At 2:00 your table shows its build together. Three minutes, and nobody presents alone.

After the hackathon

Build 1, get 8.

You build one solution with your table. Within 30 days, all eight go live and come back to every attendee as ready-to-use resources on Tangram.

Table 01Getting paidQuotes into invoices✓

Table 02Getting paidPayment reminders✓

Your tableGetting paidA 90-day cash view✓

Table 04CustomersA page that books calls✓

Table 05CustomersFollow-up on autopilot✓

Table 06CustomersReferral tracking✓

Table 07Time backIntake that files itself✓

Table 08Time backThe five questions✓

You build one

Five women, one challenge, one working solution by 2:00. Your table writes down the steps, templates and tools as it goes.

So does every other table

Eight tables, eight different challenges across three themes, all built in the same room on the same day.

Days to go live

The Fracs team finishes and tests every build so it works for any small business, then publishes it on Tangram.

In your library

Every attendee gets all eight solutions, each one credited to the women who built it. One ticket, eight working resources.

Example resource

A 90-day cash view

See the money coming in and going out for the next three months, updated from your invoices.

You

Built by your table · Live on Tangram

Example resource

Five questions, answered for you

A playbook and an assistant that handle what customers ask every single week.

Built by Table 08 · Live on Tangram

The themes

Three themes now. The challenges open on the day.

You know the territory ahead of time, so you can come ready. The exact problems come from Iowa small businesses and open at 9:00 on Nov 12. Tap the one that fits you best.

40women founders

8tables of five

8problems solved

1day, inside school hours

Meet Seven

Your hackathon runs by text

Seven is Tangram's assistant for women founders. Once you have a ticket, she texts you everything you need, right when you need it, and answers when you text back. No app to download and no inbox to dig through.

At checkoutYour confirmation and a calendar invite.
One week outYour theme, what to bring, and how to come ready.
The day beforeDoors, parking and where to find your table.
Nov 12, 7amYour table number and a coffee's-on reminder.
AfterEach solution as it goes live, then the next quarter's invite.

Text back with any question and Seven answers or gets it to a real person. Reply STOP any time.

SevenTangram

At checkoutYou're in for the Iowa Business Hackathon, Thu Nov 12 at Elevator. I'm Seven. I'll text what you need, when you need it.

yay! can my sister come too?

Yes! I just texted her the link. Want me to put you two at the same table?

yes please

One week outYour theme is Getting paid. Bring a laptop, its charger, and one money headache you'd love gone.

Nov 12 · 7:00amDoors at 8:30, 204 12th St. You and your sister are at Table 03. Coffee's on.

Within 30 daysAll eight builds are live on Tangram, and Table 03's has your name on it. Your library: 8 resources.

The next hackathon just opened. Want your seat?

Who's at the tables

Three kinds of founders, one room

The founder running it all

Business and household on one brain that juggles ten tabs. The day ends at 2:45, in time for pickup.

The first-time founder

Starting her first business, or just filed. She leaves with eight tools most businesses take years to collect.

The established founder

Business working and growing. She anchors her table and helps the women one step behind her.

Women working side by side at a crowded worktable

Women talking through a project in a bright studio

Women gathered around a table, mid-conversation

8:30Doors

9:00Kickoff

9:30Build

11:45Lunch

12:15Build

2:00Demos

2:30Prizes

Schedule

Drop-off to pickup

Startup Weekend energy, fitted inside school hours. Lunch and coffee included.

8:30Doors and coffee. Check in and meet your helper.
9:00Kickoff. The eight challenges open.
9:20Tables form. Five women per challenge, grouped by theme.
9:30Build. Helpers rotate the tables.
11:45Lunch. Eat with your table.
12:15Build. Get it working and write it up for the other tables.
2:00Show it working. Three minutes per table.
2:30Prizes and the group photo. Out the door by 2:45.

Prizes

Won by a table, shared by five

Every prize goes to a whole table. Builds are judged on what a small business would actually use on a Monday morning, by women who have run businesses, including a board member from NAWBO Iowa.

On the lineCash & moreCash prizes for three tables, plus a month at Elevator for every woman at the winning table. Amounts are announced with our prize partners.

Most usefulTop prize

To the table whose build helps the most small businesses.

Best working buildCash prize

To the table with the most complete, working solution at 2:00.

Room favoriteRoom pick

Voted by everyone. A cash prize plus a Bellwether feature on the table's founders.

The Elevator Award1 month

Of coworking at Elevator in downtown Des Moines for each woman at the winning table.

Partners

In good company

The organizations behind the day. Each one is named on all eight solutions when they go live.

Presented by

tangram.

Host venue

Built live by

FRACS.io

Community partners

NAWBO IowaJudge FemCity Des MoinesCoach

Three prizes, lunch, coffee and a handful of founder seats are open to partners. Your name goes on the prize, the ticket and every solution the room builds.

Partner with us

Every quarter

Come back, and your library grows by eight

The Iowa Business Hackathon runs again every quarter with a new theme. Every one you join adds eight more working solutions to your library.

Nov 12 · Small Business8

solutions after your first

Next quarter16

after your second

The quarter after24

after your third

Venue

Elevator, Des Moines

Elevator is a coworking and co-warehousing home for Iowa businesses, downtown near Pappajohn Sculpture Park. Bright rooms, big tables, and a building full of founders.

Open common space with tables and lounge seating at Elevator

Address204 12th Street, Des Moines, IA 50309

Doors8:30am, Thursday, Nov 12

Websiteelevatorspaces.com

DirectionsOpen in Maps

FAQ

Before you come

Do I need to know how to code?

Only if your table's solution calls for it. Some builds are a process or a system; others include code, schemas or automations, and AI writes those with you. A helper sits at every table, and beginners are welcome.

Do I have to pitch?

No. Your table shows its build working, together, for three minutes. Nobody presents alone.

Do I need a team?

No. Tables form at 9:20 by theme. Coming with friends? A table of five keeps you together.

What happens to what we build?

The Fracs team takes all eight builds live within 30 days. They become resources on Tangram for every attendee, each credited to the women at the table that built it.

What's Seven, and will she spam me?

Seven is Tangram's text assistant. She sends your confirmation, a reminder a week out, the day before and the morning of, and a note when each solution goes live. Text her back with questions. Reply STOP any time.

What do I bring?

A laptop and its charger. Any tools your table needs get set up with you at the table.

What does a ticket include?

Your seat, a helper at your table, lunch and coffee, your portrait, and all eight solutions once they go live. Refunds through Thursday, Nov 5.

Can I come back next quarter?

Yes, and please do. Each quarter brings a new theme and eight more solutions for your library.

Iowa Business Hackathon · Thursday, Nov 12