User Groups

Impromptu Studio is proud to support a number of Central Iowa technology user groups. Our current groups include:

• Web Geeks: 1st Monday
• Des Moines Mac Users Group (DMMUG): 4th Tuesday
• Cocoa Heads: 2nd Thursday

If your user group wants to meet at Central Iowa’s home for technology entrepreneurs, send us an e-mail (hello@impromptustudio.com) with the following information:

• Your contact information
• Group name and website, if you have one
• General description of your subject area and what your meetings cover
• Number of members and average attendance
• Any special needs your group may have
• Current (or desired) meeting dates

Get us the info and we’ll take a look and get back to you as soon as possible.

Lunch and Learns

We’re currently in the process of scheduling spring lunch and learn sessions. Have an idea for a topic? Interested in sponsoring lunch? E-mail Dan at dshipton@impromptustudio.com with your ideas.

Special Events

Since our launch in 2008, Impromptu has played host to a number of special events, from Startup Weekend to Barcamp to Whuffaoke to the Movement Bash and even the Epic Ugly Sweater Party. Keep an eye on our site and streams for information on the next big thing at Impromptu Studio!

Here at Impromptu Studio we are asking the community to help participate and become more active in our space.  Some of the opportunities are:

Community Manager: We are looking for a responsible individual that loves working around others. This individual would help spread the word, organize events with outside vendors, give tours to new members, and help maintain our blog.  In exchange for helping us out we would carve out a spot in the studio for you to work from for little to no cost.

Community Ambassadors:  We also would like to ask everyone to be on the lookout for people that should be utilizing coworking and possibly don’t realize that it exists. We have made amazing strides in educating the public as to the concept of coworking and how we feel that it benefits all types of fields and not just the tech related ones that it was founded by. Entrepreneurs and small business owners employ 70% of all workers and we want to be a place that helps then achieve their goals and realize their dreams. Even if that means that they eventually leave us because the become so successful that they need a bigger space. Our hope for all our members is that they will eventually become successful enough to “outgrow” us.

Finally, we are putting together a list of the top 25 things that came out of Impromptu Studio in 2009.  We have a good sized list already but want to make sure nothing escapes our list.  SO, shoot all of your suggestions for inclusion over to info@impromptustudio.com!

Official Movement Bash Poster (Click for Large Version)

DES MOINES, Iowa (October 8, 2009) – Impromptu Studio plays host to movers and shakers from across the Midwest at the first ever Movement Bash on Thursday, October 22. A select group from Des Moines’ growing tech and creative communities are joining forces to celebrate entrepreneurship with free food, free beverages, and free entertainment. Organizers are creating a casual networking evening for entrepreneurs and creatives from the Omaha, Kansas City, and Des Moines metro areas coming to town for Highlight Midwest.

“There’s a lot of good energy in Des Moines right now, and it’s connected in a big way to the same energy that’s growing across the whole Midwest,” said Dan Shipton, an organizer of the event and co-founder of Impromptu Studio. “Movement Bash will be a great way for big brains and big ideas to come together, network, and have a good time. No presentations, just conversations.”

To keep the event free and open, organizers tapped 18 19 different local businesses for support including tech start-ups, law firms, and creative agencies.

“Everyone I called was really excited,” Shipton said. “[Our sponsors] are a broad mix and involve a lot of businesses that are part of this movement of genuine innovation in flyover country. Events like Movement Bash, BarCamp, BIG Omaha, Ignite Des Moines, Advance Week…they’re tied to the new platform that real movers and shakers in the Midwest are building.”

Organizers are encouraging Movement Bash attendees to cut loose and come share their passions over food, drink, and activities. Rock Band, social games, an anonymous “suggestion box” for entrepreneurs, conversation-sparking nametags and other activities will help prevent wallflower-ing and keep the evening lively, Shipton said.

Movement Bash is being presented by Paragon IT, BitMethod, Law Offices Of Brett J. Trout, P.C., Public Relations Project, Grand Consulting, Click! Photography, Internet Solver, Napkin Sketch, Tweetup Badges, Test of Time Design, createWOWmedia, Market Street Media Foundry, Catchwind, 25 Connections, 48Web, Spindustry, SmartyPig, Olde Main Brewing Co. and Mars Café.

An RSVP is requested but not required and available at http://movementbash.eventbrite.com. Impromptu Studio is located at 300 SW 5th St, Des Moines IA 50309.

Impromptu Studio is known for a few things: being a hub for Des Moines entrepreneurs, highlighting and connecting our community, and throwing KICKASS shindigs!  In October, Impromptu Studio plans to do ALL OF THEM AT ONCE!  We lined up ~20 sponsors (which we kindly referred to as the Movers & Shakers of Des Moines) to help make this a reality so a BIG shout out is in order for them.  A larger, more legible version of the poster below will be be gracing local businesses and available for download shortly!

On October 22nd, 2009 the Movers & Shakers of Des Moines are throwing a big party for all of the folks who are helping put the Midwest back on the map. This party is called the MOVEMENT BASH and it will include free bevvies, free food, and free entertainment:

Keep checking back for more info about the BASH but here is the lowdown-

• What: MOVEMENT BASH
• When: October 22nd, 2009. 6pm.
• Where: Impromptu Studio
• RSVP at EventBrite

First, A Small Disclaimer

It is time to start putting the world on notice. Des Moines is ready to step up.

Don’t let Des Moines’ polite people and little big city atmosphere fool you – it’s home to a tech savvy, hard workin’, ass kickin’ crowd of creative workers with opportunities to spare.

As local social networking consultant Nathan Wright puts it: “Des Moines is the greatest city in the world because you can make epic shit happen here, period.”

Des Moines is home to TweetUp Badges, the Sarah Lacy Square, a butter cow, 80/35, Market Street Media Foundry, and, of course, Impromptu Studio – the first (and most badass) coworking joint in the Midwest ran by Daniel Shipton. Des Moines has grown a lot in the two years since Fast Company proclaimed it “The Hippest City” in 2007 and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. Locals work hard and play harder, so we had to celebrate our first anniversary as part of Advance: A Week to Move Forward!

Advance: A Week to Move Forward

cultivate:dsm is launching with a week dedicated to collaboration, inspiration and Moving Forward. A partnership of Impromptu Studio and Market Street Media Foundry and the brainchild of Dan Shipton, cultivate:dsm is dedicated to providing a platform for big thinkers to rally the support they need to act big.

Advance will be held July 20-25 with events at Impromptu and Market Street. All Advance events are free and open to the public. The program is designed for creative and business professionals alike with useful, casual events encouraging people to work together and get to work.

Wednesday’s events will anchor Advance week with conversation, learning, and socializing. Acclaimed author Tara Hunt (The Whuffie Factor) will lead a presentation and Q&A about using social capital to build your business. A social meetup with conversation and karaoke led by local and national coworking and arts leaders will conclude the evening. Other Advance: A Week to Move Forward events include the Ignite Des Moines Remix luncheon, Your Baby’s Ugly aesthetic critique night, Rewrite copywriting workshop, Freelancer Friday, Expert Mode, and Market Day.

Bring on the Whuffaoke!

Did someone say Karaoke?  HELL YES.  Wednesday, July 22nd the Whuffaoke crew are helping us celebrate our one year anniversary in style!

“Shortly after the successful release of Tara’s book The Whuffie Factor, Tara desperately wanted a way to have the time and space to write her next book and continue to travel around. Taking a look at her current situation, she knew that, in order to do that, she would need to quit her job and move back to Canada (where she is a citizen). She picked Montreal, because it’s awesome and beautiful and incredibly affordable to be a writer in. Within minutes, it dawned on her that this was the PERFECT opportunity to pursue her dream of karaoke-ing across America. Why just move when you can move AND bring karaoke happiness in the process?” – via the Whuffaoke site

More information and the full schedule for Advance Week can be found the cultivate:dsm site.

Last week we held Hack Night for the first time.  A dozen passion-filled folks showed up.  Projects were pushed forward, pizza and a few cold brews were consumed, and everyone said “DO IT AGAIN.”  So we are.  The 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month will now officially be HACK NIGHTS!  If you don’t know what Hack Night is….read on.

Do you have a side project (or three) that you have been neglecting? Do you desire an open environment to exchange ideas, concepts and demos? Want to garner input and feedback on your TOP SECRET project? If so, Hack Night is for you!

Hack Night is an open invitation for everyone to come and work on their projects at Impromptu Studio. It doesn’t matter if you are working on a php backend for a website, a digital art piece, or knitting your Grandma a sweater. Come out and interact with others and see what everyone is up to!

Hack Night starts around 6pm on the 2nd and 4th Monday of every month. Hack Night goes until all the creative juices have been exhausted. Snacks are welcome. If a few people chip-in, pizza may get ordered. Of course, caffeine will be consumed in large quantities. We hope to see you at the next Hack Night!

On Thursday May 28, 2009 from 7:00pm – 9:00pm Dan Welk from Click! Photography will be guiding participants through digital photography so participants can start taking spectacular pictures.

The workshop will be split into two parts: The first hour will focus on general photography principles and how they apply to “point and click” digital cameras. The second hour will focus on more advanced techniques and how to harness the power of DSLR cameras.

Sign up on Upcoming to reserve your spot today! Oh, and bring your digital camera along to the workshop!

Nathan T. Wright, Andy Brudtkuhl, James Eliason, Karri Wells, Rich Drake, Andrew Roger and Hillary Brown will be presenting at Impromptu Studio for What I Learned at South by Southwest 2009. For those who were not able to attend SXSW you will get to  hear about everything they learned.

Like most of our great events, there will be a keg of beer from Olde Main and snacks on hand donated by Technology Association of Iowa.

RSVP today, tickets are limited.

Tuesday March 24th Ben Stone of RPO Consulting hosted his ribbon cutting and a general celebration of his brand new company at Impromptu Studio.

Ben had a great crowd with lots of local business professionals, consultants and freelancers. Ben treated all to amazing food and beverages and the party lasted well into the evening.

We are so excited that Ben has decided to call Impromptu home and look forward to watching his business grow.

Mike Wagner of The White Rabbit Group and Mike Ferrari of SmartyPig were our speakers for the final installment of the WhatNow? lunch and learn series. And they certainly did a fantastic job of wrapping things up for us. Mike Ferrari reminded us “you’ll be surprised what you can do yourself” and Mike Wagner emphasized that “Advertising is the price you pay for being UN-remarkable”. Ferrari told us about how he sets aside a few hours everyday to monitor SmartyPig’s online presence. He told us a story about how a small “snafu” early on made him wonder if it was all over before it started but by handling the mess and responding to EVERYONE in a matter of days (from a Friday to a Monday which is unheard of for “banker hours”) they wiped the egg from their face and emerged a more credible and trusted company. Wagner spoke heavily on the relationship with clients affecting a companies marketing strategy and how it fails when the client is no longer in love with their customers.

We want to extend a big Thank You to Nathan Wright of Lava Row and Andy Brudtkuhl of 48Web for planning speakers and hosting the WhatNow? A  six part entrepreneur survival guide. We may provide the space to do great things but our wonderful community of businesses and friends make these great things happen.