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THE CHAIR:
GREENWICH RECAP

Kadance

Our final event of 2025 brought together an incredible group of founders and funders inside Zinnia’s headquarters. The conversations that unfolded proved what we’ve known all along: when you put the right people in the right room, extraordinary things happen.

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Meet Our Des Moines Funders

The Funders

GREENWICH

Founder Overviews

Refocus AI

Refocus AI offers AI-powered software built for insurance agencies and MGAs to reduce churn, automate renewals, and lower servicing costs. Their platform integrates across agency management systems and analyzes policy lifecycle, service call sentiment, and behavioral signals to identify accounts at risk of cancellation. They aim to help insurers retain more business while running operations more efficiently.

AdvisorCRM

AdvisorCRM is a unified platform built for financial advisors to grow their business and streamline operations from lead capture and appointment bookings to automated follow-up across email, SMS, voicemail and more.

After.com

After.com offers an internet-first platform that combines simple cremation services, funeral pre-planning, and insurance protection. Through transparent, upfront pricing and dedicated care teams available 24/7, the company aims to shift the burden from families back to what matters most—celebrating life.

Navierre

Navierre is a healthcare platform built to connect patients, providers, and insurers seamlessly. The system combines appointment-booking, centralized health records, wearable-data integration, and analytics to simplify care and drive better outcomes.

DeepVest

DeepVest is an AI-powered investment platform that serves as your “investment assistant,” using machine learning to surface opportunities, analyze data and support smarter fund-management decisions.

NextLevel Advisors

NextLevel Advisors offers an integrated learning platform designed to help financial advisors accelerate growth and scale their practice. The program combines industry-leading training, proven business strategies, and real-world insights from top advisors.

PlaybookBuilder

PlaybookBuilder knowledge‐management and training platform designed for businesses to document, share and scale their core processes and best practices.

Kadance

Kadance an integrated precision health navigation platform built for individuals seeking proactive, personalized insights into their genetic health and wellness journey. The company combines genomic-based testing with ongoing clinical support, including pharmacogenomic evaluations, hereditary cancer risk assessments, and expert-led care coordination, to help members make more informed health decisions.

Snapshots

Colby Presenting for capital raise
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Jon Loduca
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Greenwich Networking

QUOTES

From the Founders

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These events continue to evolve and get better and better.

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I love the TFC model and feel good about the connections and possible investment.

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The lineup of funders is EXTREMELY impressive, and the setup allowed for some great peer-to-peer networking and sharing.

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Great to be able to sit with like-minded people on the first night, but even better to visit with Founders and Funders over dinner and cocktails.

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The experience was perfect!

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Loved the private area and that it was an open networking event with food and drink and not necessarily a seated dinner.

Est. 1919 · Des Moines, Iowa

HOTEL FORT DES MOINES

A century of stories, one remarkable address

Famous Guests
Scandals & Secrets
Firsts & Innovations
The Beginning
1922
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1922

Helen Keller rang in the New Year here, staying at the hotel while in Des Moines for performances over New Year's Eve.

1927
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1927

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig had breakfast here before an exhibition game. Two of baseball's greatest, at the same table, in Des Moines.

1927
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1927

Charles Lindbergh hosted a banquet here after his famous transatlantic flight. The menu featured boneless squab — reportedly a rare Des Moines delicacy at the time.

1933
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1933

Amelia Earhart visited the hotel to speak about her solo flight across the Atlantic — a rare chance for Iowans to hear her story firsthand.

1947
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1947

Mae West stayed here during her performance of "Come on Up" at the KRNT Radio Theater. One imagines she made an impression on the staff.

1959
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1959

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev occupied the Presidential Suite during the height of the Cold War. This hotel has seen history made.

1960
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1960

JFK, LBJ, and Hubert Humphrey all attended dinner here and held a meeting on farm policy — three future or sitting presidents under one roof.

1980
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1980

Elizabeth Taylor stayed here during a Des Moines appearance. Hollywood glamour, right here in the heartland.

1980
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1980

Elizabeth Taylor stayed here during a Des Moines appearance. Hollywood glamour, right here in the heartland.

2003
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2003

Cher requested her own personal mattress be placed in room #1025. The hotel obliged. Room 1025 has never quite been the same.

2008
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2008

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both stayed here during the Iowa caucuses — rivals for the presidency, sharing the same address for a night.

1939
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1939

Police raided the Log Cabin Room on the 11th floor, seizing liquor and gambling equipment. The tip reportedly came from the men's own wives.

1927
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1927

When Lindbergh dined here post-transatlantic flight, he reportedly insisted on serving boneless squab, an extravagance that raised eyebrows across Iowa.

1959
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1959

The FBI monitored Khrushchev's stay closely. Guests on nearby floors reportedly had no idea who was sleeping down the hall.

1971
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1971

President Nixon greeted supporters in the lobby during his stay — a reminder that this hotel has always been where Iowa's political drama plays out.

1919
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1919

When it opened, every single room had a bathtub, purified chilled circulating water, and a window. Unheard of luxury for its era.

1938
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1938

The hotel announced the first air-conditioned guest room in Des Moines, a genuine technological milestone that made front-page news.

1953
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1953

100 rooms received TV sets in what was reportedly the largest single installation of televisions in Iowa at the time. The fee to operate yours? 25 cents.

1982
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1982

Governor Terry Branstad nominated the hotel to the National Register of Historic Places, cementing its place in Iowa's official history.

1919
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1919

The hotel opened on July 15, 1919, built for approximately $1.5 million and designed by the architectural firm Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson.

1919
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1919

Its opening was a statement of ambition: every room had a private bathtub, purified water, and a window. In 1919, this was genuinely extraordinary.

1974
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1974

Ronald Reagan attended WHO Radio's 50th anniversary celebration at the hotel, proof that Fort Des Moines has always been Iowa's premier gathering place.

2021
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2021

After major renovations, the hotel reopened as part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, a century of history, restored for the next hundred years.