Discover a Land of Opportunity in the Ames Region

Letter Eats By B

Big things are happening across the Greater Ames region, and they are deeply rooted in the dreams of local business owners like Britt Stormer and Aaron Lott.

Neither could have imagined that what started as a creative outlet for one and a long-term dream for the other would blossom into thriving, full-time commercial enterprises. Discover how a commitment to small joys and strong community networks launched their unique entrepreneurial journeys.

Letter Eats by B: From Kitchen Counter Side Hustle to Brick-and-Mortar Success

Stormer says her journey into entrepreneurship wasn’t planned. After graduating from Des Moines Area Community College, she began working full-time as a respiratory therapist. To take the edge off long weeks, she would get creative by opening her home to friends and family, laying out charcuterie spreads so decadent and detailed that everyone began saying, “You could sell these.”

Stormer started catering office and birthday parties and school events, turning her creative outlet into a side hustle that is now a full-time business.

“It’s surreal to walk into something each day that started in my kitchen,” Stormer says.

Now, Letter Eats By B has a storefront in Boone, where the words “Be inspired” are on the wall.

“Seeing how people have been encouraged by something I created means a lot,” says Stormer, who is quick to credit her community as her source of constant inspiration and success.

Deepening Roots Through Community Alignment

Even as she expands her footprint directly into the Ames market, Stormer is quick to credit her regional neighbors as her constant source of inspiration and commercial success.

“Joining the Ames Regional Alliance helped me meet people, build relationships and get involved in the community, which opened doors I never could have opened myself,” Stormer says. “My business has given me more flexibility for my family and more creative freedom.”

The support Stormer has received has allowed her to help others, including hosting a 5K fundraiser and donating her “too pretty to eat” charcuterie boards to various local causes. Stormer even started a scholarship for local entrepreneurs in 2025, proving that a business can be so much more than a business if it has a heart for community.

Mark Looney

Lott Music Studio: Crafting Harmony and Legacy

“Music is a gateway to something more powerful: self-expression and joy. There is nothing else like it,” Lott says. The same can be said of the journey he took to open Lott Music Studio.

Lott studied music performance in piano and voice at Iowa State University in Ames and spent several years abroad in London and Spain, earning a master’s in piano accompaniment performance and vocal coaching from the Royal College of Music in London.

Around 2020, when he received news of his father’s cancer diagnosis, he and his husband moved back to the United States.

As his father’s cancer progressed and COVID-19 forced his family’s architecture firm to pivot to online, Lott asked to rent a room in the same building.

“Our music school used to be my dad’s architecture firm, Benjamin Design Collaborative, named after my brother Benjamin, who passed three decades ago,” Lott says. “So this building is close to my heart.”

Lott says he opened Lott Music Studio on the same day he got his first COVID-19 vaccine. From there, business growth was steady, and within six months of opening, he received more requests than he could handle on his own.

The studio now has 18 teachers providing lessons on six instruments, and it is launching a student-teacher program in fall 2026 in partnership with Iowa State University. “Our teachers are so passionate about what they do, and we want to be a part of the community and share what we have,” Lott says.

This makes the studio a place of collaboration, with other businesses joining forces to create community-focused events.

The studio also participates in downtown celebrations year-round.

“The Downtown Ames organization is crucial to connecting with others,” Lott says. “All the businesses work together to help one another, which makes Greater Ames a great place for a new business to get its start.”

30 Years of Sparking Innovation: The ISU Pappajohn Center

Aspiring creators looking to start a business in Ames, Iowa, do not have to navigate the path alone. The region’s thriving startup culture is heavily backed by the John Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, named in honor of the legendary Iowa venture capitalist and philanthropist.

The center provides participants with unprecedented access to:

• High-stakes pitch competitions and equity seed funding
• Direct matching with veteran executive mentors
• The CYstarters summer accelerator program
• The Startup Factory technology business incubator
• The Start Something Network for multi-disciplinary collaboration

Timothy Scheve

Real-World Success Stories

The successful companies launched by students and alumni clearly demonstrate the impact of this robust regional incubator system:

• Spock’s Sanctuary: Founded by former ISU students Cam and Cole Reiman, this unique venture operates as a successful reptile rescue and educational zoo in Des Moines.
• Perfect Plantista: Launched by ISU student Zackry Brannen, this organic plant spray eliminates invasive fungus gnats and has already generated more than $1 million in retail revenue.
• SparkDefy: Invented by current ISU industrial design student and welder Bolu Ojo, this startup manufactures a specialized, fireproof protective headpiece designed to keep long hair safe from open industrial sparks.

Whether you are looking to scale a home kitchen side hustle, establish a creative arts academy or commercialize a brand-new industrial invention, central Iowa provides the exact capital, mentorship and community support required to turn your side gig into a lasting enterprise.