Rob Williams

Director

Rob Williams is director at SourceLink. In this role, Rob helps a variety of communities—from mid-sized cities to entire states—build and improve their entrepreneurial infrastructure. He has extensive project management expertise, including successful implementations of SourceLink consulting and technologies from Seattle to San Juan.

Before joining SourceLink, Rob spent nearly a decade at the University of Northern Iowa Center for Business Growth and Innovation where he led and expanded statewide entrepreneurship support programs. Preeminent examples included the Iowa Business Concierge, Dream Big Grow Here business grant program and an EDA-funded Entrepreneurial Regions Project, where he trained rural economic developers in how to create and facilitate entrepreneurially-supportive ecosystems.

In collaboration with the Iowa Economic Development Authority, Rob was the University of Northern Iowa co-manager of the IASourceLink initiative, a statewide affiliate of SourceLink launched in 2012. In this role, he helped advance its mission of connecting Iowa entrepreneurs and small businesses to more than 360 resource providers across the state.

Prior to his work with IASourceLink, Rob served as a small business development center business consultant for the University of Northern Iowa helping diverse entrepreneurs start and grow their firms in the urban core of Waterloo, Iowa and in surrounding rural communities.

Blog Posts by Rob Williams