Four business ideas shared $5,000 in prize money at the University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center Venture School Spring Pitch Competition on April 11. Paul Altvater of Level Up Bouldering won $2,400, for his idea of a combined rock-climbing, weight lifting and yoga studio. Alan Murdock took second place and an award of $1,200 […]

The North Iowa Area Community College John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center and the college’s Small Business Development Center are hosting a Business Transition Planning Workshop on Thursday, April 20. The event is designed for attorneys, banking associates, brokers, CPAs, business owners and community leaders and economic developers to attend. Christopher Proskey and James McCarthy of BrownWinick […]

The University of Iowa Venture School, a statewide program for entrepreneurs, is accepting applications for its spring 2023 cohort, which will be held at multiple locations across the state beginning the week of Feb. 20. The sessions meet one night a week for seven weeks as either hybrid, fully remote, or in-person, depending on location. […]

The University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (Iowa JPEC) has joined with Iowa’s West Coast Initiative in northwest Iowa to strengthen and extend the reach of its Venture Mentoring Service program. According to a news release, Iowa JPEC is reaching out to serve previously underserved areas of Iowa, including Plymouth, Monona and Woodbury counties, which work together […]

The University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center announced that Des Moines Area Community College has become a partner institution for its statewide Venture School Entrepreneurial Training Program. In this new role, DMACC will help recruit entrepreneurs, teams and startup coaches, and organize a Local Launch Day pitch event to be held the final night […]

Cambio, a personal finance startup co-founded by Iowan Justin Dwyer, has been chosen to participate in the Y Combinator, a nationwide startup accelerator based in California’s Silicon Valley. The accelerator program lasts three months and invests $500,000 in every company that participates. According to a news release, Cambio’s platform is aimed at helping the 40 million […]

Home Base Iowa, America’s Small Business Development Center Iowa and the Iowa State University Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship are co-hosting the first Veterans Entrepreneurship Conference to support veterans and their families who are starting or expanding a business. Participants can attend sessions covering financial and legal basics and marketing and have opportunities to network and […]

University of Iowa graduate students and faculty interested in commercializing their research can now pursue that at the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center’s new business incubator, the university announced Tuesday. The incubator is designed to be more flexible than the undergraduate incubator so students and faculty can participate no matter their schedule. The first cohort started this spring […]

Candi Karsjens has been named the new director of North Iowa Area Community College’s John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center following the departure of Tim Putnam in December 2021. Karsjens joined NIACC’s Pappajohn center in 2019 as director of innovation and acceleration, bringing more than 30 years of experience in business and industry, including owning several businesses. In […]

The North Iowa Community College Pappajohn Center and the Small Business Development Center are offering a free virtual workshop for people considering starting a business. The Start Smart workshop will cover topics like creating a business plan, doing market research and garnering startup funding. Attendees will be able to follow up with the SBDC after […]