JOHN PAPPAJOHN ENTREPRENEURIAL CENTER UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
NEWS | SPRING 2017
BY THE NUMBERS
90+
STUDENT BUSINESSES ARE CURRENTLY BEING SUPPORTED BY THE FOUNDERS CLUB
33 STARTUPS FROM ACROSS THE STATE OF IOWA ARE PARTICIPATING IN OUR 2017 SPRING VENTURE SCHOOL THE JACOBSON INSTITUTE FOR YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP HAS BEEN INNOVATING K-12 FOR
10 YEARS
OSCAR SALAZAR INSPIRES AT BEN S. SUMMERWILL LECTURE Over 850 people crowded the Iowa Memorial Union on Monday, February 13, to listen to Oscar Salazar, a co-founder of Uber, during the Ben S. Summerwill Lecture. This lecture was made possible by a collaboration among MidWestOne Bank, Iowa JPEC, UI Lecture Committee, Tippie College of Business, and the University of Iowa Office of Outreach and Engagement. Salazar visited the University of Iowa to speak with students about technological advancements relating to artificial intelligence, surgery, transportation, education, and strategy. As a member of Uber’s founding team and a young investor in the technology sector, Salazar is uniquely qualified to talk on the subject. Salazar’s personal mission is to boost the world of artificial intelligence (AI) over the next few years to drive technological innovations for people everywhere. In order to accomplish his mission, Salazar needs help. While in Iowa City, he urged students in the audience to keep learning and moving after they leave college. He believes it is never too late to start building and learning new skills, whether you’re an official student or not. Technology makes it easier now more than ever to be a lifelong learner, with coding academies and tech walk-throughs available to anyone with an internet connection. As one of the leading tech entrepreneurs, Salazar’s advice comes from experience. On Tuesday morning, Salazar spoke with entrepreneurship and business students over breakfast in a small group setting. While this discussion was more personal, Salazar reinforced the importance of being technologically savvy as an entrepreneur. Salazar, after all, leveraged his technological knowledge into a successful business career that shows no signs of stopping.
COMPETITION RECAPS IDEASTORM
Winning Teams (pictured above)
An impressive number of students showed support for their peers at the spring 2017 IdeaStorm. Thirty-three student business ideas were pitched at IdeaStorm, with ideas ranging from puppy rental services to lawn care technologies to personalized wooden utensils - and everything in between. Congratulations to the five students who were awarded cash prizes for their ideas.
1st place - $500: WayFind
Basil Chatha, a Chemistry and Computer Science major, placed first and won $500 for his business idea called WayFind. He pitched the concept of an indoor positioning mobile application that helps users navigate venues not traditionally mapped by popular platforms like Google and Apple Maps - places like hospitals, convention centers, and shopping malls. WayFind would use an indoor positioning technology to help track users within these venues (as this cannot be done with GPS) to help accomplish this task and provide the best user experience.
Hunter Haws
Basil Chatha
2nd place - $400: Intelimerge
Nathan Haas
3rd place - $300: Trifly
4th place - $200: Biogest
Cecilia Wolf
5th place - $100: TravelBox Malik Salsberry
IOWA STARTUP GAMES
Winning Teams
Fourty-five University of Iowa students from a broad range of majors joined together to create a business at the spring Iowa Startup Games. This competition encourages students to pitch their business idea, team up with peers, and develop a business in a weekend.
Vending machine providing hygiene products to homeless people
On Friday night, thirty-nine pitches were shared. The students had an abundance of ideas, ranging from class attendance trackers to coffee creamer ice cubes, and were not afraid to share them. After pitching their startup idea, students voted on which concepts should be developed through the rest of the weekend. Saturday morning brought the students out of the Pappajohn Business Building and into the streets of downtown Iowa City to conduct customer discovery interviews. With this crucial feedback, teams pivoted and evolved. Teams transitioned to Kinnick Stadium on Sunday for the final pitches to share the story of their business progress to a panel of judges. Congratulations to all the teams who competed during this challenging and rewarding weekend.
1st place - $1,000: Hero’s Can
2nd place - $750: Bloom Uber of tutoring, designed for international students to connect with domestic students 3rd place -$500: Funny Nuggets
Offering comedy night for kids through childcare services *Also won $250 for People’s Choice Award
Judges’ Choice - $250: Creative Hustle Connecting brands and social media influencers
Best Presentation - $250: Flow
A non-energy drink that helps you focus and won’t leave you with the jitters
Student studies UI effort to help sustainable entrepreneurs in small Belize town WRITTEN BY TOM SNEE FEATURED IN IOWA NOW PUBLICATION
Every year during spring break, University of Iowa faculty member Bob Walker takes a group of entrepreneurial students to consult with small-business owners in the village of San Pedro Columbia, Belize. Last fall, UI student Mackenzie Phillips visited on her own as part of a research assignment and found Walker’s efforts have made a big difference in helping Belizeans improve their livelihoods through sustainable entrepreneurialism. “Some of them became emotional telling me how much they appreciated working with the students and what a difference they made,” says Phillips, a senior from Remsen, Iowa, majoring in marketing and minoring in social work. “One café owner was in tears telling me how our students taught her about short- and long-term goals, which makes it so much easier to manage her restaurant.” Walker, a lecturer in the Tippie College of Business and John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, has been taking students to Belize for five years, starting when he taught at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids. San Pedro Columbia is a challenge for entrepreneurs because of its small market size—the population is about 700—and remote location in southern Belize. The region has some ecotourism, and Mayan historical sites dating back to 700 A.D. also generate economic activity. The rest of the economy is made up mostly of traditional farming, chocolate making, and hand-weaving Mayan arts and embroidery. Most entrepreneurs’ businesses support their families and provide services to the community and tourists. Walker brings students to places like San Pedro Columbia because he believes it’s important for Hawkeyes to share their intellectual capital with the world, especially with those who are trying to make a better life for themselves. He tells his students to approach their work in the spirit of service, learning in a place few of them might ever have an opportunity to visit. The work not only gives the students real-world experience analyzing businesses and suggesting ways for them to improve, it’s a cross-cultural exchange that can change their lives.
“We want to help the entrepreneurs make real, sustainable change with their businesses to find their passions and help them make their dreams come true within the limitations they face in Belize,” Walker says. “In an environment like this, little things can make a huge difference.” Walker’s students have worked in southern Belize with Mayan artisans, restaurateurs, solar fruit dryers, an art gallery, a guest house with an immersive Mayan cultural experience, and an elementary school teaching sustainable agriculture. Much of their effort focuses on analyzing business systems and working with the entrepreneurs to identify target markets and improve branding, inventory control, and customer service. Walker says the students are applying what they learn in the classroom to help others within the constraints of a developing nation. Walker commissioned Phillips to assess the long-term results of his and his students’ work. She spent one week in San Pedro Columbia last November, living with a local family and talking with 10 businesses that Walker’s students consulted with. Phillips wrote a questionnaire for clients to complete, visited businesses, and conducted interviews with the entrepreneurs assessing the students’ impact. She will present her research and findings at the Venturewell Open conference in Washington, DC, March 23–25. All the entrepreneurs said business improved significantly as a result of the UI students’ work. One craft-shop owner reported sales tripled after she took the students’ advice. Another still proudly used the same inventory management book given by a student. “The key to international development at the micro level is exposing individuals to knowledge and business practices and adapting them to work in their local environment,” says Phillips. “It was 100 percent positive feedback, and it was so inspiring to talk with the local entrepreneurs.”
CONGRATULATIONS TO Iowa JPEC being ranked #2 in the u.s. for entrepreneurial programs LendEDU, 2017 | Higher Education Financing Organization
Youth training expands to miami
SIGMA NU TAU TREKS TO CHICAGO STARTUPS
The Jacobson Institute is expanding its national reach with a training partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida. The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Workshop, delivered across the 2016-17 school year, combines the Institute’s BizInnovator and STEM Innovator professional development for teachers. Institute Director Dawn Bowlus and Dr. Leslie Flynn, cocreators of STEM Innovator, recently returned from leading on-site training in Miami for 17 teachers. The middle and high school teachers come from Career and Technology Education tracks: ag science, family consumer science, business/entrepreneurship, and criminal justice. They represent schools from all across the Miami-Dade school district, the fourth-largest in the nation. “We are hoping over the next one to two years to expand this workshop across their school district,” Bowlus said. The training workshop is a blended model combining faceto-face sessions and online training. Next steps for these teachers are the online sessions this spring and summer. The Miami-Dade teachers join a growing network across 49 states of teachers who are working with the Jacobson Institute to infuse entrepreneurship and innovation into their classrooms. Shown Left: Miami-Dade County Public School teachers work through an activity during February training by the Jacobson Institute in Miami, Florida
The University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center 108 John Pappajohn Business Bldg., Ste. S160D Iowa City, IA 52242-1994 319-335-1022 | iowajpec@uiowa.edu
IOWAJPEC.ORG Iowa Entrepreneurship @iowajpec
During a recent trek to Chicago, eighteen Sigma Nu Tau members shadowed entrepreneurs at local companies. Sigma Nu Tau is a national entrepreneurial honor society. On the trek, they explored Google, 1871, TechNexus, L Street Collaborative, mHUB, Entrenuity, and VividSeats. While these companies are distinct from one another, students heard a similar message from the entrepreneurs they met with – pursue something that you are passionate about and take risks in order to achieve your goals. At every company along the trek, students were greeted by seasoned entrepreneurs and University of Iowa alumni. The trek brought students to behind-the-scenes spaces where new ideas are created and implemented. Students met with employees, founders, and upper management, receiving a comprehensive understanding of the entrepreneurial forces at work in each company. The resounding message of the trip was that the most successful entrepreneurs are pursuing their passion and even though they have often failed, they never gave up.