Pappajohn business competition connects students with entrepreneurship
Photo: Emily Harmon/Iowa State Daily
Judi Eyles, associate director of the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, hosts one of the weekly meetings for the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Learning Community at the Delta Upsilon fraternity on Thursday, Nov. 17. The students, Ashley Hunter, second year in Master’s public administration; Alex Andrade, senoir in management and international business; Ryan Betters, sophomore in civil engineering, and Naipong Vang, junior in management information systems, are part of the peer-mentoring program. “We bring a positive environment to both the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Learning Community,” Vang said.
February 19, 2012
The Pappajohn New Venture Business Plan Competition allows students who are interested in entrepreneurship to experience what it is like to create a real business plan.
Students get to work with mentors and Iowa business professionals who help them further develop their business plans. Students prepare to talk about their plans in front of the judges.
The ISU Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, which was created by John Pappajohn, is a gateway for ISU students and faculty to become connected with the entrepreneurial world. It connects Iowa businesses to the ISU community.
This center holds several events for students who are interested in entrepreneurship, and one of its biggest events — the Pappajohn New Venture Business Plan Competition — is coming up.
“The competition is broken down into regionals and finals, and 10 to 15 groups participate in the finals. The plans are judged on their content and viability,” said Judy Eyles, assistant director of the Pappajohn Center.
There has been a wide variety of plans that have won in the past, including everything from software programs to retail businesses to online gaming site designs.
The awards for the Pappajohn New Venture Business Plan Competition are three $5,000 top prizes for the overall finalists and three $100 prizes specifically for the top three ISU student finalists.
Senior Michael Koenig was one of last year’s final winners, and he and his partners, junior Stuart McCulloh and senior Holden Nyhus used the $5,000 prize to start their company Scout Pro. All three are majors in agricultural and life sciences education.
“Our products were developed to take the guess work out of crop scouting and increase efficiency,” Koenig said. “It is an app for your smartphone, iPad or tablet that allows you to identify all the weeds, insects and diseases in your fields.”
Their product allows farmers to keep track of what is going on in their fields by creating crop-scouting reports that report what weeds, insects or diseases are in a certain section of a field.
To be eligible for this competition, both undergraduate and graduate students at any Iowa postsecondary institution can compete as individuals or in groups of five or fewer with at least one student member. Business plans can only be for startup businesses, not existing businesses.
More information about the Pappajohn New Venture Business Plan Competition or the ISU Pappajohn Center can be found at the ISU Pappajohn Center website or by contacting assistant director Judy Eyles.
