Michael Peverill, an ISU graduate, is the owner of Intredium, a software consulting company in Des Moines.

Peverill graduated from Iowa State with a B.A. in computer science in 2004.

“When I first started there were a lot of people looking at the major,” Peverill said. “When I graduated there was a fraction.”

After Peverill graduated, it was difficult for him to find a job.

“The market was oversaturated with failing businesses,” Peverill said. “When I graduated there was nobody hiring. If you could find a job you were lucky.”

Many of the reasons for these events had to do with the Dot com bubble burst in 2000, where technology stocks became inflated.

Peverill learned that it wouldn’t be his degree he got at Iowa State that would land him a job.

Once I got out in the field I realized it’s not about education, Peverill said. Instead it becomes networking, who you know.

The idea of a software consulting company didn’t originate for Peverill until after he graduated.

“The idea itself didn’t originate while I was at Iowa State,” Peverill said.

Peverill had to understand not just the technical side of a company, but the business side as well.

“The business side is what is really important,” Peverill said. “I had to understand it in order to do my job well. I had to learn how to manage people in human resources.”

Peverill said, “Without the business education, I lacked all of those skills.”

Peverill received his M.B.A. at the University of Phoenix in 2010.

Business gives you the opportunity to exceed, Peverill said. You can take that degree and do whatever you want with it. It’s the degree that you get as much as you want out of it.

Students in entrepreneurship come from all areas in terms of their major.

“There are students in every college that have participated at the center of entrepreneurship,” said Judi Eyles, associate director of the Department of Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship.

According to an ISU Alumni survey released in February 2010 from the Department of Economics, about 6.8 percent of respondent graduates who graduated in 2002 through 2006 reported starting at least one business.

In that same survey, the number of respondents starting their business increases to 23.8 percent in graduate students dating back to 1982.

Basically, the entrepreneurship rate goes up for older graduates and is down for recent graduates.

According to that survey, undergraduates from the College of Design, Agriculture, and Life Sciences have the higher entrepreneurship rates than any other areas of study at Iowa State.

“I think the big thing about business I found is to get a general understanding of all the concepts,” Peverill said. “A lot of people out there can’t distinguish the difference between marketing and advertising.”

One of the challenges that Peverill faced was getting his name out there in the business field.

“What I found to be challenging were sales and marketing,” Peverill said. “You have to get brand recognition; you have to get your name out there so companies will recognize you. You have to get the company started on that firm.”

“It would be pretty hard to go out on your own to be successful,” said Alejandra Peverill, Mike Peverill’s wife and ISU graduate with a degree in advertising.

Peverill and his wife worked together when they started their business which made it a little bit easier.

“We divided up all the work; it would’ve been pretty overwhelming for one person to do,” Alejandra said. “It would be pretty hard to go out on your own to be successful. There’s a lot of work to do.”

Alejandra said, “You have to keep on top of everything. If one person doesn’t remember then usually the second person does.”

The more experience and time a person has in the field of business the more they know.

“You learn a lot and at the same time you make a number of mistakes,” Alejandra said.

It’s also good idea for someone starting a business to have a dependable lawyer.

“You have to make sure that you have a good lawyer that you trust for things such as contracts, Alejandra said. “They have to be someone you trust and who won’t rip you off.

According to Mike Peverill the most important thing for a student in business to be successful, he or she must be interested in their field.

“Understand what you’re interested in doing,” Peverill said. “If you go after what you enjoy and if you excel at what you enjoy you will do good in life. It’s more passion, the only thing that keeps you going when you’re an owner of a company is how much or bad you want it. “

Peverill said, “You have to have that passion or drive to push your way through. If you’re not doing something you enjoy then you’re not going to make it.”