Students and entrepreneurs from across Iowa are coming to Ames next Friday to attend the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Iowa Conference so they can gain resources and learn.

Judi Eyles, assistant director of the ISU Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, said her goal for the conference was “to provide an opportunity for entrepreneurially-minded Iowa college students to network and learn from each other.”

Eyles said the all-day conference would consist of speakers in the morning, a lunch to showcase John Pappajohn, and small groups for sharing ideas in the afternoon.

“We hope this will be an information-gathering and an information-sharing day,” Eyles said.

Speakers include Danny O’Neill, an ISU graduate and president of The Roasterie, a gourmet coffee roasting company which he started; Lee Kite, national director of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization; Kassidy Briles, 15-year-old owner of Dream Wings, a butterfly supply company and John Pappajohn, well-known and successful entrepreneur in Iowa and on Wall Street.

Students should go to the conference because it is a good opportunity to talk and come up with ideas, Eyles said.

“It also helps students that have had an interest in starting their own company some day, realize that there are other students out there just like them,” she said.

The conference is sponsored by the Pappajohn Center and the ISU Entrepreneurs Club. Eyles said club members developed the idea to host the conference after returning from a national entrepreneurship conference, excited and ready to share their knowledge with other students.

Kristy Kennon, project coordinator at the Pappajohn Center, said the Entrepreneurs Club officers were doing a lot of work to get ready.

“The Entrepreneurs Club officer team has turned an idea into a real conference with attendees from colleges and universities from across Iowa,” Kennon said.

The free conference will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22 at the Gateway Conference Center. Registration is required in advance and is available online at www.isueclub.com.