The ISU Startup Factory (SUF), an incubator program for technology and innovation startups, has named an Iowa State alumnus as an entrepreneur-in-residence.
The program, based out of the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, will add Andrew Kirpalani as an entrepreneur-in-residence.
Kirpalani joins two other entrepreneurs-in-residence, Donna Ramaeker-Zahn and Jon Kallen.
As an entrepreneur-in-residence, Kirpalani will serve as part of the factory’s teaching team and serve as a mentor for the Iowa-based participants.
Kirpalani said he looks forward to lending a hand to founders, a role he was in just eight years ago.
“In all of the Midwest, I think there is a lot of opportunity that is unrealized in early-stage businesses,” Kirpalani stated in a news release. “I’m really looking forward to being exposed to multiple ideas all at once within this accelerator and lending a hand to founders as they grow.”
Participants in the program typically have been awarded funding for research, have completed 20 or more customer conversations and a have strong desire to work outside of their comfort zone.
Cohorts work in the program for 18 weeks of workshops on business development, customer cognizance and more.
Workshops and discussions center around self-awareness and strong communication skills, intellectual property, business models, financial reports, vision, mission and values and more.
“The SUF teaching team welcomes Andrew Kirpalani,” said ISU Startup Factory Director Peter Hong in the news release. “He adds to the breadth and strength of the team to help advise the diverse co-founders of each SUF cohort with his successful SaaS software startup business that he took from ideation to exit.”
Kirpalani has more than 15 years of entrepreneurship experience and in 2015 co-founded WorkHound, a platform designed to serve companies with a remote workforce. The analytics-focused platform features worker feedback and insights to increase productivity and morale in an online environment.
Kirpalani, a 2005 Iowa State computer engineering graduate, has held several computer engineering jobs in addition to WorkHound since graduating.
As for the other entrepreneurs-in-residence, Ramaeker-Zahn specializes in business strategy and funding, and Kallen has experience with engineering and law and has worked with energy companies and infrastructure project developers.
