It’s common career advice: “Pursue your passion.” University of Iowa alumna Lauryn Ash pluralized the saying, weaving writing and gaming into her professional life. The writer, game designer, and entrepreneur has worked on games such as Marvel’s Avengers and Dungeon Defenders II since graduating from Iowa in 2014 with a BA in English with a creative writing track, a BA in international studies...

Sprayer Mods, an attachable sprayer that uses a camera to detect weeds and minimize herbicide costs for farmers, won first place and a $3,000 award — as well as a $500 Customer Discovery Award — at Hawkeye Startup Accelerator Final Pitches on July 30 at MERGE in Iowa City.

The statewide network of five John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers in Iowa have received a $200,000 grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to establish a mentoring program for entrepreneurs.

On April 13 and 14 the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (Iowa JPEC) held the second phase of the Iowa Innovation Challenge. The Iowa Innovation Challenge awarded more than $150,000 to students, faculty, staff, incubator startups, and alumni who competed in the business model canvas (BMC) pitch competition last month. Congratulations to all the winners of the second phase of the Iowa...

The 2021 John Pappajohn Student Entrepreneurial Venture Competition was held virtually with 13 students advancing to the final presentation round, where plans were reviewed by John Pappajohn and his team. Student entrepreneurs entering the competition came from Drake University, Iowa State University, North Iowa Area Community College, the University of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa...

On March 26 - 27, JPEC’s new online event and competition, Game Changer, provided the 16 participating students a platform to develop “impact-driven entrepreneurship” that addressed the presented UN Sustainable Goal, "Zero Hunger: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture." On Friday afternoon, students had formed four teams, and on Saturday...

Viewpoint Molecular Targeting, an Iowa JPEC Faculty Innovators alumnus, is starting 2021 with momentum. Over the last 6 months, the company accrued $18 million in funding, secured its own supply chain of radioisotopes, unveiled positive preclinical data; and secured its first investigational new drug application by the US FDA in the lead up to their first human trials at the Mayo Clinic and the...

On November 16-18, the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (Iowa JPEC) had the privilege of virtually hosting the first phase of the Iowa Innovation Challenge, the Elevator Pitch Competition. A total of 84 businesses pitched their ideas as a part of the first phase of the competition. $75,350 was awarded to the most innovative and entrepreneurial ideas across campus.

Congratulations to the winners of the Fall 2020 IdeaStorm Competition! This competition was recently hosted by the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (Iowa JPEC) and for the first time ever, was held in a virtual format with students submitting video pitches.