NOTE: The spring semester begins Jan. 20 at the University of Iowa, and innovation isn’t far behind. IdeaStorm auditions are set for Feb. 2–12. Stay tuned for more details and start preparing your ideas for a chance to win funding.


When competitive distance runners are sidelined by injury, they often jog into a state of frustration or despair. University of Iowa senior Will Ryan took a different route—he evolved into an entrepreneur.

The Hawkeye cross country and track runner broke the navicular bone in his foot that required two screws and bone marrow from his hip. The biggest blow was the news he wouldn’t be able to walk for two months or run for fourth months.

“For the first time in about seven years, I wasn’t running or doing something,” Ryan said. “I had a lot of time for my own thoughts, and I had a lot of people around me to bounce ideas.”

Ryan is majoring in human physiology and is on a pre-dentistry track. The summer before his injury, he shadowed dentists in Iowa City and near his home in Waukee. 

“I made a ton of connections and I heard their problems,” Ryan said.

A big concern among private practice dentists was lackluster software. That led Ryan to create HealthWallet, a platform that centralizes medical and dental information. With one tap, patients can share health data, saving time and reducing errors. The result creates peace of mind for the patient and the provider. The concept made sense, but would it work?

Still unable to run and going stir-crazy in his apartment, Ryan hitched a ride to a Hawks2Professionals seminar hosted by the University of Iowa John Pappajohn Center (Iowa JPEC) in the Hansen Football Performance Center. An excited Ryan approached Iowa JPEC Executive Director Adam Keune with a business plan.

“I said I was going to do this, and this, and this, and it’s going to be great,” Ryan recalls. Keune provided an experienced voice of reason.

“He said, ‘Have you talked to any dentists about this?’” Ryan said. 

Keune continued to advise Ryan to slow down, visit with several dentists, and get ready to drink a lot of coffee at coffee chats.

Ryan skipped the coffee in favor of email and phone calls. He contacted more than 500 dentists and spoke with 50. HealthWallet gained traction. Even before the HealthWallet idea, Ryan was solidifying his intention to become a dentist himself. He enjoyed networking with dentists to hear their problems and ask them if there were tools that could help. Through listening to those problems, HealthWallet was born.

“I thought medicine would be for me, but it’s not for me,” Ryan said. “I shadowed a dentist [in Des Moines] and she was so wonderful the way she was able to talk to patients and calm them down. To me, she was more than a dentist because she cared about people past the tooth. I was able to shadow not just great dentists, but great people. Not only do I want to be a dentist and help people in that way, but I want to surround myself with great people because if I can do that, maybe I can be a great person too someday.”

Ryan continued to utilize Iowa JPEC resources. In early October, he met with Janice Baldes and David Miessler-Kubanek, who assist undergraduates in the startup incubator at the Bedell Entrepreneurship Learning Laboratory (BELL). Baldes and Miessler-Kubanek helped Ryan with his pitch and encouraged him to register for IdeaStorm, an entry-level competition hosted by Iowa JPEC.

Ryan placed first and took home $1,500 in seed funding.

“Whether I did well at IdeaStorm or not, I knew there was a future,” Ryan said, “Keeping that in mind was helpful.”

Ryan isn’t choosing between dentistry and entrepreneurship; he’s finding a way to do both. Inspired by Kobe Bryant’s mindset of “making more eggs,” Ryan plans to pursue dentistry while continuing to build his business idea through Iowa JPEC. He’s focused on refining his concept through customer discovery, developing an MVP, and competing in upcoming pitch events, all steps toward growing both his professional and entrepreneurial ambitions.

Ryan likes to point out that when he was in fifth grade, he broke a wrist and had his cast signed by Caitlin Clark, a fellow Dowling Catholic and University of Iowa alum. For him, it’s less about the autograph and more about what it represents, that Iowa athletes and innovators can make an impact far from home.