The University of Iowa Venture School entrepreneurial training program is accepting applications for its Fall 2026 cohort to be held at various locations across the state, beginning the week of Sept. 28.
The sessions meet one night a week for eight weeks as either hybrid (in-person/online), fully remote, or in-person, depending on location. The final class of the session is a Venture School Launch Day Competition that will be held the week of Nov. 9. Cost is $299 per team and each Venture School team will be assigned a local entrepreneur as its coach.
Iowa City/Cedar Rapids
Sponsored by Iowa SBDC
Days: Tuesdays, start date Sept. 29
Location: BioVentures Center, Coralville
Des Moines
Sponsored by Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) and MidIowa SBDC
Days: Wednesdays, start date Oct. 7
Location: TBD
Mason City
Sponsored by North Iowa Area Community College Pappajohn Center and North Iowa Area SBDC
Days: Thursdays, start date Oct. 8
Location: NIACC Business Center
Sioux City
Days: Mondays, start date Sept. 28
Location: TBD
Ottumwa
Sponsored by Indian Hills Community College and IHCC SBDC
Days: Thursdays, start date Oct. 8
Location: Indian Hills Community College
Quad-Cities
Sponsored by Eastern Iowa Community College and Eastern Iowa SBDC
Days: Thursdays, start date Oct. 8
Location: Blong Technology Center (BTC), Room 221 | 8500 Hillandale Road, Davenport
University of Iowa Venture School is a statewide program for entrepreneurs and is built from a streamlined curriculum developed by the National Science Foundation I-Corps at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. Venture School emphasizes real-world entrepreneurship and innovation based on a leading-edge curriculum. Participants will encounter the chaos and uncertainty of creating new ventures while also being challenged to create your new business model, make pivots or preserve your original plans based on your discovery.
To apply for the Fall 2026 cohort, visit HERE. The deadline to apply is Sept. 23.
For more information, contact Shannon Henderson at Shannon-Henderson@uiowa.edu.