JPEC | Page 5 | Inside UNI

Oct 19, 2020

UNI Student wins Global Entrepreneur of the Year award

Robert Sales is no stranger to the limelight at the University of Northern Iowa. The Communication major was a fixture at UNI Panther football and basketball games selling doughnuts from his year-round concession stand, Rob’s Mini Donuts and in the halls mentoring other entrepreneurial students in the UNI John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (UNI JPEC).

UNI student Rob Sales, a student entrepreneur, sells his donuts during a basketball game at McLeod Center.

Apr 08, 2020

UNI student spreads joy one doughnut at a time

Mar 30, 2020

Panther power represented at annual entrepreneurship challenge

University of Northern Iowa 2019 alumnus Jacob Smith and quantitative economics major Cole Wetzel have been selected as one of the Top 25 Finalist teams for the Schultz Entrepreneurship Challenge as part of e-Fest 2020, a three-day competition awarding a total of $250,000 in prize money.

Mar 16, 2020

Cedar Valley native Eric Schaefer makes big impact for UNI entrepreneurial students

The University of Northern Iowa’s John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (UNI JPEC) has received a $100,000 gift from Eric and Kelli Schaefer. The donation will be used to support services offered to UNI student entrepreneurs to assist them in launching their new ventures.

The team of UNI alumnus Russell Karim's new business, Dhakai.

Jan 23, 2020

UNI empowers entrepreneur’s impactful startup

UNI alumnus and entrepreneur Russell Karim's newest venture seeks to boost profitability and workers' salaries in apparel companies in his home country of Bangladesh.

Nov 19, 2019

Two UNI Student Entrepreneurs Attend Global Conference in Tampa, Florida

Winner of the 2019 UNI Entrepreneurs Elevator Pitch Competition, Maddie Palmersheim, had the opportunity to attend the 2019 CEO (Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization) Global Conference and Pitch Competition. This conference was held in Tampa, Florida from October 31st to November 2nd.

Sami with Student Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Nov 12, 2019

Sami's Sock Monkeys is awarded Student Entrepreneur of the Year

On October 29th, North Iowa Area Community College’s Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center held the 2019 NIACC Pappajohn Center Entrepreneur Gala which recognized outstanding entrepreneurs in the area. One of the entrepreneurs recognized was UNI student, Samantha Schupanitz. She received special recognition of Student Entrepreneur of the Year for her business, Sami’s Sock Monkeys.

Nov 06, 2019

Student Success at Startup Competition in Kansas City

Maddie Palmersheim and Robert Sales, both UNI student entrepreneurs, attended this year’s Techstars Startup Weekend in Kansas City from September 20-22. The Techstars Startup Weekend is an immersive startup experience focused on hardware and product design that challenges teams to get feedback, make changes, and stay open to the idea of pivoting if a plan fails.

Oct 18, 2019

2019 UNI Entrepreneurs Elevator Pitch Competition

Ten UNI students competed in the 2019 UNI Entrepreneurs Elevator Pitch Competition. The competition was held in the Business & Community Services Building on Tuesday, October 15th. The students were split into two different categories, founders or idea generators, for competition depending on what stage their business was in. Founders already have an existing start up business and currently have revenue from either selling a product or providing a service. Idea Generators are in the very early stages of their business and have yet to earn revenue.

Aug 09, 2019

Early Founders Program 2019 Recap

From the application process all the way to the final pitches, our founders have worked hard to make progress on their businesses. After battling through failures, successes and the overall stress that comes with starting a business, the founders were more than excited to share where their business is now and the journey of how they got there. They had that opportunity to share their story at Demo Day on August 2nd. Demo Day was a pitch completion and celebration of all that the founders had accomplished over the last nine weeks.

JPEC Stories & News