JPEC | Page 6 | Inside UNI

Aug 09, 2019

Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute 2019

Students from UNI, Iowa State, University of Iowa, Buena Vista, and Iowa Lakes Community College got together for the Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute which was held August 4-8th. At OEI, the students participate in entrepreneurial simulations and have the chance to network with fellow students and community members

May 22, 2019

Early Founders Program 2019 Student Entrepreneurs Continued

Our final two students participating in the first-ever UNI Early Founders Program are Denzel Washington and Spencer Walthall. These entrepreneurs were hand-picked because the JPEC staff saw potential in their preexisting business ventures and were confident that this opportunity would provide valuable experiences for these students.

May 07, 2019

Early Founders Program 2019 Student Entrepreneurs

We are so excited to launch our Early Founder's Program this summer! This program will kick off on Monday, June 3rd and will wrap up on Friday, August 2nd. We have six driven students who will be developing and growing their business plans throughout the summer. Each business is at a different level of growth, which leaves plenty of room for improvement for each student. We are excited to be working with such a motivated group of young entrepreneurs and sharing their progress with you.

May 02, 2019

Pappajohn Student Entrepreneurial Venture Competition

On Friday, April 26th, three tenants whose businesses are located in the R. J. McElroy Student Business Incubator program competed in the Pappajohn Student Entrepreneurial Venture Competition. The competition was hosted in Des Moines with John Pappajohn and Dan Storck with Equity Dynamics along with Dan Cosgrove, Chief Strategy Officer at Growers Edge Financial in Johnston, IA and Tom O’Reilly, President of Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, MA judging the competition to determine the three state finalists.

Apr 16, 2019

2019 R.J. McElroy Student Business Incubator Student Business of the Year

Corey Behrens, a junior, of Mason City, Iowa, studying digital media production and the owner and operator of Simplistic Views, a photography and videography startup has been selected to receive the 2019 R.J. McElroy Student Business Incubator Student Business of the Year award.

Apr 16, 2019

2019 UNI John Pappajohn Entrepreneur of the Year

Gabe Groothuis, a Sales Management and Organizational Leadership double major, from Marion, Iowa, was recognized at the UNIBusiness Leadership Celebration on April 11, 2019 as the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center Student Entrepreneur of the Year. Gabe was UNI’s 2018 Elevator Pitch Competition winner and represented UNI at the National CEO conference in Kansas City this November advancing through to the second round before being eliminated.

Mar 12, 2019

Tenant Tuesday - Groothuis Solutions

Gabe Groothuis, founder, operator, and owner of Groothuis Solutions, has been a tenant at the UNI JPEC for two semesters now. With the help of another Student Business Incubator (SBI) Tenant, Corey Behrens, Gabe has been growing Groothuis Solutions to become an online platform that distributes educational media content to high school programs throughout the nation to better their mock trial programs. Previously, Gabe offered in-person consulting and clinics, and after scaling his business, he is able to offer three different online courses to his clients: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

Jan 17, 2019

Tenant Tuesday - oldpeople

Five Cedar Falls High School students have had their nose to the grindstone and are making tracks in their business, oldpeoplebrand. Hollis Wilson, Camden Dusenbery, Joey Dunning, Mack Eastman, and Lars Christiason began the oldpeoplebrand in mid-December of 2017. The group of friends decided to come together and start a clothing brand that derives from prevalent streetwear and attempts to promote their idealistic type of culture throughout.

Dec 11, 2018

Students Participate in Shop Downtown Saturdays

Our newest addition to the incubator, Jessica Wise, had the opportunity to showcase her business, White and Yellow T-shirt Co., on Main Street, in Waterloo, for Shop Downtown Saturdays. White and Yellow offers four distinctive lines of t-shirts with uplifting quotes on them and donates 10% of the profits to local charities specifically tied to that line.

Dec 06, 2018

Tenant Tuesday - Network Nirvana

TJ Nissen is a 2018 Graphic Technologies fall graduate and the owner of Network Nirvana, a business in the JPEC’s R. J. McElroy Student Business Incubator. In 2018, TJ was awarded the UNI JPEC Business of the Year award to recognize his hard work and dedication.

JPEC Stories & News