UI Venture School coming to Siouxland
Venture School, an intense six-week program for entrepreneurs developed by the University of Iowa’s John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, is coming to Sioux City in September 2015.
The program increases the chances of startup success and accelerates the timeline to launch, all through experiential learning activities including customer research, insight from experienced entrepreneurs and workshops.
“We apply evidence-based entrepreneurship; not faith-based,” said Kurt Heiar, UI lecturer and Venture School lead instructor. “After completing Venture School, entrepreneurs have a deeper understanding of their customer’s needs, a framework for the elements critical for a successful business, and a pipeline of potential customers,” he said.
The curriculum for UI Venture School was developed by the National Science Foundation at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. It allows entrepreneurs to evaluate their business model with real world engagement. By building customer relationships which test the strength of the Venture School team’s product or idea, entrepreneurs can modify their products before the investment stage.
“Our goal is to bring the expertise of the University of Iowa’s award-winning John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (JPEC) to people across the state of Iowa,” said Jennifer Ott, training and engagement liaison for UI JPEC. “By creating a partnership with entrepreneurs in Sioux City, we can offer budding entrepreneurs and small business owners a wide variety of resources including prototyping, business strategies and industry specific mentoring,” she said.
The final information session for Venture School will be held on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Sioux City Public Library, Gleeson Room at noon
More information can be obtained from UI Lecturer, John Paul Engel at john-engel@uiowa.edu or by calling 712-899-3968. UI Venture School information can be found at: http://www.iowajpec.org/entrepreneur-support/venture-school/.
The University of Iowa’s John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (JPEC) is committed to being a national leader in teaching and supporting innovation and entrepreneurial development. JPEC is proud to play an important role in the development of Iowa-based technology and high-growth startup companies. JPEC and its Venture School program help entrepreneurs by accelerating the startup process and increasing their odds of success. UI Venture School is the state of Iowa’s only National Science Foundation I-Corps Site.