The North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (Pappajohn Center) will again be conducting the Youth Entrepreneurial Academy (YEA) on June 12-16, 2023, with pitch presentations on Tuesday, June 20. With generous financial support from the John K. and Luise V. Hanson Foundation will once again make this a free event for the students participating.  YEA is now entering its 26^th year of providing a unique entrepreneurial education to high school students. The academy has been designed to help students launch their own businesses with a chance to earn seed money using a curriculum called the Business Model Canvas.

The Academy will be held Monday, June 12 through Friday, June 16 from 8:30 am-4:00 pm daily. The objectives of the Youth Entrepreneurial Academy are to expose students to entrepreneurship, provide students with an opportunity to apply their skills and creativity, help students understand critical thinking skills, and give students another career option of being a “job creator” instead of a “job taker.”  

Participants will receive an automatic $500 Youth Entrepreneurial Academy Scholarship for NIACC for completing the academy. Students can participate for two years if they don’t win seed monies in the first year.  The students will receive gas cards to pay for the week’s travel from their homes or can stay in Student Housing.

On Tuesday, June 20, starting at 5:30 pm at the Muse Norris Conference Center at NIACC, students will compete for $500 in seed money in front of a panel. They present pitches and slide decks and will be judged on their businesses that they developed during the week. 

For more information, please contact Kelley O’Rourke at the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center at 641-422-4234 or kelley.orourke@niacc.edu. The national NACCE Innovation Award-winning NIACC John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center provides comprehensive consulting services for business start-ups, existing industries, and owner transitions in the North Iowa region.  The NIACC Business Division offers 25 degrees, diplomas and certificates, including a degree and certificate in Entrepreneurship.  For more information, contact the NIACC Pappajohn Center at 641-422-4111 or NIACC Business Division at 641-422-4121.