Applications Now Open for Spring 2024 Cohort

MASON CITY, Iowa – North Iowa entrepreneurs are achieving success with the assistance of the NIACC Pappajohn Center cohort of the University of Iowa Venture School. Venture School is the premiere business training program in Iowa, emphasizing real-world entrepreneurship and innovation based on a leading-edge curriculum. Participants learn to overcome the chaos and uncertainty of creating new ventures by conducting customer discovery, market research and developing their foundational business model in real-time.

Jayson Ryner of ReEnvision Agriculture in Nora Springs graduated from the North Iowa Venture School cohort in Fall 2019. Ryner took First Place and the top prize of $10,000 at the statewide Venture School Launch Day pitch competition held during EntreFest 2020. In December 2023, he won First Place and the top prize of $100,000 at the InnoVenture Challenge pitch competition. According to Ryner, one of the driving forces behind his success has been the support from the NIACC Pappajohn Center. Ryner says, “My experience during Venture School at NIACC propelled me to a successful launch of a dream. I have participated in a nationwide ag accelerator and an international business accelerator in Canada. What I learned during the Venture School at NIACC has propelled me through it all.”

The NIACC Pappajohn Center is now accepting applications for the Spring 2024 cohort of the University of Iowa Venture School program. The Spring 2024 program will begin with an in-person orientation session on Thursday, February 15, 2024. Classes will be held online via Zoom on Thursdays starting February 22 through April 4, 5:30-9:00pm. The program will culminate with the Venture School Launch Day pitch competition, held in-person at NIACC on Thursday, April 11, 2023. The cost for the program is $299. 

Venture School participants are assigned a local entrepreneur as their coach who will help advise and guide them as they learn to master the startup process. Participating teams will be eligible to compete for cash awards both locally and at the state level during the Venture School launch day at EntreFEST 2024. Last year’s North Iowa competitors won a total of $7,000 in prize money during the 2023 EntreFEST pitch competition.

Contact Ashley Page at ashley.page@niacc.edu with questions or if you are a local entrepreneur interested in becoming a Venture School coach. To apply for the Spring 2024 cohort, visit http://www.venture-school.com and select the Mason City cohort in the drop-down menu. The deadline to apply is February 5, 2024.

The NIACC John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center is the expert in rural business innovation and success. In partnership with North Iowa’s Small Business Development Center, together we provide tools, support, and resources to Iowa’s entrepreneurs. We counsel both new and existing local businesses, from Main Street to industry leaders. We’re growing Iowa’s entrepreneurial culture through grade school initiatives, college and community programs, and business training and development. Contact the NIACC Pappajohn and SBDC Center at 641-422-4342 or pappajohn@niacc.edu.

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