The John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (JPEC) hosted the 2021 Startup Games Oct. 22-24. Participants from all over campus were invited for a weekend of pitching, developing, and presenting business ideas.
Forty-two participants pitched 30 ideas that were narrowed to seven teams who competed in front of three judges, faculty, and peers.
The top three teams were awarded cash prizes as a Start Tomorrow Award, while the audience selected the People’s Choice.
First place ($1,000)
Futurescope : A hands-on career guidance program
Mitchell Baumgartner, senior, Human Computer Interaction Informatics
Drew Miner, sophomore, Industrial Engineering
Jacob Robin, sophomore, Business Management and Marketing
Connor Baggot, freshman, Computer Science
Colby Whitaker, sophomore, Computer Science
Second place ($750)
What The Move? : An application that centralizes all UI affiliated and student lead events into one intuitive, seamless, and user-friendly platform
Luke Farmer, sophomore, Mechanical Engineering
Michael Zolna, sophomore, Industrial Engineering
Olek Gralczyk, sophomore, Industrial Engineering
Grace Lange, sophomore, Finance
Tanner Pekny, sophomore, Entrepreneurial Management and Marketing
Third Place ($500)
WeSolve: A problem-based job searching application
Tim Evans, senior, Electrical Engineering
Olivia Warren, senior, Economics
Camila Espinoza, sophomore, Business Analytics
People’s Choice ($250) and Start Tomorrow Award ($250)
Flurbish: An online, pre-owned furniture store that solves the inconvenience of moving by delivery and pickup services to students
Marilyn Lo, senior, Enterprise Leadership
Brittany Sires, senior, Enterprise Leadership
Michael Headington, junior, Finance
Baaba Saisie, junior, Finance and Entrepreneurial Finance
In addition to cash prizes, teams were also recognized by a student group of four organizers who were present throughout the games. These students have previously participated in the Startup Games and were there to provide advice and guidance. They recognized the following teams with these awards:
Adaptability Award
Bunky: Roommate matching artificial intelligence (AI) software
Matthew Wang, junior, Environmental Science
Darshan Lalwani, graduate Student, MBA Program
Jordan Walters, freshman, Economics and Finance
Raffay Malik, freshman, Entrepreneurship Marketing
Pivot Award
SpotME: An application that helps you find a workout partner
Jake Garney, sophomore, Marketing
Alexis Christians, junior, Enterprise Leadership
Ethan Hermes, junior, Enterprise Leadership
Connor Cofoid, senior, Leadership Management
Annika Heiling, junior, Computer Science and Anthropology
Most Viable Product Award
Garb: A curated second-hand clothing store located inside of a moveable truck that provides easy access to affordable trendy clothes for college students and small communities.
Bailey Shaffer, freshman, Finance and International Relations
Annie Chen, senior, Marketing
Amy Kenneson, senior, Trombone Performance and Music Education
Jennifer Apitz, junior, Enterprise Leadership
Robert Gerritson, senior, Data Science
Customer Discovery Award: Futurescope
Minimum Viable Product Award: What’s The Move?
Sustainability Award: Flurbish
Customer Discovery Award : Futurescope
Perseverance Award: WeSolve
Iteration Award: What’s The Move?
Pre-Order/Sales Award: Flurbish
Customer Discovery Standout Award: GARB
The Iowa JPEC is the hub for entrepreneurship education and outreach at the University of Iowa. Established in 1996 as part of the Tippie College of Business, the JPEC has inspired thousands of entrepreneurs to start a business in Iowa.