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The John Pappajohn Iowa Business Plan Competition continues to move forward with the selection of eight finalists who will soon be putting the final touches on their presentations and will meet with the judges in early September. The finalists were chosen after submitting their completed business plans and having them read and judged by the panelists, which included the directors of the five John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers (David Hensley, University of Iowa JPEC director; Steve Carter, Iowa State University JPEC director; Randy Pilkington, University of Northern Iowa JPEC director; Deb Bishop, Drake University JPEC director; and Jamie T. Zanios, North Iowa Area Community College JPEC director), the Small Business Development Center state director, a representative of the Iowa Department of Economic Development and an Accelerator representative.

“This has been another exciting competition, with the field extremely strong. The business plans are improved overall from years past, making the job of selection more difficult for the judges. In the end, everyone is a winner for participating and working on making their dreams a reality through proper planning. I have no doubt that many of these businesses will go on to be extremely successful and valuable Iowa companies in the future,” Zanios, NIACC JPEC director, said.

The eight finalists are J&J Solutions, of Iowa City; LuCELLa Biosciences, Inc., of Ames; Innovative Energy Solutions, of Ames; Medcara Pharmaceuticals, of Marshalltown; Ames Center for Genetic Technologies, Inc., of Ames; Submittal Exchange, of Des Moines; Innovative Vibrations Solutions, Inc., of Ames; and Reference LLC/Sensor Test Company, of Elkader.

The business plans were judged on the company’s reasonable ability for success of the company; the company meets an identifiable need; the strategy satisfies the need, the company has identified and allocated resources to be successful; the company utilizes resources effectively, has a believable competitive advantage, has a sound target market analysis with revenue and profit models that fit; the company has a strong and experienced management team and a realistic timeframe for company growth, amongst other criteria. The eight finalists were selected from over 60 initial entries and nearly 30 that were in the semi-finalist round.

The John Pappajohn Iowa Business Plan Competition is in its third year, with John Pappajohn putting up $50,000 in prize money for the winners. The winner will receive $25,000. The second place finisher will get $15,000, and the third place business will win $10,000. The winners will be announced at the Iowa Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship Conference on October 15 in Des Moines.

For more information, please contact Zanios, at 641-422-4162, toll-free 1-888-GO NIACC, ext. 4162 or email zaniojam@niacc.edu.

The John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center is located on the North Iowa Area Community College campus in Mason City, Iowa and provides college level courses and degree programs in entrepreneurship, as well as consulting services for business start-ups and existing industries in the North Iowa region.  The Center also provides FastTrac ® training programs both for beginning companies and existing companies.  For more information, contact the NIACC JPEC at 641-422-4342.

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