NIACC Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center

TechTalk
2021-11-09 17:00 - 19:00 UTC
Meet some of the innovators who are creating new products and new concepts in North Iowa. This special edition of TechTalk takes place during Global Entrepreneurship Week and features a panel discussion with community innovator-entrepreneurs Billie Asmus, Founder of Silicone Studios, and Oscar Madong, NIACC engineering student and High Tech Hive participant.
Both Billie and Oscar have been utilizing the NIACC Innovation Workspace to bring their designs to life. Join us for TechTalk for a look at how community innovators are using the makerspace as an entrepreneurship resource.
As always, your first drink is on us!
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TechTalk creates a space for sparking new ideas and conversations between innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, educators, technologists, community members, and community partners. TechTalk’s goal is to engage, encourage, and elevate technology in North Iowa.
TechTalk Partners: NIACC Pappajohn Center, North Iowa Corridor EDC, Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce

Register for TechTalk

Global Entrepreneurship Week
This event is part of the NIACC Pappajohn Center & SBDC’s Global Entrepreneurship Week. Learn more about the 2021 Global Entrepreneurship Week in North Iowa.

Start Smart Webinar
2021-11-03 18:00 - 20:00, 2021-10-27 14:00 - 16:00, 2021-10-13 18:00 - 20:00, 2021-09-29 18:00 - 20:00, 2021-09-08 18:00 - 20:00, 2021-08-11 14:00 - 16:00, 2021-07-28 18:00 - 20:00
Registration is required.
The NIACC Pappajohn Center and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is offering a free two-hour online webinar, designed for anyone who is considering starting a business. At Start Smart, participants will learn how to create a business plan, do market research, discuss different types of business ownership, and learn how to register a business.
The activities involved in starting a business fall under two broad categories—feasibility (the business plan) and administrative tasks. While we like to focus on the feasibility issue, Start Smart provides information and the chance to ask questions on numerous other topics, including:

Business registration
Doing customer research
How bankers evaluate business concepts and loans
Start-up costs
Business plan tips
And more

Register for Start Smart

After attending Start Smart, you can make an appointment to meet individually with the Small Business Development Center Counselors to assist you in reviewing your business plan, or to provide guidance with other issues.

TechTalk - Industry 4.0
2021-09-28 17:00 - 19:00
Welcome back to TechTalk! Join us for an evening of making connections and exploring ideas.
Industry 4.0 is revolutionizing businesses in every sector, from advanced manufacturing to agriculture to restaurants and retail. Join us at TechTalk this month for a panel discussion that takes a look at how North Iowa’s business and industry leaders are evolving to meet modern challenges by finding modern solution, implementing new technologies and innovations.
Industry 4.0 is the next industrial revolution. What will the future look like in North Iowa? Find out at TechTalk!
Panelists include:

Matt Koch, Director of Information Technology, Sukup Manufacturing Co.
Dan Gleason, Chief Operations Officer, TitanPro
TBA

with Amy Markham and Patti Hanson of NIACC Continuing Education.
Enjoy an evening of making connections and exploring the opportunities in North Iowa – and, don’t forget, your first beer is on us!
TechTalk September is sponsored by NIACC Continuing Education.
TechTalk creates a space for sparking new ideas and conversations between innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, educators, technologists, community members, and community partners. TechTalk’s goal is to engage, encourage, and elevate technology in North Iowa.
TechTalk Partners: NIACC Pappajohn Center, North Iowa Corridor EDC, Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce

High Tech Hive - Community Build
2021-09-18 13:00 - 14:00 | Vonderohe Bees Location, 1114 Birch Drive, Mason City, IA, 50401, United States
High Tech Hive – Community Build
The NIACC Innovation Workspace is kicking off our first Community Build, a casual weekly event during which everyone is invited to visit the workspace and contribute to the group’s build project. Whether you consider yourself an artist, an engineer, or you’re simply intrigued, we want you to participate! The Innovation Workspace will provide a theme, a real-world scenario to kickstart your thinking, but you will decide on what to create as part of the community. This season’s theme is High Tech Hive where you’ll explore what it takes to be a beekeeper, what challenges beekeepers face in North Iowa, and how you might create a solution to make their life better!
How Will It Work?
The exact project (or projects, if we’re feeling ambitious) is going to be decided upon by the whole group. There’s no blueprint or instruction manual you will be following — you’ll be creating something totally new! But, we will provide a bit of a framework to help you figure out how to make these decisions.
We’ll be following the Design Thinking process, developed by Stanford’s Design School (d-school). This simple yet powerful guide will help you work through creating something new from the ground up. The process is made of five stages, Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. Each stage builds on the last, but this process is iterative; that is to say, you will do each stage multiple times as you test your ideas, learn something, and then change the design to make it better!
Empathize? …with bees?
Yes! Well… with the beekeepers. The first step of the design thinking process is Empathize; this basically means that you’re going to try to learn everything you can about who you are solving the problem for. You do your best to get into the head of that person and ask questions like, “What does this person do?” “What do they feel?” “What do they think?” and “What problems does this person face that I might be able to solve?” In their excitement, people often skip this step or think they already know the answers, but if you want to create something that others will actually use, you must make sure you keep the user in mind while you are creating.
Kickoff Field Day!
We’ll be kicking off our community build this season with a field day, Saturday September 18th at 1pm, thanks to Vonderohe Bees and our friends at the North Iowa Beekeeper’s Club. We will be visiting an apiary (a place where bees are kept), giving people a chance to ask questions and, if they want to, help open a hive.
To join us, make sure to register to let us know you’re coming!
Register for the High Tech Hive
If you are not able to make it to our field day and still want to participate in the build, not to worry, that’s what a team is for! We’ll fill you in on what you missed as we enter the next stage of Design Thinking!
Who Can Attend?
Anyone who wants to participate is more than welcome to join us! The NIACC Innovation Workspace strongly believes in cross-disciplinary and cross-generational collaboration and learning, so parents and grandparents – bring your kids, kids – bring your parents, bring your spouse or significant other, and business owners – bring (or send) your employees! The community build is free and should be a lot of fun!
Free?
Yes! Attendance for the field day and the rest of the community build is free; we want to make it possible for everyone to participate. That said, with a build project like this we will need to get supplies: wood, acrylic, electronic components, etc. So, keep in mind that we may ask people to volunteer to chip in as we start to figure out what we will need.
Safety & Attire
While honeybees raised by beekeepers have been bred to be very calm around people, they are still bees and will defend their homes if they become agitated. Plan to wear a good, thick pair of jeans, close-toed shoes that close tight (like boots), and a t-shirt or sweatshirt you’ll be comfortable in and are okay getting dirty. If you are allergic to insect bites or stings and have an Epi-Pen be sure to bring it along.
We’ll be providing bee suits for those who decide to participate in opening the hive but if you aren’t comfortable with that go ahead and keep your distance. We want to keep this as fun and relaxed experience as we can for everyone.
…why bees?
Over the summer, campers in the Verizon Innovative Learning STEM Camp for Middle School Girls came in one day and said that there were a ton of bees or wasps or something in a tree outside. When we went to check it out, we found a swarm of European Honeybees had paused in the tree on their way to find a new home. The campers were concerned, but definitely didn’t want to see them get sprayed, so we decided to catch them instead. We made a phone call to some folks who had an empty hive sitting in their garage and within half an hour we had a brood box ready for some bees!
The campers got to take a break from class, where they just happened to be learning about swarm robotics, and they got to watch as we helped roughly 30,000 bees find a new home. The campers asked a ton of questions and got a chance to learn a little bee biology during this whole process; the campers kept asking for updates on how the bees were doing for the rest of camp.
We decided to leverage that exciting event, using it as inspiration for our first community build to get anyone who is interested in learning about how science, technology, and innovation go hand in hand (in hand)!
What is the Innovation Workspace?
NIACC’s Innovation Workspace is a brand-new space on campus designed to connect people from all walks of life with technology that empowers their creativity. Whether you are a student, parent, faculty member, hobbyist, entrepreneur, business owner or employee, or simply a member of the community who’s curious about tech, the Innovation Workspace is here for you!
Come explore 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC mills, vinyl cutters, electronics, and more at the Innovation Workspace! We are just getting started and are looking forward to hearing from you to inform how we grow and change. We can’t wait to see what you build next!

Start Smart Webinar
2021-08-26 18:00 - 20:00
Registration is required.
Please note this Start Smart has been moved to Thursday, August 26th this week.
The NIACC Pappajohn Center and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is offering a free two-hour online webinar, designed for anyone who is considering starting a business. At Start Smart, participants will learn how to create a business plan, do market research, discuss different types of business ownership, and learn how to register a business.
The activities involved in starting a business fall under two broad categories—feasibility (the business plan) and administrative tasks. While we like to focus on the feasibility issue, Start Smart provides information and the chance to ask questions on numerous other topics, including:

Business registration
Doing customer research
How bankers evaluate business concepts and loans
Start-up costs
Business plan tips
And more

Register for Start Smart

After attending Start Smart, you can make an appointment to meet individually with the Small Business Development Center Counselors to assist you in reviewing your business plan, or to provide guidance with other issues.

TechTalk sponsored by Stellar Industries
2021-07-20 17:00 - 19:00
Welcome back to TechTalk! Join us at Lake Time Brewery as we return to live, in-person events. This month, we’ll hear from a panel of the upcoming generation of technologists, engineers, ideators, and innovators. Enjoy an evening of making connections and exploring the opportunities in North Iowa.
We’re excited to announce that every attendee can receive their first beer on us – and the @SmokeeHeights food truck will be there too! Non-alcoholic beverage options will be available, as well.
** TechTalk is intern-friendly – if you have an intern or apprentice this summer, please welcome them to attend **
TechTalk July is sponsored by Stellar Industries, Inc., of Garner, IA.
Register

TechTalk creates a space for sparking new ideas and conversations between innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, educators, technologists, community members, and community partners. TechTalk’s goal is to engage, encourage, and elevate technology in North Iowa
TechTalk Partners: NIACC Pappajohn Center, North Iowa Corridor EDC, Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce

Start Smart Webinar
2021-06-30 18:00 - 20:00, 2021-06-16 18:00 - 20:00, 2021-05-05 14:00 - 16:00, 2021-04-28 18:00 - 20:00, 2021-04-14 18:00 - 20:00, 2021-03-24 18:00 - 20:00, 2021-03-10 18:00 - 20:00
Registration is required.
The NIACC Pappajohn Center and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is offering a free two-hour online webinar, designed for anyone who is considering starting a business. At Start Smart, participants will learn how to create a business plan, do market research, discuss different types of business ownership, and learn how to register a business.
The activities involved in starting a business fall under two broad categories—feasibility (the business plan) and administrative tasks. While we like to focus on the feasibility issue, Start Smart provides information and the chance to ask questions on numerous other topics, including:
– Business registration
– Doing customer research
– How bankers evaluate business concepts and loans
– Start-up costs
– Business plan tips
– And more
After attending Start Smart, you can make an appointment to meet individually with the Small Business Development Center Counselors to assist you in reviewing your business plan, or to provide guidance with other issues.
Register

Design Thinking Summer Academy
2021-06-28 - 2021-07-02 | NIACC, 500 College Dr, Mason City, IA, 50401, United States
The North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) Design Thinking Summer Academy will run from June 28-July 2. This week-long camp will run every day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students will learn the steps of the design thinking process and put it into practice.
Kids entering grades 8th-12th will find out how engineers and designers come up with their designs. During the academy, students will identify a real-world problem to solve, come up with possible solutions, test ideas with micro-experiments, and use equipment to make their idea a reality.
For more information about the Design Thinking Summer Academy or to register, visit https://www.niacc.edu/community/summer-camps/ or call 1-888 GO NIACC, extension 4358 with questions. Registration costs $189 per child (two snacks are provided, please bring your own lunch); registration closes on Friday, June 25.

2021 Youth Entrepreneurial Academy
2021-06-14 - 2021-06-18
The 2021 Youth Entrepreneurial Academy will be held June 14 – 18 as a hybrid academy with virtual classroom plus face to face team building and networking activities in various locations in North Iowa.
YEA is a fun opportunity to learn about starting your own business and begin creating wealth for yourself doing something you are passionate about. Learn the ins and outs of starting a business and becoming your own boss. Students will transform ideas and passions into a viable business plan. Every participant will receive a $500 NIACC scholarship and have an opportunity to compete for seed money to launch their business this summer.
Applications are also available from your counselor, business teachers or the NIACC John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center: 2021 YEA application.
Applications are due May 26, 2021 for priority deadline, or until program is full.
Learn More & Apply to YEA

TechTalk: A Look Inside the Shark Tank
2021-05-25 17:00 - 19:00
The heartland is built by inventors and innovators – and many of them are seeking funding to launch their big idea into the world. Our sponsor this month is Ag Ventures Alliance and they want to give you the opportunity to see how it works. Join us at TechTalk for a one-of-a-kind opportunity to watch a startup founder pitch to a potential investor.
Whether you’re an inventor or founder of a startup yourself, or just curious, this is an exciting new addition to the TechTalk lineup – we hope we’ll see you there!
Ag Ventures Alliance is a for-profit cooperative, created to build and invest in startups that improve farm profitability. Ag Ventures Alliances invests in seed stage startups creating disruptive technology that works and has a large, verifiable market.
Register for TechBrew

TechTalk is currently held every other month via Zoom and creates a space for sparking news ideas and conversations between innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, educators, technologists, community members, and community partners. TechTalk’s goal is to engage, encourage, and elevate technology in North Iowa.
TechTalk Partners: NIACC Pappajohn Center, North Iowa Corridor EDC, Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce

Financial Friday: Restaurant Revitalization Fund
2021-04-30 12:00 - 13:00
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund will provide funding to help restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open. Join us on Friday with Dave Lentell of the US Small Business Administration for more details about the RRF. We’ll be covering what the RRF is, who is eligible, and how to apply.
Join us for Financial Friday: The Restaurant Revitalization Fund on April 30 at 12pm.
Watch the recorded session

Financial Friday is a continuing part of the Small Business Strategies during COVID-19 series. The NIACC Pappajohn Center & SBDC is working to help our clients combat the uncertainty and provide strategies for your business to innovate, adapt, and survive as the economic environment continues to change.

Financial Friday: Preparing Your Business for Transition
2021-03-26 11:00 - 12:00
Locally owned businesses are the backbone of our economy. When you’ve built a business that’s important to the community what happens next? How do you plan to continue your business’s future when you’re personally ready to retire? Al Lorenzen, President of The Business Brokers, Inc., business succession experts located in Urbandale, joins us for Financial Friday to discuss valuations and getting your business ready to transition.
The Business Brokers provides succession solutions to a variety of clients through comprehensive consulting and selling services.
Join us for Financial Friday: Preparing Your Business for Transition on March 26th at 11am.
Watch the recorded session

Al Lorenzen is President of The Business Brokers, Inc. in Urbandale. The Business Brokers provides succession solutions to a variety of clients through comprehensive consulting and selling services. Consulting services include Buyer Due Diligence, Strategic Planning, Exit Planning, Succession Planning, Key Person Retention, Buy/Sell Agreements and Deferred Compensation. Selling services include Pre-Exit Planning, No-Cost, No-Obligation Business Evaluation, Confidential Marketing of Business, Identification and Qualification of Buyers and Closing Services.
Financial Friday is a continuing part of the Small Business Strategies during COVID-19 series. The NIACC Pappajohn Center & SBDC is working to help our clients combat the uncertainty and provide strategies for your business to innovate, adapt, and survive as the economic environment continues to change.

TechTalk: Cloud Services
2021-03-23 17:00 - 19:00
The March 2021 TechTalk is sponsored by First Citizens Bank and Heartland Asphalt. Cloud services can be of great benefit to small business, but is it the right solution for your company? Join us for panel discussion and Q&A all about the cloud, its surprising applications, and a look at the opportunities vs the risks.
Register for TechBrew

TechBrew is a casual monthly networking event bringing together entrepreneurs, technologists, business people and investors from across North Iowa. Join like-minded North Iowans for an evening of creative thinking, conversation, and connections.
Supporting partners: NIACC John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, North Iowa Corridor EDC, Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce
Founding partner: Technology Association of Iowa (TAI)

Financial Friday: Network and Password Security
2021-03-12 11:00 - 12:00
Business security is not only common sense, it’s good financial sense. Invest in your company’s future by making sure it’s protected from the “bad guys” online. Brian Blodgett of Next Generation Technologies joins us for Financial Friday to guide you through network and password security.

Watch the recorded session

Financial Friday is a continuing part of the Small Business Strategies during COVID-19 series. The NIACC Pappajohn Center & SBDC is working to help our clients combat the uncertainty and provide strategies for your business to innovate, adapt, and survive as the economic environment continues to change.

NIACC IT Summit
2021-03-04 13:00 - 16:00
The NIACC IT Summit will be a high energy collaboration of educators from K-12, NIACC, and area businesses. The goal of the day will be to discuss and identify action items to strengthen and grow the Information Technology Ecosystem in North Iowa.
Schedule
1:00 – 2:20pm: Panel Discussion: Why Iowa, Why Not North Iowa?
With multiple initiatives beginning to take hold in North Iowa around IT Education and the digital economy, how might we work together as Communities, Schools and Businesses to better build and scale a robust IT Education ecosystem and create a thriving digital economy?
Panel Participants:

Tony Brownlee, President, Kingland
Samantha Dahlby, Director of K-12 Education, NewBoCo
Ben Milne, Founder, Dwolla
Mike Trasatti, CEO, DealerBuilt

Moderated by: Brian Blodgett, CEO Next Generation Technologies & Tim Putnam, Director, NIACC Pappajohn Center
2:20 – 2:30pm: Break
2:30 – 4:00pm: Let’s hear from you!
This Collaborative Brainstorm Session will help us pull together the conversations from the panel discussion in determining the what and the how we move IT initiatives forward in North Iowa.
Moderated by Karie Terhark, Facilitator, HueLife

Register for the NIACC IT Summit

Register online or by calling NIACC Continuing Education at 641-422-4358

Financial Friday: When Do You Need a Business Lawyer?
2021-02-26 11:00 - 12:00
When Do You Need a Business Lawyer?
Join us for Financial Friday on Friday, February 26 at 11am with Samantha Wagner, JD, Iowa Legal Aid.
Watch the recorded session

Financial Friday is a continuing part of the Small Business Strategies during COVID-19 series. The NIACC Pappajohn Center & SBDC is working to help our clients combat the uncertainty and provide strategies for your business to innovate, adapt, and survive as the economic environment continues to change.

Start Smart Webinar
2021-02-24 14:00 - 16:00
Registration is required.
The NIACC Pappajohn Center and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is offering a free two-hour online webinar, designed for anyone who is considering starting a business. At Start Smart, participants will learn how to create a business plan, do market research, discuss different types of business ownership, and learn how to register a business.
The activities involved in starting a business fall under two broad categories—feasibility (the business plan) and administrative tasks. While we like to focus on the feasibility issue, Start Smart provides information and the chance to ask questions on numerous other topics, including:

Business registration
Doing customer research
How bankers evaluate business concepts and loans
Start-up costs
Business plan tips
And more

After attending Start Smart, you can make an appointment to meet individually with the Small Business Development Center Counselors to assist you in reviewing your business plan, or to provide guidance with other issues.
Register

Financial Friday
2021-02-12 11:00 - 12:00
Join us for Financial Friday on Friday, February 12 at 11am with a panel of local experts to help our local businesses understand the impact and implications of the new round of stimulus funding, along with guest presenters.
Guest Presenter:

Lisa Casper, Business Tax Counselor

Panelists:

Paul Mixdorf, CPA – FFC Advisors
Christopher Smith, CPA – Murphy Coe & Smith
Dennis Muyskens, CPA – Hogan & Hansen
Robert Klocke – First Citizens Bank
Natalie Plagge – Clear Lake Bank & Trust
Brook Boehmler – North Iowa Small Business Development Center

Register for Financial Friday

Financial Friday is a continuing part of the Small Business Strategies during COVID-19 series. The NIACC Pappajohn Center & SBDC is working to help our clients combat the uncertainty and provide strategies for your business to innovate, adapt, and survive as the economic environment continues to change.
