The NIACC Pappajohn Center is now accepting applications for the Fall 2026 cohort of the University of Iowa Venture School program. The Fall 2026 program will begin with an online orientation session on Thursday, October 1, 2026. Classes will be held online via Zoom on Thursdays October 8 through November 12, 5:30-9:00pm. The Venture School program will culminate with the Venture School Launch Day pitch competition, held in-person at NIACC on November 19, 2026, where entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to compete for cash prizes. The cost for the program is $299.
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.
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 2027.
To apply for the Fall cohort, visit http://www.venture-school.com and select the Mason City cohort in the drop-down menu. The deadline to apply is September 28, 2026. Contact Ashley Page at ashley.page@niacc.edu with questions or if you are a local entrepreneur interested in becoming a Venture School mentor. Learn more about the North Iowa Venture School cohort at www.pappajohncenter.com/ventureschool.
