2000 Pappajohn New Venture Business Plan Competition Winners

2000 Pappajohn New Venture Business Plan Competition, Statewide Winners Back row (l to r): Chris Bruner, ISU student winner; Matt Kinley, Equity Dynamics; Steve Carter, Director ISU Pappajohn Center; Joseph Dunham II, Equity Dynamics; Aaron Bruner, ISU student winner. Front row (l to r): Ben Kellen, ISU student winner; John Pappajohn, CEO Equity Dynamics; Judi Eyles, Assistant Director ISU Pappajohn Center; Rick Roush, ISU student winner.

ISU Students Win Statewide Business Plan Competition

"It was an experience just to have the opportunity to present our idea to John Pappajohn and his staff," shared Chris Bruner, ISU graduate student in the ISU MBA program. Bruner and his brother, Aaron Bruner, a recent ISU MBA graduate, competed in the first ever Pappajohn New Venture Business Plan Competition with their entry "Wireless Innovations." The student team received one of three $5,000 seed gifts awarded at the statewide finals held in Des Moines on Friday, December 8th.

"Today was exciting because the business plans we read were all very, very good, and we’re in the business of reading business plans," shared John Pappajohn just before he announced the winners of the Business Plan Competition. Twelve finalists presented their business concepts to John Pappajohn and his staff at Equity Dynamics, who sponsored the statewide event. Each of the finalists were winners of regional competitions held at the five John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers at the University of Iowa, Drake University, Iowa State University, North Iowa Area Community College, and the University of Northern Iowa.

Other ISU students who competed in the final competition were Richard Roush, MBA student, for his plan "Richard’s Steakhouse" and Ben Kellen, senior in Management, for his plan "Home Improvement Club". Roush, Kellen, and the Bruner brothers were winners of ISU’s regional business plan competition and qualified for the final statewide competition.

Pappajohn created this competition to encourage and help Iowa college students pursue their interests in starting their own company. Pappajohn said, "It’s not only fun, it works. I know that every one who put a business plan together for this competition will have benefited from the experience." He encouraged each of the students who competed, "Don’t give up. Go out and work your plan, and you will be successful."

Winners of the statewide competition were Trevor Hendrickson and Dmitry Kravtsov from the University of Northern Iowa for their plan "TVi International"; Chris Bruner and Aaron Bruner from Iowa State University for their plan "Wireless Innovations"; and Ken Klein, Jodi Eineichner and Jason Happel from the University of Iowa for their plan "Human Capital Company."

Pappajohn announced he will make this competition an annual event. The 2001 competition will be kicked off at the Iowa Venture Capital Conference to be held September 25, 2001, in Des Moines.

John Pappajohn is President of Equity Dynamics, Inc. and founder of the Pappajohn Capital Resources venture fund. In 1996, Pappajohn and his wife helped fund the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers at five colleges in the state of Iowa for $8.5 million. In 1997, he announced a $5 million scholarship fund for ethnic, disadvantaged and minority students.