CYstarters Spotlight: A 14-part series highlighting student entrepreneurs pursuing their business ventures as part of the CYstarters 2025 summer cohort. Through this program, students have the unique opportunity to prioritize the development of their own startup or business idea. Each individual receives $6,500 and access to resources such as mentorship, networking opportunities, and educational sessions on entrepreneurship and business startup.
How Jacob Duba Turned a Favor for His Mom Into a Full-Fledged Business
Jacob Duba didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming an entrepreneur. A recent Iowa State University graduate with a degree in computer science, he always saw himself as someone who simply loved tech. “I was very interested in tech. I was always messing around on the computer,” he said. Even his hobbies outside of school revolved around programming and exploring new technologies. Entrepreneurship wasn’t something he actively pursued—at least not at first.
It started with a simple favor for his mom. She was helping run a customer service email account for an airport parking lot and was overwhelmed by the repetitive messages flooding her inbox. Answering them wasn’t just time-consuming—it was draining. Without a background in customer service, she dreaded the task. Jacob stepped in to see if he could help. “I thought there’s some great new technology out there,” he said. “If I could utilize that to try and fix her problem, I wanted to.”
So, he began working on a side project. What started as a quick fix gradually evolved into something more. As Jacob continued iterating, the tool became smarter, simpler, and more effective. Eventually, the project took on a life of its own. “It got better and better,” he recalled. “And eventually the idea just took over and it’s all I was working on. I said, ‘Okay, I guess I’m doing this now!’”
That project is now VIPReply—an AI-powered software platform that makes customer service emails ten times easier to manage. With just a few clicks, VIPReply generates thoughtful replies to customer inquiries by analyzing past emails, identifying common templates, and personalizing responses in real time. The product is built for people like Jacob’s mom, someone answering the same kinds of questions all day and looking for a way to save time without sacrificing quality. Initially, Jacob is targeting commercial parking lots, towing companies, and event venues, all industries that rely heavily on email-based customer support. Altogether, there are more than 34,000 such businesses in the U.S. alone, making for a strong potential customer base.
What makes VIPReply especially user-friendly is its setup: two minutes from start to finish, with a free trial and no credit card required. After the trial, the service costs $19 per month. Behind the scenes, the technology is doing something clever—learning from a business’s previous responses and automatically pulling relevant templates for similar future messages. “My proudest moment was coming up with the current solution to find templates,” Jacob said. “The software looks at past emails and what templates were used. If the emails are similar enough, it uses the same one. That made the program a lot more simple, but much more powerful.”
Building the software came with its own challenges. Jacob first had to make sure the tool actually worked which was no small task for a solo developer. Then came the more uncertain question: would anyone actually pay for it? He faced the classic entrepreneur’s dilemma of not just building something useful, but building something people would use. Still, he pressed on and so far has completed a security audit, received Google approval, formed his LLC, and launched marketing efforts.
Jacob pitching VIPReply in the College-by-College Pitch Off.
Jacob first dipped his toes into the entrepreneurship world by participating in the College-by-College Pitch Off, hosted by the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship. But it wasn’t until CYstarters that he fully committed to launching his business. “My goal for CYstarters was to have a product I could launch by Demo Day, and I did it,” he said. “I officially launched VIPReply and I’m taking it full-time.”
That doesn’t mean the journey has been easy. “I feel like I jumped off of an airplane and I’m trying to build a glider as I’m falling,” he admitted. “I expected to be working hard. I expected a high chance of failure. I just never thought I’d be up at night thinking about if this is going to work or not.” But CYstarters helped ease some of that uncertainty. Being surrounded by other student entrepreneurs in the same situation was powerful. “CYstarters really helped me regain confidence,” he said. “It’s so much fun, and I’m just coming every day and having a blast—which I didn’t expect.”
Beyond business strategy and product development, the program helped Jacob learn more about himself. He realized that he’s willing to take risks when something really matters to him, and that taking action, even in moments of fear or doubt, can lead to clarity. “If you have a lot of anxiety, just jump in and start doing stuff,” he said. “All of a sudden, you’ll realize it’s going to be okay. There’s a lot I can do and it’s going to turn out alright.”
Now that VIPReply is live and available at VIPReply.ai, Jacob is inviting early users to try it for themselves. His advice to other aspiring entrepreneurs? “Focus on solving problems for people instead of on starting a business.” That mindset—practical, user-focused, and rooted in action—is what turned one small favor for his mom into a real solution for thousands of potential customers.
You can follow Jacob’s journey on X (@VIPReply) and LinkedIn (VIPReply) as he continues building tools that make customer service faster and smarter.
Check out our video interview with Jacob Duba below!
