Today we’re talking with John Burnett and Nick Pfeiffer about their work with the Cedar Valley Makers (CVM), a space located in downtown Waterloo that offers membership to tools and resources for building, construction, 3D printing, Crickets, and more. CVM is neighbors with the UNI Metal Casting and Foundry 4.0 Centers and provides meaningful resources to small business owners and hobbyists who don't own their own tools.

Learn more at https://www.cedarvalleymakers.org/.

In this episode, learn all about how Business & Community Services helped Iowa Chill in its entrepreneurial journey. Scott Burak is one of Iowa Chill's owners who shares more about the premiere social network, the people behind the screen, and why the team has an office here at UNI.

Learn more about Iowa Chill at https://www.iowachill.com/ and learn about entrepreneurship at UNI at https://jpec.uni.edu/.

Today on the podcast, we ask Olivia Warren from the Downtown Davenport Partnership about her experience at the Heartland Economic Development Course. James Hoelscher, of the Institute for Decision Making, also shares about what goes into the course and what benefits that students see.

Learn more about the course at https://heartland.uni.edu/ or about the organizers at https://idm.uni.edu/.

Lindi Roelofse, T. Wayne Davis Chair in Entrepreneurship at UNI, is taking over the mic for this special episode to talk all about the entrepreneurship efforts of the UNI John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (JPEC) in conjunction with the 24/7 Black Leadership Advancement Consortium (24/7BLAC). Their conversation covers inclusion and capital in the entrepreneurship space, including how people who do have power can take a step back to empower and celebrate others. Keep listening to hear from Julienne Shields, CEO of USASBE; ReShonda Young, program director for 24/7BLAC; and Carol Fletcher, director of UNI Dining.

Katie and Patrick are back talking with Christy Ryken, who, you might remember from season one, is the director of Strategic Marketing Services. Today, we’re talking specifically about their program MarketSolve, which provides unique assistance for businesses in need of market research that might not have a far-stretching budget. Listen in and then visit https://sms.uni.edu to learn more!

The Iowa Air Emissions Assistance Program–or IAEAP for short–is designed to train and educate Iowa small businesses on air emission regulations enforced by the Clean Air Act. Jennifer Wittenburg joins Katie on the podcast today. As the IAEAP Manager at the Iowa Waste Reduction Center, Jen shares how the IAEAP assists Iowa small businesses through on-site visits, workshops, compliance assistance materials and more.

Learn more at https://iwrc.uni.edu/iaeap.

Employee ownership is a shared equity model where employees have an ownership stake in the company. These employees may or may not be involved in key management decisions, but they participate in the financial performance of the company. As BCS's Advance Iowa breaks into the employee ownership space, we're chatting with their team to learn more. In this episode, Patrick and Katie interview Stacy Mullinex, program manager, who leads the employee ownership efforts of Advance Iowa. Learn more at advanceiowa.com/employee-ownership.

The Heartland Economic Development Course offers intensive training in the basic concepts, information, methods, and strategies of local economic development. The course is presented by a board of directors and the Institute for Decision Making, a center located in BCS. Today, Katie is talking with James Hoelscher, senior program manager at IDM, about all facets of the course. Learn more at bcs.uni.edu/heartland.