AMES, Iowa May 02: When Zackry Brannen was a high school senior mixing a three‑ingredient insecticide in his parents’ home during the pandemic, he had no idea it would one day pay the bills for a team of employees in Ames.
Guided first by Iowa State University’s Start Something network and later by the CYstarters summer accelerator, Brannen grew his business from a side project aimed at saving his houseplants into a business generating roughly a quarter‑million dollars in annual revenue — all before receiving his bachelor’s degree.
“The more I learned, the bigger the business grew — and the bigger the business grew, the more I had to change, adapt and learn,” Brannen said. “That’s where CYstarters and the Start Something programs came in and helped get me to where I needed to be.”
A cross-campus entrepreneurial mindset
Success stories like Brannen’s are possible today because of a longstanding commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship at Iowa State. In 1996, a $1 million gift from entrepreneur and philanthropist John Pappajohn helped establish the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship.
Today the center serves as an interdisciplinary hub for educating students, providing hands-on learning opportunities and supporting startup companies across campus. This collaboration has attracted the attention of other institutions looking to emulate Iowa State’s interdisciplinary approach to entrepreneurship.
“When students, faculty and partners across campus work together with a shared purpose, innovation accelerates, and everyone can see what’s possible and take it even further,” said Judi Eyles, director of the Pappajohn Center.
That vision comes to life through many initiatives, including Start Something, a campuswide network of entrepreneurship programs, and CYstarters, an intensive summer accelerator helping students turn ideas into businesses.
Everyone encouraged to ‘start something’
Originating in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) in 2005, the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative emerged as a place for students interested in entrepreneurial opportunities. It drew on an already rich history of entrepreneurial efforts within the college, with 20% of CALS graduates between 1982 and 2006 reporting starting at least one business, creating almost 57,000 jobs.
Similar programs later expanded under Emerita President Wendy Wintersteen’s direction, forming the Start Something network. Faculty and staff in the six college-based Start Something programs, along with partners from organizations sprawling across campus, facilitate support and resources for new business ventures.
With a foundation in the land grant university mission of education, innovation and outreach, Start Something involves a wide range of experiential learning and professional development opportunities, including academic programs, internships, student incubators, industry networking and hands-on workshops.
Kevin Kimle, director of the Start Something CALS program and teaching professor in the economics department, said the key to the success of the Start Something network is the cross-campus collaboration.
“It creates an exponential number of opportunities. For example, if I have a CALS student developing a product for something farm-related, a product development class in the engineering department will immerse them in an environment with fellow engineers thinking about the same concepts but in a completely new way,” said Kimle, who also serves as the Rastetter Chair of Agricultural Entrepreneurship.
Classroom to campus collaboration
For industrial engineering student Olivia Cramer, entrepreneurship was not on her radar until this semester, when she enrolled in the entrepreneurial product development engineering course taught by Dave Sly. The course challenges students to design a viable product in a single semester.
It was the spark Cramer needed to take her passion for the outdoors even further while helping others along the way. Growing up with proximal femoral focal deficiency and using a prosthetic leg, she always loved being active and competing in sports — experiences that allowed her to recognize the unique challenges faced by people with lower‑limb prostheses.
Cramer and her team began developing RUGGD, a prosthetic shield designed to protect prosthetic components and allow amputees to move more confidently through outdoor activities. She made her first business pitch for RUGGD at a College of Engineering competition, one of many pitching contests open to students, faculty and the public.
Her team earned first place in the new idea category, and for the first time, Cramer saw herself as an entrepreneur.
“It was the first time I truly saw my experiences not just as obstacles, but as the foundation for something that could help others, which, to me, is the true spirit of entrepreneurship,” she said.
Her team advanced to the Pappajohn Center’s College-by-College Pitch Off in March, placing second overall and winning $2,500 for RUGGD. Cramer plans to continue developing RUGGD as well as identifying problems that affect communities and creating solutions that improve accessibility and opportunities.
“Whether that means launching new products, building community-driven initiatives or collaborating with others who share similar goals, entrepreneurship has shown me that my dreams are attainable and that meaningful change often starts with someone willing to question the status quo and imagine a better way forward,” Cramer said.
ISU gains recognition for entrepreneurship
Over the years, the Start Something program has served as a model for entrepreneurial advancement in other parts of the world, from Texas Tech University to Tanzania, Africa, where students have embarked on business development trips for agricultural product assessments.
Kimle has worked with several institutions interested in modeling their programs after Iowa State, including fostering a partnership between Iowa State and the American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece.
“When other institutions look to our university as a model, collaboration becomes both a responsibility and an opportunity. Sharing what we’ve learned helps strengthen programs beyond our own campus and serves as a reminder that excellence doesn’t happen in isolation. We grow just as much by listening, adapting and learning from our partners as we do by leading,” Kimle said.
Iowa State cemented the academic foundation in entrepreneurship by launching an entrepreneurship minor in 1997 and a major in 2017 — for students of all majors. Each year, enrollment in these programs has increased, attracting national attention after being ranked No. 9 among U.S. universities and No. 1 in Iowa in The Princeton Review’s 2026 best undergraduate entrepreneurship programs list.
“No matter what college they are in or aspire to join, every undergraduate student at ISU can enroll in the entrepreneurship minor because it has no prerequisites. With a single call to their advisor, students can start their entrepreneurship journey at ISU,” said Andreas Schwab, director of undergraduate entrepreneurship programs at Iowa State. “These programs are a differentiator for Iowa State.”
Planting the seed for lifelong business journey
While student startups are important, Schwab noted joining the workforce as an employee offers an equally viable path for using entrepreneurial capabilities. He encourages all students to develop a mindset and skillset for entrepreneurship.
“Some students draw on this component right out of the gates by starting their own business, but others may not. Instead, they may decide to become successful at established companies, and these companies are increasingly looking for university graduates who have an entrepreneurial mindset and skills,” he said.
With evolving workforce trends and growing demands for digital and artificial intelligence skills, Schwab says students with an entrepreneurial background are prepared for and can adapt to change.
“Students who have gone on to work in these careers are also Start Something success stories. They’re changing the world; they just happen to do this in the context of a company they joined and not a company they founded. Higher education is all about enabling and providing a broad range of important fundamental skills,” Schwab said.
CYstarters accelerates student startups
CYstarters launched in 2016 to support students already armed with a business plan and a passion to take it even further. Each summer, approximately 15-20 students and recent graduates are selected to participate in the 11-week accelerator, which comes with a stipend.
Over the past decade, CYstarters has become a cornerstone of student entrepreneurship for Iowa State students.
Megan Sweere, a 2016 graduate in marketing and supply chain management, returned to campus in 2019 to work at the Pappajohn Center and now leads CYstarters — a full‑circle moment, as she was a member of the program’s inaugural cohort under the direction of Eyles.
While becoming an entrepreneur was always part of her long‑term plan, Sweere credits CYstarters with giving her the confidence, skills and momentum to pursue that path quicker than she expected.
“College is the best time in your life to try entrepreneurship,” Sweere said. “With the assistance and opportunities from campus and during a time in life often before marriage and children, there is less risk. A lot of that goes away after college. Being a part of everything helped me see the possibilities.”
Student accelerates business before graduation
When Brannen graduates from Iowa State in May, he’ll leave with a bachelor’s degree in business, a quarter‑million‑dollar company and plans to stay connected to the campus community that helped shape his journey.
Brannen immersed himself in entrepreneurship culture at Iowa State, serving as president of the Entrepreneur Club, participating in the Start Something Academy within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) and taking his business — Perfect Plantista — through CYstarters cohort 8 in 2023.
“CYstarters was full of other students who were also hungry for their own business from all parts of the university — people I could rely on to get something done or help with something I was stuck on,” Brannen said. “Basically, just built-in best friends you can ask for business advice.”
Brannen remains close with his cohort and is enrolled in CYstarters 2.0 — a customized academic seminar for CYstarters participants — for a second time, continuing to grow Perfect Plantista.
After completing the program, students have lifelong access to resources through the Pappajohn Center, and former students are encouraged to give back by being a mentor to future CYstarter cohorts. Through the CYstarters alumni network, Brannen experimented with manufacturing space at Iowa State’s Research Park before the company expanded into a larger facility in Ames.
Brannen said he plans to stay close with his cohort and other CYstarters alumni.
“We’re also creating a community here, and that’s just as important as launching new ventures,” Sweere said. “Entrepreneurship can be isolating, but when founders are surrounded by peers, mentors and alumni who’ve been there before, the impact multiplies.”
