Two companies formed by Engineering students are advancing their business plans in the Bedell Entrepreneurial Learning Laboratory (BELL) during the academic year.
They are Spectator and Sight to the World.
Spectator is a tech company focusing on sports apps, run by Engineering students Jon Myers, John McCullough, and alumnus Brandon Kiefer.
Sight to the World is working on an on-the-spot eyeglass/contact prescription assessment application hosted on a smartphone or tablet that lets the user customize his/her own viewing experience. When satisfied, the application would give the user his/her custom prescription without the tedious and expensive process of going to an optometrist. The invention is directed initially at third world countries to increase literacy worldwide. The company is run by Engineering student Eric Pahl.
The Bedell Entrepreneurship Learning Laboratory is a business incubator for entrepreneurial students pursuing the creation of a startup while attending the University of Iowa. Individual students and teams in the program receive a dedicated office space in the remodeled 10,000 square-foot facility, enabling them to concentrate on developing their business concepts.