Winners announced in the 21st Annual John Pappajohn Iowa Entrepreneurial Venture Competition
AMES, Iowa -- The 21st John Pappajohn Iowa Entrepreneurial Venture Competition wrapped up on Wednesday, August 19, 2026. Out of more than 60 submissions and two rounds of judging, 11 teams advanced to the final presentation round, with winners announced during a luncheon at Iowa State University in Ames.
Following the presentations, a panel of judges selected the top three winners, which were announced during a luncheon program:
NeuroPred received first place and was awarded $40,000. NeuroPred is building the first AI-powered tool to predict post-stroke cognitive outcomes directly from brain MRI. Today, clinicians have no reliable way to tell stroke patients and their families what cognitive recovery will look like – NeuroPred closes that gap. Spun out of the University of Iowa, the platform is pursuing an FDA 510(k) pathway and is built on decades of research from the Iowa Neurological Patient Registry. Beyond stroke, the technology extends to traumatic brain injury, tumor, and epilepsy populations – a platform for predictive neurology across the full spectrum of brain injury.
Michal Brzus, PhD – CEO and CTO
NarrateAR/Ama AI came in second place and was awarded $25,000. NarrateAR, Inc. (dba Ama AI) is an Iowa technology company creating personalized AI support for autistic children and their families. Created by parents seeking better support for their autistic child, Ama helps children communicate, learn, manage daily routines, and become more independent. It is personalized around each child’s needs, interests, goals, and preferred ways of communicating, then provides guidance through conversation, voice, text, and images at home, school, therapy, and in the community. Parents, teachers, and therapists remain in control. Ama has active users, pilot programs with therapy providers and schools, and early revenue as it grows nationally from Iowa.
Karri Haen Whitmer – Co-Founder and CEO
Chris Whitmer – Co-Founder and CTO
Charlie Golf received third place and was awarded $15,000. Charlie Golf Co. is a kid’s golf brand that focuses on golf bags and club sets for 2-8 year old kids. We help families introduce the game of golf to their children.
Tyler Johnson – Founder and CEO
First-place winner Michal Brzus shared, “We were looking forward to returning to the Pappajohn competition after first coming with an idea, this time with a working clinical platform ready for commercialization. This outcome clearly validates the strong progress the team has made and reinforces our commitment to improving life after stroke.” CFO Dell Charles added, “We are happy with the result and grateful to JPEC and the State of Iowa for their support. This funding will help us building on the strong momentum we’ve established as we continue moving the company forward.”
Tyler Johnson, founder of Charlie Golf and third place award winner, was likewise excited for the award. “I was thrilled to win third place because I knew there were many other great entrepreneurs in the competition. We will be using the funds to help grow our wholesale business into green grass proshops across the country.”
Chris Whitmer, who pitched his way to second place after competing in two previous Pappajohn Venture competitions said, “We are really honored to be awarded a prize, and it means a lot to have people believe in why we built Ama and the progress we are making as a company. This funding will help us bring Ama to 500 new families and 15 autism therapy clinics, so more children can experience the kind of progress toward independence our family and early users have seen. Every bit of support like this helps us serve more families now and keep building Ama into something that can help millions.” Chris, co-founder Karri Haen Whitmer and their team expressed their gratefulness to the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers for believing in them and for everything they do for Iowa entrepreneurs.
An additional $20,000 was awarded to three companies that received honorable mentions. The award recipients include Koos Medical Innovations (Dr. Maggie Koos - $10,000), Stock Cropper (Zack Smith -- $5,000) and Steer Clear Mirrors (Courtney McClellan and Mike Flynn -- $5,000).
Since 2006, the John Pappajohn Iowa Entrepreneurial Venture Competition, supported by the Iowa Economic Development Authority, have invested $1.4 million into participating businesses, celebrating entrepreneurship across Iowa. The event is a collaborative effort led by the Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers at Iowa State University, Drake University, North Iowa Area Community College, the University of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa. The John Pappajohn Entrepreneurship Centers are celebrating 30 years of supporting entrepreneurs this year.
For more information about the competition, visit www.pappajohncompetition.com.
Top three winners (pictured l to r):
Tyler Johnson, Charlie Golf; Chris Whitmer, NarrateAR; Dell Charles and Michal Brzus, NeuroPred
All winners (pictured l to r):
Tyler Johnson, Charlie Golf; Mike Flynn, Steer Clear Mirrors; Courtney McClellan, Steer Clear Mirrors; Chris Whitmer, NarrateAR; Dr. Maggie Koos, Koos Medical Innovations; Zack Smith, Stock Cropper; Dell Charles and Michal Brzus, NeuroPred