Southeastern Iowa Dream Big Grow Here Entrepreneurship Contest Announces Two Winners

MT.PLEASANT, Iowa – The popular Dream Big Grow Here entrepreneurship contest in SE Iowa has resulted in an unusual finish after a wild night of online voting September 16th.

The Southeast Iowa Dream Big Grow Here contest is one of six regional contests sponsored by the University of Northern Iowa and five other organizations to promote local awareness of the unique businesses and talented entrepreneurs in the state. Each regional contest offers a $5,000 cash award and a chance to win an additional $10,000 in a pitch-off event in March 2012. “The SE Iowa contest, sponsored by the Mt. Pleasant Area Development Commission has been one of the most popular so far this year”, noted Maureen Collins-Williams, Director of Entrepreneurship Outreach at UNI, where the contest was created. “Not only did southeast Iowa attract more contestants than any other regional contest, people from all over the world turned out to vote for their favorite business there, casting nearly 15,000 votes online in just a few days!”

By late Thursday night two businesses, Mogo Organic, an organic farm near Mt. Pleasant, offering vegetables, flowers and herbs, and Zebra Media, a Fairfield marketing and media company were neck and neck online, with 3,500 votes apiece. When the dust cleared at midnight, Mogo Organic was the contest winner by a single vote, but by the following morning when the votes were checked for those cast just at the deadline, Zebra Media was ahead by a single vote instead. According to Regional Contest host Kiley Miller of the Mt. Pleasant Area Development Commission, that’s where Zebra Media stepped in. “Technically, Zebra Media was the winner, yet they told us that they couldn’t in good faith accept the 1st place finish. They came to us with an offer to split the winnings.”

Steve Cooperman of Zebra Media noted that they had already been thinking about what they could do to support Mogo Organic if Zebra Media had won. “We believe in what they're doing as well, and it's part of our mission to support young entrepreneurs like Morgan as a way to help create economic self-sufficiency in Iowa communities like Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant. We're all in this together and we believe that we can accomplish so much more collaborating than competing. We have a saying, 'More pie for everyone!'"

Statewide sponsors for the event then offered to send both companies to the pitch-off, rather than just one. The pitch off will take place at the annual EntreFest small business conference scheduled for March 8th and 9th in Ames. “We are really pleased with how this has come together.

It has been a very exciting contest, demonstrating the passion, creativity and entrepreneurial zeal of our region,” said Miller.

Morgan Hoenig, owner of Mogo Organic, said she was elated with the outcome and excited for the opportunity to pitch at EntreFest. “My farm is my life and it’s my passion,” Hoenig said. “I see myself changing peoples’ diets every day and I’m happy to talk about that.”

Dream Big Grow Here is sponsored by MyEntre.Net at the University of Northern Iowa, the Iowa Bankers Association, Renew Rural Iowa, the Iowa Area Development Group, Community Vitality Center, the Technology Association of Iowa and the Iowa Department of Economic Development. The SE Iowa Dream Big Grow Here Contest was hosted by the Mt. Pleasant Area Development Commission.

For more information, contact the UNI Regional Business Center at 319-236-8123, info@DreamBigGrowHere.com, or visit the Iowa Dream Big Grow Here grant contest homepage.