EntreFEST to feature Seth Godin

A thousand people are expected to attend EntreFEST, an entrepreneurial conference, next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in downtown Iowa City.

'There has never been an event like this in Iowa ever,” said Andy Stoll, co-founder of Seed Here Studio and co-organizer of EntreFEST.

Seth Godin, a marketing guru and bestselling author of 18 books, will be among the keynote speakers. Also taking part is Ben Milne, founder of Dwolla and one of Goldman Sachs's '100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.”

John Pappajohn, who gave more than $30 million to create the five John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers around the state, will be honored during the conference as well. The state's regent universities are co-sponsors of EntreFEST.

'We've got speakers flying in from over 20 U.S. towns, 22 Iowa towns, the directors of some of the top startup accelerators in the world, world-renowned authors and people representing some of Iowa's most innovative companies and organizations ... all to talk about innovation in Iowa,” Stoll said. 'Layer on top of that 50-plus entrepreneurial support organizations, a half-dozen parties, a rooftop fashion show and free ice cream.”

Tickets to the conference, including three-day or single-day passes, are still available. A ticket for Godin's keynote costs $30.

Not all events require tickets. The Work Hard/Play Hard Fashion Show on Thursday and pop-up shop on Friday, which feature the work of local designers and artists, is free and open to the public. So are the semi-final and final presentations of Dream Big Grow Here, a statewide pitch competition.

Go to www.entrefest.com for details.

l Sarah Binder is one of EntreFEST's 114 speakers.