Waterloo Soul Food Business Wins $5,000 in Student Contest

The Cedar Valley will continue to have a robust soul food catering business thanks to Marketia Moore, the Pappajohn Student Entrepreneurial Venture Competition and the Black Business Entrepreneurial Accelerator (BBEA).

Moore, who owns “Momma ‘Nem Soul Food & Catering,” won first place and a $5,000 prize for her business.

“This award money will help my business purchase our first food truck,” Moore said. “From this experience, I learned how to effectively and efficiently pitch, make business finance projections and, most importantly, scale my business for growth. I am forever indebted to UNI and John Pappajohn for this great opportunity to keep growing my business!”

The business caters a variety of events including birthdays, weddings, banquets and corporate events.

[inline-ad id=”0″]

Moore graduated from the BBEA, which is a partnership between 24/7 Black Leadership Advancement Consortium and the University of Northern Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.

For the competition, entrepreneurs from colleges across Iowa present their business ideas to a panel of judges. In all, seventeen people took part in the contest. They came from UNI, University of Iowa, Drake University, Iowa State University and North Iowa Area Community College.

“This annual competition provides a rich opportunity for students who present their business ideas to receive insight and valuable feedback from the judges,” said Laurie Watje, director of UNI JPEC.

The event was marked by Pappajohn’s memorial service happening the same day. Pappajohn, a prolific Iowa entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist, died in April at the age of 94. Throughout his life, he gave frequently to higher education in Iowa.

[inline-ad id=”1″]

Two UNI finalists took home $500 awards and two regional finalists from UNI received $200.

Finalists:

• Nathan Crooker, founder of The Brain Freezer
• Davan Crooker, founder of DC Outdoor Services

Regional:

• Skyler Ramsey, founder of Teal Phoenix, LLC
• Fatima Rodriquez, founder of Saffron & Ivy

Nikoel Hytrek
5/23/23

[inline-ad id=”2″]

If you enjoy stories like these, make sure to sign up for Iowa Starting Line’s main newsletter and/or our working class-focused Worker’s Almanac newsletter.

Have a story idea or something I should know? Email me at [email protected]. You can also DM me on Twitter at @n_hytrek. 

​​Iowa Starting Line is part of an independent news network and focuses on how state and national decisions impact Iowans’ daily lives. We rely on your financial support to keep our stories free for all to read. You can contribute to us here. Find ISL on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.