For two UI alums, a class assignment turned into a company.
The business, J&J Solutions, is a concept developed in 2006 by John Slump and Jared Garfield as a part of the UI’s entrepreneurial program at the Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.
The company “manufacture[s] a patent-pending, disposable medical device that enables safer, more time-efficient, and cost-effective preparation and delivery of chemotherapy and other hazardous drugs,” Slump said.
The cofounders were motivated to create the business when their family members were diagnosed with cancer, Slump said. Slump did research on cancer care and chemotherapy and discovered that the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health estimates 5.5 million workers are exposed to chemotherapy and other hazardous drugs during preparation and delivery, which can cause serious illnesses and damage.
“We resolved to develop and commercialize a product that eliminated these severe health risks while simultaneously making the chemotherapy preparation and delivery process more efficient and affordable,” Slump said.
Joe George, a UI entrepreneurial marketing lecturer, said he recalls when Slump turned in the project, which was above and beyond what the assignment called for.
But the two former UI students now have a problem: Their name is too similar to Johnson & Johnson.
“We want a company name that evokes the industry and space we are in — pharmacy-safety technology,” Slump said.
Slump contacted George to ask if he could hold a brainstorming session with his students to come up with a new name for the firm. Both George’s Wednesday and Thursday classes helped Slump and Garfield generate possible names for the firm.
“I thought it was really productive,” said UI junior Ashley Keifer, who is in the Wednesday section. “I thought it was really awesome to see actual alumni from this university be successful.”
George’s classes were beneficial, Slump said, and they helped “fill that huge whiteboard with text twice over.”
“Aggregately, [the students] are a mental powerhouse with no restraints, and they got into it,” said Slump, who now plans to chose a new name and logo for the firm.
“It was hard to believe that two young business students in Iowa City could spearhead the launch of a multimillion dollar medical-device company,” Slump said. “If there’s one piece of advice I would give to aspiring entrepreneurs out there, as cliché as it is, don’t ever give up.”
George said he feels that Slump and Garfield helped inspire his students.
“John is a great example of what young people can do if they put their minds to it and believe in their service and pursue it,” George said. “He is a living example. John [and Jared] took advantage of it, and now look at where [they are].”
