Geert Boelen is a junior majoring in agricultural business and minoring in entrepreneurial studies. At Iowa State, he is involved in the Agricultural Business Club and Start Something College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), where he is a member of both the Student Leadership Team and Student Incubator. 

Geert has a compelling background to share with his classmates, as he grew up on a dairy farm in the Netherlands and moved to the United States eight years ago with his family. He and his family now live in Brooklyn, Iowa on a dairy farm. Geert is fluent in both English and Dutch. 

As a member of the Start Something CALS Student Incubator, Geert is currently working on growing his business of raising flavored crickets for human consumption. This idea stemmed from a podcast he stumbled upon entitled, “Are edible insects the future of food?” Geert obviously agreed, because he is now in the research and development stage of his cleverly named business, “One Hop Shop." Two hundred crickets are currently being raised for eggs, which will then be sold as the first batch of cricket products for human consumption made by One Hop Shop.

When asked about the Start Something CALS Student Incubator, Geert responded, “I have been very fortunate to be able to participate in this program. Being in the same room with like-minded people helps me tremendously. The mentors I have through this program have helped me immensely during the semester by supporting me and questioning me to better myself as a person and entrepreneur.”