Video from Nebraska Entrepreneur

Although this presentation is directed towards the residents and ruling parties of Nebraska, its message is sure to ring true to the residents and ruling parties of the other so-called “Flyover States.” Additionally, it’ll be captivating to those interested in the branding of a state.

At just about 48 minutes long, it’s worth your time to watch it in its entirety. It was delivered at the Nebraska Summit on Entrepreneurship on February 25 by Charlie Hull and Clint! Runge, the co-founders of Lincoln, Nebraska-based Archrival, which was recently acquired by Austin, Texas-based Dachis Group.

The title itself is a starting point. It’s no irony it’s an irreverent term in all-caps – “FLYOVER” – as it sums up Hull and Runge’s message: not only are the individuals who have the responsibility of representing the brand of Nebraska recognizing that it’s a “flyover state,” but they celebrate it in an large and loud way.

At the root, their presentation is the telling of a familiar story:

Two ambitious, young individuals start a cool company in a location that’s perceived to be uncool. When they try to grow that cool company, the uncool perception inhibits its growth.

Whatever this location may be across our region, I’ve heard this frustration voiced over a dozen times. One of the most memorable lines that summed it up for me came from the founder an interactive agency, and I paraphrase: “It’s easy to recruit anyone over 33 to Omaha, but it’s impossible to recruit anyone between the ages of 23 and 32.”

Well, here I am. I’m not from Omaha and I’m 25 years old. After graduating from Creighton in 2007, I worked at United Way of the Midlands and began to pine for life in San Francisco. Meeting Jeff Slobotski and then Dusty Davidson, and becoming involved in Silicon Prairie News, tempered my urge to leave. Today, I’m energized and driven to be a part of Omaha’s rapidly growing creative class, which I’m humbled to have the opportunity to write about almost daily on Silicon Prairie News.

If you haven’t yet, I strongly encourage you to watch Hull and Runge’s presentation. And then I challenge you to do something. Here are a few ideas:

• Start a blog featuring great, local restaurants
• Patronize local coffeeshops and other local hangouts
• Start a crazy tradition, e.g. “Bring Your Own Big Wheel“
• Bike instead of drive
• Go to an art opening this weekend

Links to videos and websites mentioned in the presentation:

• 7:54 – Super Bowl spot: “Careerbuilder.com 2011 Super Bowl Ad ‘Parking Lot‘”
• 9:55 – Another national commercial: “What Happens In Blank – Las Vegas“
• 11:18 – CNN did a great spot for Omaha: “Good times in the ‘Big O’“
• 17:20 – A travel and tourism spot: “Nebraska Tourism National Commercial 2007“
• 24:36 – The number one search result: Nebraska.gov
• 27:10 – The travel Nebraska site: VisitNebraska.gov
• 27:54 – See Nebraska: SeeNebraska.org & Video (Note: Per Runge’s recommendation – “If I could make one recommendation today that somebody could take action on, I would say that this site and these videos need to be taken down immediately” – the site now forwards to visitnebraska.gov and the videos have been removed from YouTube.)
• 31:04 – This is the Denver Egotist: “Please, God, Take Nebraska Out of Its Misery“
• 33:48 – That CollegeHumor.com: “Ruin a Nebraska: Everyone vote design 2 so Nebraskans get boring license plates“
• 38:55 – If you’re in Omaha: ILiveInOmaha.com
• 39:54 – Next: Omahype
• 40:29 – And then finally: Silicon Prairie News