May 11, 2012

  • Kevin Hale: ‘Build software people want to have a relationship with’

    Big Omaha 2012 definitely benefited from Kevin Hale’s gracious agreement to join the lineup at the last minute. He spoke at KANEKO for almost an hour Friday afternoon on “designing for relationships,” or “how to design a company, a team, an organization so that it fosters really strong relationships with users and customers that help…

  • Cheers and caricatures at the Gist Get-Together

    The Big Omaha crew came together last night for the Gist Get-Together at Urban Wine Company to share drinks and converse about the day’s events. The entertainment for evening was the local band All Young Girls Are Machine Guns and artist Rachel Mindrup gave attendees the opportunity to get a caricature similar to the one’s…

  • Michael Karnjanaprakorn: ‘You should be a lifelong learner.’

    Before Michael Karnjanaprakorn even took the KANEKO stage for the last day of Big Omaha 2012, conference-goers were treated to a video explaining his company Skillshare. Highlighted by clips of kids learning about electricity and adults learning about music, the video claimed: “The future belongs to the curious.” The 2012 TED fellow said that everyone…

  • Eddie Huang: “I’m about getting paper, but I need a ‘why’”

    Edie Huang, writer, chef, entrepreneur and TV personality, took stage on day two of Big Omaha 2012 to speak to the crowd at KANEKO. His presentation, laden with photos of celebrities and quirky commentary, brought laughs and motivation to attendees. From the age of 6, Huang has been a businessman. When his mother gave him…

  • Sarah Prevette: ‘Fall in love with the problem’

    Sarah Prevette’s biggest advice to entrepreneurs is to focus on the problem — not the solution. Prevette is the founder of Sprouter, a website that serves startup founders and connects them to resources. She spoke to the Big Omaha 2012 crowd today at KANEKO about finding passion in the problem. “If you have a problem…

  • Jump into the Big Omaha photo booth

    From quirky facial expressions to cheerful smiles, photos captured in the Big Omaha photo booth showcase friends, colleagues and cities that make up the Big Omaha community. Thanks to the work of Malone & Company, the photos have been posted online, but we’ve picked out a few here to give you a flavor of this…

  • Charles Best: ‘Push intelligence out to the edge’

    Every year at Big Omaha there seems to be one speaker that unites the hearts of every person in the room at KANEKO. This year at Big Omaha 2012, I have a feeling that Charles Best was that speaker. Best is the founder of DonorsChoose.org, a nonprofit organization that provides a simple, personal and accountable…

  • Ninth Division tells the story behind its latest Big Omaha app

    (This is a guest post by Andy Peters.) Why build an App for #BigOmaha? A lot of people use it as their program. SPN Trusts us. (Like Oxide Design Co.) We like putting what we learn year over year to a test. We have done the app for four years now. We love doing it,…

  • Brian Wong: ‘Kiip Getting Lucky’

    Three years ago this Mother’s Day weekend, Brian Wong paid a sad surprise visit to his mom in Vancouver; he’d just been laid off from his business development gig at Digg. This year, the newly-21-year-old is 18 months into founding Kiip, which has 35 employees in New York and San Francisco and has given 40…

  • Close out Big Omaha at 9 p.m. with Under Armour and Hudl

    As Yogi Berra famously said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” And though today’s Big Omaha speaker presentations wrap up around 5, the finale of our annual event doesn’t begin until 9 p.m. when our two sporty sponsors, Under Armour and Hudl, serve up the closing party. Open to the public, the party will be…