Prairie Portrait: Emily Leeper of Think Big Partners

Celebrity doppelgänger: During the 2008 Summer Olympics people would think I was Shawn Johnson, especially since I was attending Iowa State at the time and she was from Des Moines…

Prairie Portraits is a weekly set of questions intended to help the community get to know someone from the Silicon Prairie startup scene a little bit better. Prairie Portraits feature a fixed set of questions ranging from career background and personal perferences to, perhaps, off-the-wall questions on YouTube videos and entrance music.


Name: Emily Leeper
Title/Occupation: Meeting planner and coworking assistant manager at Think Big Partners
Age: 24
Hometown: Papillion, Nebraska
Current city: Kansas City, Missouri
Twitter: @EmilyThinkBig

Personal

Title of my autobiography: “Almost There: The Joy and Journey of Not Knowing Where I’m Going”. 
Thing I can’t live without: ChapStick
Drink of choice: During the winter, I’m a big Founder’s Breakfast Stout drinker.
Last book I read: I’ve been reading James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series.
Ultimate road trip snack: Strawberry Twizzler Nibs and fountain Diet Dr. Pepper
Entrance song if I was a wrestler: “Roar” by Katy Perry
Celebrity doppelgänger: During the 2008 Summer Olympics people would think I was Shawn Johnson, especially since I was attending Iowa State at the time and she was from Des Moines.
Guilty pleasure band and/or film: Miley Cyrus. I can’t stop.
Chosen career in an alternate reality: Broadway performer
Worst OCD tendency: Setting at least three alarm clocks in fear I’ll miss one of them, even though I can wake up to the sound of a bird chirping.
Quote I might have said: “What’s for dessert?”
Which actor or actress, and why: Leonardo Dicaprio. I fell in love with him watching reruns of Growing Pains as a kid and have never stopped enjoying his work.
Favorite YouTube video: Any video with laughing babies…instant mood booster. This has been a long-time favorite: 

Local

Best place in Kansas City no one knows about: Cupcake A’la Mode. At least I didn’t know about it until a few months ago and now I have to limit myself on visits.
Kansas City’s obligatory tourist stop: Oklahoma Joe’s and Union Station!
One thing Kansas City has that other Silicon Prairie cities don’t: Professional sports. I love feeling the energy of the city come together on game days!
Best thing going for Kansas City’s startup community: The support and excitement from the city, businesses, corporations and leaders in growing the startup community.
Last local restaurant I ate at: Breakfast sandwich at Mildred’s—amazing sandwich for any meal!
Best meal I’ve had in Kansas City: I’ve only been here for about a year and half and am discovering amazing new local restaurants all the time, but the Peanut wings are hard to beat. Plus, I love the atmosphere of the original location. 
Kansas City would be better if… we could improve the public schools system.

The Startup Scene

Social media pet peeve: Political arguments on Facebook
App I’m obsessed with: Snapchat. It’s my outlet to stop me from putting 100 pictures of my (adorable) dog on Instagram.
Silicon Prairie startup crush: FUSE Coworking. I love their devotion and excitement around rallying the startup community in Lincoln. Plus they tug at my heartstrings since I’m a UNL alum.
Most comfortable startup T-shirt I own: iKC: The Unconference. I even have one to sleep in.
Something most people don’t know about me: I moved to Kansas City after college only knowing a few people and not having a job. I was terrified to leave all my family and friends in Nebraska, but it was the best decision I could have ever made for myself to grow and start a career.
Entrepreneur I most want to grab a drink with: Blake Mycoskie, I love the one-to-one movement that has taken off.
I do what I do because… I love the fact that no day is ever the same. I love meeting new people and hearing their stories and passion about their startup. I get to work with and be mentored by some of the smartest entrepreneurs in Kansas City. I’m constantly challenged and I don’t think a corporate, entry-level position like so many graduates take would allow for these learning opportunities.
Before I was in startups… I was in college, hopping from internship to internship with corporations and nonprofits. Nothing seemed like a good fit for a career, so I waited tables to survive and then received an amazing opportunity to join the Think Big team, where I’ve been learning more about startups every day and loving it.
If money wasn’t an object, my next company would be… helping startups grow by developing and sharing their stories through marketing. There are so many great startups, but I see many of them struggling to effectively message their passion to their audience, client, users, etc.
The Silicon Prairie startup scene is missing… females!
In five years, I’ll… be five years wiser, but still craving creativity and learning. I’m always looking for ways to grow myself, both professionally and personally, so I’m excited to see where the next five years takes me.
In five years, the Silicon Prairie… will continue to grow and have established itself as a startup hub for entrepreneurs because of the many successes of startups we will see explode in the next few years.

 

Credits: Video from YouTube. Photos courtesy Leeper.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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