Year of the Startup residents move in to Omaha accelerator home

Four entrepreneurs are moving into a Midtown Omaha home Wednesday as they kick off a yearlong, in-home accelerator where they will launch and scale their businesses. Year of the Startup features a mentor program, 25 guest speaker nights and a savings requirement…

Year of the StartupOMAHA—Four entrepreneurs are moving into a Midtown Omaha home Wednesday as they kick off a yearlong, in-home accelerator where they will launch and scale their businesses.

Year of the Startup features a mentor program, 25 guest speaker nights and a savings requirement. Each entrepreneur will pay rent monthly which is set aside and returned in full at the end of the term—an injection of $10,000 to each business.

“We’ve got an amazing group of guys. I can’t wait to see what happens over the course of the year as we concentrate so much entrepreneurial talent, energy, potential, and resources for success under one roof,” said accelerator founder Sabastian Hunt in a press release.

The co-founders of the very early-stage startups are:

  • Scott Williams, who will continue to grow Omaha Biofuels Co-op, which started in 2008 with a mission to promote, produce and use biofuels.
  • Eric Burns of VendorBids aims to simplify the RFP (request for proposal) process for small businesses.
  • Jonathan Rolfsen will start a business called CrossFlow. It’s mission is simply stated as “improvement through movement.”
  • Jason Minor will produce consumer goods from hemp fibers and oil.

You can read more about the co-founders here and about the program here.

“I am a big believer in surrounding oneself with an environment that will encourage success,” said Eric Burns, founder of VendorBids and startup fellow at Year of the Startup. “You are a product of your environment. By spending time with positive, motivated, and hard-working people it will propel my business into something huge.”

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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