People

  • Brand agency Daake infuses passion, community spirit and design thinking into every. single. project.

    Brand agency Daake infuses passion, community spirit and design thinking into every. single. project.

    This is a sponsored post paid for by Daake and written by SPN. The day he launched his eponymous branding agency Daake in 2001, co-founder and CEO Greg Daake grabbed pen and paper, sat down in the rented duplex in midtown Omaha that doubled as an office and drafted a guiding purpose for the company.…

  • Women in IT: Shelly Blakeman, MSOL, CSM, builds stable bridges between business and tech

    Women in IT: Shelly Blakeman, MSOL, CSM, builds stable bridges between business and tech

    Shelly Blakeman thrives on knowledge-sharing, curiosity and drive.  She can code (she earned a B.S. in computer information management). She can execute (certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt and Agile Scrum Master). She can teach (instructor in the AIM Institute Emerging Leaders Program). She can write (currently working on her first book). And she can…

  • Upcoming Founders Thriving Retreat gives entrepreneurs the chance to form healthier relationships to work, life, success—and themselves

    Upcoming Founders Thriving Retreat gives entrepreneurs the chance to form healthier relationships to work, life, success—and themselves

    For an entrepreneur, the American Dream can come at a high price. Long hours, relentless stress and the various headaches inherent to launching a business can pile up on a person, robbing them of their joie de vivre—or worse.     Gv Freeman knows all about that.  Leaving his hometown in central Nebraska for the bigger city,…

  • HerHeadquarters adjusts to an unpredictable year by giving back—and growing

    HerHeadquarters adjusts to an unpredictable year by giving back—and growing

    When SPN first spotlighted HerHeadquarters in February of 2020, few of us were aware how drastically the looming pandemic would change our lives. While HerHeadquarters has not been immune to the changes wrought by COVID-19, the past year nonetheless offers a tale of trial and triumph for the Omaha-based brand. The start of 2020 came…

  • Omaha startup Pinata specializes in blockchain, plays vital role in emerging digital art market

    Omaha startup Pinata specializes in blockchain, plays vital role in emerging digital art market

    Companies and tech-savvy individuals alike are increasingly adopting blockchain—a decentralized, distributed method for storing data securely—for their business needs, with global spending on blockchain solutions forecast to top $17 billion by 2024.  Used in everything from food supply chain tracking to public transaction ledgers for cryptocurrency, blockchain presents a win for cybersecurity and data safety.…

  • The pandemic led her to switch careers. Now, an up-and-coming UX researcher has brought Blacks in Technology LLC to Omaha

    The pandemic led her to switch careers. Now, an up-and-coming UX researcher has brought Blacks in Technology LLC to Omaha

    A frequently misquoted maxim by F. Scott Fitzgerald claims there are no second acts in American lives. And while it turns out the late Great Gatsby author actually meant the opposite of that, the line nevertheless entered pop culture. Whether Omaha-based UX researcher Carleá Jean Magee’s recent mid-career shift to technology counts as a second…

  • Certified Cell gives users more autonomy over technology

    Certified Cell gives users more autonomy over technology

    An up-and-coming Omaha startup is advising iPhone users to think twice before swapping out their old or damaged devices for new ones. Joshua Hample, co-founder and CEO of Omaha-based startup Certified Cell, says in many cases, defects that seem irreparable are actually fixable, though wireless carriers don’t necessarily want you to know that. Hample said…

  • First-gen college student and entrepreneur AnhPhu Nguyen lands scholarship to Harvard

    First-gen college student and entrepreneur AnhPhu Nguyen lands scholarship to Harvard

    AnhPhu Nguyen is going to Harvard. The 2021 Papillion La Vista High School graduate and entrepreneur recently received a full-ride scholarship to the university, where he’ll study computer science and economics. (He was also offered a full scholarship from Stanford, but opted for the Cambridge institution instead.) Getting to this point has been quite a…

  • Free webinar: Rapid Growth In The Face Of Uncertainty

    Free webinar: Rapid Growth In The Face Of Uncertainty

    At 2 pm today, Network After Work is offering a free webinar hosted by salesperson and bestselling author Matthew Pollard. The webinar focuses on transcending the “endless hamster wheel” of stalled growth. Organizers say participants will walk away understanding where they’ve gone wrong and how to get back on track with a few specific strategies.…

  • Women in Tech: Evelyn Espinoza-Macias

    Women in Tech: Evelyn Espinoza-Macias

    Growing up in a low-income Spanish-speaking household in South Omaha, Evelyn Espinoza-Macias struggled with a language barrier. Her parents, though supportive, could not provide the same level of help on schoolwork that many of her peers received, as they did not speak English. Espinoza-Macias remembers spending countless extra hours at school working hard to learn…