Entrepreneurs

  • 8 Qs with a Silicon Prairie Founder: Dana Dyksterhuis of HERE: For You, For Them

    8 Qs with a Silicon Prairie Founder: Dana Dyksterhuis of HERE: For You, For Them

    Dana Dyksterhuis (above left, next to co-founder Jen Armstrong) is co-founder of HERE: For You, For Them, a mindfulness-based mental health support company with offices in Omaha and London. Dyksterhuis and her company are part of the Startup Collaborative.  How did you get started? My background is as a news reporter and then in PR…

  • Kansas City’s Swappa provides peer-to-peer marketplace for gently used tech

    Kansas City’s Swappa provides peer-to-peer marketplace for gently used tech

    For years, tech-savvy consumers have bemoaned the planned obsolescence that companies like Apple have encoded into their products like slow-motion time bombs.  If consumers have to pay so much for a device that they use everyday, the thinking goes, shouldn’t they be able to fix a cracked screen or replace a dead battery, for instance,…

  • 8 Qs for a Silicon Prairie Founder: Natalie Micale, Oh Hello

    8 Qs for a Silicon Prairie Founder: Natalie Micale, Oh Hello

    Houston native Natalie Micale, CEO and co-founder of Lincoln-based marketing agency Oh Hello, attended the same performing arts high school as Beyoncé. We’re not sure whether that had anything to do with her drive to be successful, or her desire to inspire women to take the plunge and pursue their entrepreneurial dreams, but it probably…

  • 8 Qs with a Silicon Prairie Founder: Nicka Johnson, Budget to Success

    8 Qs with a Silicon Prairie Founder: Nicka Johnson, Budget to Success

    Nicka Johnson is an Omaha-based social entrepreneur working to instill financial literacy through her business, Budget to Success. In this role, the North Omaha native considers herself part financial advisor, part teacher, part therapist—the latter being crucial to helping people of all ages overcome their money triggers. Her tireless activism and experience as a Black…

  • Breeze just raised $10 million. Here’s what they have in store.

    Breeze just raised $10 million. Here’s what they have in store.

    This is a guest post from Colin Nabity, CEO of insurtech startup Breeze. The original can be found here. The TL;DR on our recent financing round. Last month, we announced our $10 million Series A led by Link Ventures with participation from Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, M25, Fiat Ventures, and Invest Nebraska. You can read…

  • Aspiring entrepreneurs, take note: Lincoln’s JumpStart Challenge 2021 kicks off next week

    Aspiring entrepreneurs, take note: Lincoln’s JumpStart Challenge 2021 kicks off next week

    Starting next week, aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators are invited to participate in the 2021 JumpStart Challenge, an entrepreneurship competition sponsored by the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development, the University of Nebraska Athletics Department and ALLO Communications, an internet service provider headquartered in Lincoln. Open to teams and solo entrepreneurs alike, the JumpStart Challenge connects corporations…

  • 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.…

  • ReEnvision Ag develops new way to plant

    ReEnvision Ag develops new way to plant

    A northeastern Iowa agtech startup is developing technology that will change the way farmers plant crops, all while saving them money and reducing environmental impact. Nora Springs, Iowa’s ReEnvision Ag is one of five agriculture technology companies participating in the AgLaunch 365 accelerator program, which aims to cultivate startups that will transform regional agriculture; create…

  • 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…

  • No More Empty Pots improves access to local produce, entrepreneurship and STEAM; receives major grant 

    No More Empty Pots improves access to local produce, entrepreneurship and STEAM; receives major grant 

    A healthy economy starts with healthy food. The nutrients necessary for optimal function and development are found in high concentrations in fresh produce. But unlike in many parts of the world, fresh fruits and vegetables are typically more expensive in the U.S. than processed food (the reverse is generally true elsewhere).  Considering a healthy, balanced…