Prairie Moves

  • Nebraska accelerator deadlines approaching at end of March

    Two Nebraska accelerators, NMotion in Lincoln and Straight Shot in Omaha, have application deadlines looming. Applications for NMotion, a 14-week summer program with an emphasis on high-growth software and technology-based startups in agriculture, healthcare, education…

  • Digital Sandbox exceeds funding goals, helps 19 startups raise $7M

    Earlier this week, Digital Sandbox KC announced it has helped 19 early-stage tech startups raise roughly $7 million in follow-on funding, surpassing its investment goal six months earlier than planned. Digital Sandbox was originally funded through $1 million from the federal i6 Challenge Grant. Since its creation in February 2013, Digital Sandbox KC has worked with…

  • Huskers’ Martinez releases second game, Wobble Wobble, this week

    Former Husker QB Taylor Martinez’s latest mobile game, Wobble Wobble, will be released for iOS and Android later this week. The game is simple to play, but hard to master, Martinez said, and that it will be the next Flappy Bird. The game uses the phone’s accelerometers to keep …

  • Lincoln’s Jumpstart Challenge will tackle real estate, insurance problems

    100+ people making it happen at the JumpStart Challenge pic.twitter.com/aQ2SohenRf — Brian Ardinger (@ardinger) February 22, 2014 More than 100 tech entrepreneurs gathered in Lincoln Saturday to find out the problems they will solve in the first JumpStart Challenge. The competition offers three challenges to tackle, including problems from HomeServices real estate, INSPRO Insurance and…

  • Drink-counting koozie Bevometer launches Kickstarter campaign

    With 18 days to go, Des Moines startup Bevometer is working toward a $5,000 Kickstarter goal that will help fund its first batch of product orders. A former 1 Million Cups Des Moines presenter, the startup created a device resembling a koozie…

  • Omaha World-Herald features a “home school” code school

    It’s a different kind of code school—a home code school. Paige Yowell of the Omaha World-Herald tells the story of how Burch Kealey brought his kids and neighbor’s kids into his home every week to teach them how to code on Raspberry Pi machines…

  • Google announces plans to explore Fiber in nine new metro areas

    Google announced today via its official blog that over the next few months it will begin work with nine metro areas—34 cities in total—across the country to determine what it would take to connect them with Google Fiber…

  • Drive Capital co-founder announced as keynote speaker at TAI’s i2iowa

    The Technology Association of Iowa announced Monday that Drive Capital co-founder Chris Olsen will be the keynote speaker at the organization’s third annual i2iowa. Earlier this month, the Columbus, Ohio-based venture capital firm announced a $250 million fund that will be used to fund roughly 30 companies across the Midwest. Drive Capital’s website lists technology, tech-enabled services, health care and consumer…

  • Flywheel launches site to answer the question “I heart designers because…”

    Flywheel, the Omaha-based WordPress hosting site for creatives and designers, is spreading the love this Valentine’s Day. They’re allowing users to share their love for designers that make our world more beautiful. They launched weheartdesigners.com Friday in honor of Valentine’s Day where they’ll be aggregating love notes from people who finish the sentence “I

  • One week for startups to apply for $50K from STL-based Arch Grants

    Time is running out to apply for Arch Grants‘ annual Global Business Plan Competition, a startup competition that awards $50,000 grants to startups located in St. Louis or those willing to relocate there. Last year the nonprofit gave away $1.2 million in grants to 22 startups. Participating companies also have the opportunity to receive one of two…