TechCrunch

  • Proxi puts power of proximity-based payment at Dwolla users’ fingertips

    Dwolla today announced a private beta of a new iOS platform, called Proxi. The new technology from the Des Moines-based startup will allow users to convert their Dwolla-enabled devices (iOS for now, with Android and Windows Phone soon to follow) into movable Spots, seamlessly making and taking payments without additional hardware like NFC or dongles,…

  • Kohort unveils at Disrupt, details emerge about Reiser’s involvement

    One of the 29 startups to launch this week at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in New York City has a direct tie to the Silicon Prairie: Kohort. Des Moines’ Shane Reiser, also the COO of Startup Weekend, has joined the Kohort team at Director of Business Development. Reiser is the only non-New Yorker involved in…

  • Live-streaming now: Kohort unveiling at Disrupt

    As mentioned on PrairieCast today, Kohort, a New York City startup with a tie to the Silicon Prairie, is launching as part of TechCrunch Disrupt’s “startup battlefield” competition. Des Moines resident, Shane Reiser, also the COO of Startup Weekend, is part of Kohort’s team. The company, which has disclosed their investors but not anything related…

  • Big Omaha – Sarah Lacy: ‘Every time you think you can’t do this in Omaha, think of these people’

    Sarah Lacy is a senior editor at TechCrunch, the world’s largest blog on tech entrepreneurship, and the author of the critically acclaimed “Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good.” After more than a decade covering business in Silicon Valley, Lacy decided to follow the flow of capital into the developing world. She bootstrapped a two-year, 40-week…

  • Big Omaha: Thursday speakers in the spotlight

    Haven’t had time to do your homework on all of this year’s Big Omaha speakers? Not to worry; we can help you cram. We’ve combed the world wide interwebs to come up with a couple of stories, interviews, videos or otherwise noteworthy nuggets on each of our Big Omaha presenters so that you can brush…

  • Sunday Video: ‘Why tech loves charity: water’

    Friday was Earth Day and the folks at TechCrunch used that as a reason to inteview Scott Harrison, founder of Charity: Water, as part of their TechCrunch TV video series. It’s no secret that the Silicon Prairie News team are big supporters of Charity: Water’s work and we’re not alone in the technology community. It’s…

  • Sunday Video: Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures on TechCrunch TV

    This week’s video features Fred Wilson, a venture capitalist and principal of New York-based Union Square Ventures, answering questions during the “Ask a VC” series moderated by Sarah Lacy of TechCrunch. Enjoy this brief clip and be sure to follow Wilson on Twitter, @fredwilson, and his blog, avc.com, for his outstanding take on the venture…

  • Sunday Video: Chris Sacca on the new model of building startups

    This week’s video features legendary Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor Chris Sacca. Sacca, founder of Lowercase Capital, talks in this clip about the disappearance of the barriers to creativity, why he invests in something tangible rather than ideas and his thoughts on why mobile will continue to play such an increasing role. Sacca is an…

  • PrairieCast: Aayush Phumbhra of textbook rental website Chegg

    This week on PrairieCast our guest is Aayush Phumbhra, co-founder and senior vice president of Chegg, a Santa Clara, California-based company often described as the “Netflix of textbook rentals.” Aayush earned his MBA at Iowa State University in Ames and joined forces with the founders of Cheggpost.com, a local website focused on saving students money.…

  • TechCrunch goes in-depth on Chegg

    Last week TechCrunch published an in-depth review of Chegg as part of their TC Teardown series. This series, which analyzes a company’s business model and estimates their revenues, has previously looked at Zynga and Groupon. In this analysis the researcher estimates that Chegg will generate $130 million in revenue this year from their textbook rental…