Prairie Moves is a roundup of career changes, media coverage, product development and other updates from the companies and individuals regularly covered by Silicon Prairie News. To submit an item for consideration, please email editor@siliconprairienews.com or use the form below.
Lead Read
“Reddit’s road rules: trolling America’s heartland, one startup at a time ” – The Verge’s embedded reporter on the Internet 2012 Bus Tour provides an in-depth look at reddit, the company’s co-founder and general manager and the recent excursion they took through the Silicon Prairie region.
Quotable
“Although there are only three start-ups now calling our house their home, we’re working on making the basement a cool place for start-ups to drop by and chill in when they need some space.” – FormZapper blogs about moving into a home located in a neighborhood scheduled to be the first with Google Fiber – FormZapper blog
Mergers & Acquisitions
- Watson Technology Group, a Kansas City, Mo.-based tech investment firm managed by Matt Watson, acquired Geeks With Blogs from AJI Software, a software consulting and development firm – SPN
- Lincoln, Neb. investor Monte Froehlich and Omaha investor Ron Osborne purchased SitStay from Sumit Birla of Florida – SPN
Career Moves
- Andrew Lamber, formerly with Press Ganey Associates, joined Cognovant as executive vice president of business development – Press Release
- Kendra Bozarth joined Red Nova Labs’ marketing department – Red Nova Labs
- Sara Heins joined Red Nova Labs’ marketing department – Red Nova Labs
- Scott Root joined Red Nova Labs’ technology department – Red Nova Labs
- Austin Jones joined Red Nova Labs’ sales team – Red Nova Labs
- Julia Doria, formerly with Bailey Lauerman, joined Phenomblue as director of client services – Phenomblue
- Deb Lammel, formerly with West Corporation, joined Phenomblue as vice president of engagement – Phenomblue
- Tom McCauley, previously with the City of Omaha Mayor’s Office, joined Phenomblue as content strategist – Phenomblue
- Andrew Osborn, formerly with The New BLK, joined Phenomblue as a senior designer of graphic and motion – Phenomblue
- Shannon Wallace, formelry with Media W, joined Phenomblue as director of strategy – Phenomblue
New Tech
- Obsessive Software released Paperless, an app for scanning and saving receipts – App Store and Obsessive Software
New Creative
- Blend Interactive redesigned its website – blendinteractive.com
Product & Business Updates
- Divshot launched its public beta – TechCrunch and DivShot blog
- Dwolla is now available to banks or credit unions that have deployed Fin.X from mFoundry – Press Release, Dwolla blog and TechCrunch
- FormZapper moved into a “startup home” – one that’s located in a neighborhood scheduled to receive Google Fiber early – with Local Ruckus and Leap2 – FormZapper blog
- Montessorium released second version of its Alpha Writer (featured by Apple) – App Store
- LockPath announced plans to add 100 jobs in five years, move to new office – Press Release, Kansas City Business Journal and SPN
- Change announced its public launch date: Nov. 12 – Change blog
- StartupCity Des Moines celebrated it first year – Des Moines Register
- Cognovant released an update to its PocketHealth app – Cognovant blog
- Invest Nebraska welcomes new chief executive, looks to invest in high-growth companies – Nebraska Entrepreneur
- Goodsmiths integrated Stripe for its shop owners – Goodsmiths blog
Mentions
- StartupCity Des Moines – Startup City Des Moines cultivates startup dreams – Des Moines Register
- Battle Bears – Omaha-based SkyVu’s Battle Bears eye move to TV, toys – Omaha World-Herald
- RecBob – Eliminating Headaches and Adding More Fun – Startup America Partnership
- Stackify – Matt Watson Talks Stackify – AJI Software
- Ben Milne of Dwolla – Ben Milne – Dwolla – Founderly
- Macy Koch of RecBob – Practical Advice From Female Entrepreneurs Who Stand Out In A Sea Of Dudes – Fast Company
- More Kansas City startups turn to temporary workers to manage early-stage costs – Kansas City Business Journal
- Kansas City: In Flyover Country, Startups Fly Under the Radar – Tech Cocktail
- Tech Cocktail serves startups big crowds, business opportunities – Kansas City Busines Journal
Gig Bits
Gig Bits is an occasional feature keeping our readers up to speed on Google Fiber. Read Gig Bits.
- Dub’s Dread: Choose your service plan now if you want Fiber! – Google Fiber Blog
- Google starts signup for second Fiber neighborhood – Kansas City Star
- 027 Think Big Radio: Google Fiber Update with Ryan Weber of KCNext – Think Big Partners
Recognition
- 1 Million Cups was named “Best Peek at the Next Big Thing” in The Pitch’s “Best of Kansas City” list
- RareWire was named “Best Local App Developer ” in The Pitch’s “Best of Kansas City” list
- Front Flip was named “Best App” in The Pitch’s “Best of Kansas City” list
- KCnext named in Fortune article, “The Best Organizations For Entrepreneurs“
- Des Moines native Ben Silbermann of Pinterest was named to CNN Money’s “40 Under 40” list
Blogged
- The case for more churn – Christian Renaud
- The Future of Scheduling – Brent Beshore
- Pipeline is an entrepreneurial fellowship for life – Ben Vu
- Steve Jobs – Montessorium
Misc.
- Kansas City Startup Community Begins in Startup Village – Google Connects KC
- Compute Midwest announced its hackathon will be in the Google Fiber Space – Press Release, Kansas City Business Journal and The Next Web
- Mike Betzer, CEO of Social Dynamx, presents “Social technology will change business forever” at UNL’s Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management – Nebraska Entrepreneur
- Look inside Google’s Council Bluffs data center – Des Moines Register
- Red Nova Labs supports advanced high school program, Blue Valley CAPS – Red Nova Labs
Credits: Screenshot from theverge.com.
