Our team united in Iowa City to welcome Up America Summit participants and the startup community.

At some level, each of us has probably considered the idea that we are the average of the company we keep—who we chose to spend time with impacts our own thoughts, ideas and perspectives.

This was the case for the SPN team in KC as we moved into our space at the Sprint Accelerator, powered by Techstars. The first week itself was an incredible learning experience in how physical space has impacted our environment and perspective. As of yesterday, two innovations in breakfast and snacks were developed, but much more importantly, we’ve begun to see pieces of the collaboration that is to come as the space comes to life with our friends at Up Global, various community events and the first cohort of startups in the Accelerator.

Not unlike the impact made by the amazing minds surrounding us in KC, whenever possible our staff steps outside SPN’s walls to gain perspective on what we do every day. Brittany Mascio, our events director, went to PopTech—an annual conference in Maine—and walked away with insight that will help her plan and execute our events.

PopTech’s a conference similar to Big Omaha and Big Kansas City—an intimate group of attendees, keynote presentations from founders and leaders, a variety of interactive elements and programing focused on connectivity. As an attendee, Brittany gained an understanding of how SPN can further advance a cohesive and supportive conference community. We’re now working to focus and share our mission, increase attendee engagement throughout the year, include our audience in the event creation process and facilitate relationships that inspire even more collaboration.

Early this month, SPN co-founders Jeff Slobotski and Dusty Davidson along with speaker manager Caleb Ulffers headed west to host two meetups, one in San Francisco and the other in Los Angeles. We learned that while the Silicon Prairie brand and the companies which it highlights were held in high regard by those aware of the community, there’s a lot of room for continued growth within SPN. Although the respect and understanding is high, it’s what we do with that momentum that will count in the months to come. The team came back renewed and refocused on not just building a company that’s “well liked,” but one that makes a lasting impact and moves the needle over the years to come.

Last week editor Megan Bannister stopped by Dwolla‘s internal hackathon and got a feel for how its team innovates. From Halloween costumes to a talent show, Megan found Dwolla’s internal hackathon to be as much about connecting as a team as it was about creating.

This is all to say that who we spend our time with is important. For SPN, growing the company means continually learning and evolving, which requires us to be intentional about where and who we spend our time with. The moment we stop pushing ourselves to engage in new and different conversations is the moment we are no longer relevant. And if you have made it this far in the post, consider for yourself and your startup if you are surrounding yourself with the individuals who push you to grow.

Credits: Photo by Jeff Slobotski.