Prairie Portraits is a weekly set of questions intended to help the community get to know someone from the Silicon Prairie startup scene a little bit better. Prairie Portraits feature a fixed set of questions ranging from career background and personal preferences to, perhaps, off-the-wall questions on YouTube videos and entrance music.
Name: Krista Vogel
Title/Occupation: Managing director at Hurrdat
Age: 25
Hometown: Atkins, Iowa
Current city: Lincoln, Nebraska
Twitter: @KristaVogel
Personal
Title of my autobiography: “I Write Tweets, Not Book Titles”
Thing I can’t live without: Carmex
Drink of choice: Amaretto flavored coffee from The Mill.
Last book I read: “Oil and Honey” by Bill McKibben
Ultimate road trip snack: Cheez-Its
Entrance song if I was a wrestler: A$AP Rocky’s “F**kin’ Problems“
Celebrity doppelgänger: Katharine McPhee, or any brunette who has ever had bangs.
Guilty pleasure band and/or film: I can’t say no to a Nicholas Sparks movie, and I still throw it back to Good Charlotte on road trips.
Chosen career in an alternate reality: Environmental activist and researcher
Worst OCD tendency: Correcting people’s grammar, even just in my head.
Quote I might have said: “Just what the doctor ordered.”
Which actor or actress, and why: Zooey Deschanel, because we could totally be best friends.
Favorite YouTube video: Roberto Benigni’s acceptance speech for “Life is Beautiful” blows me away every time.
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Local
Best place in Lincoln no one knows about: Grateful Bread (soups, mac and cheese, baked goods)
Lincoln’s obligatory tourist stop: I like taking to people (and my dog!) to Old Cheney Road Farmers’ Market during the summer.
One thing Lincoln has that other Silicon Prairie cities don’t: The University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It’s great to be able to talk to classes, be involved in events on campus and have such talented students interested in entrepreneurship—all just a few blocks away. Plus, Husker football!
Best thing going for Lincoln’s startup community: There are startups all over town, but the Haymarket has this great concentration of people who are always pushing to do or create the next big thing.
Last local restaurant I ate at: Yia Yia’s
Best meal I’ve had in Lincoln: I’ve never been disappointed by anything from the guys and gals at Honest Abe’s Burgers and Freedom and Sasquatch Café.
Lincoln would be better if… we had more efficient, accessible public transit and more Thai takeout options.
The Startup Scene
Social media pet peeve: I really don’t like it when people post links on Facebook, then leave the link in the copy along with the link preview. It’s redundant and messy.
App I’m obsessed with: Cartwheel by Target
Silicon Prairie startup crush: I’m crushing pretty hard on the photos of Omaha’s new Co-Lab coworking space right now. I love that blend of old architecture and modern design.
Most comfortable startup T-shirt I own: Our Hurrdat Ski Trip 2014 long-sleeve shirts. Shoutout to Uprise Design!
Something most people don’t know about me: I worked in the fitting room at SuperTarget during college, and I sometimes miss being able to fold, hang and organize clothes all day.
Entrepreneur I most want to grab a drink with: Probably Bill Gates. I think it’s pretty amazing that he’s already changed the world once through technology, and now he’s making it even better with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Plus, I love Seattle, so I’d be totally OK with meeting him there.
I do what I do because… I love all the people I work with, and I love that we’ve created a culture where everyone contributes equally and supports each other in and out of work.
Before I was in startups… I interned at a nonprofit publication called YES! Magazine in Bainbridge Island, Wash.
If money wasn’t an object, my next company would be… either a pastry shop or a nonprofit that helps combat climate change.
The Silicon Prairie startup scene is missing… more exposure to potential employees with varied skill sets. I think some people think of startups as being exclusively tech-focused, so if they can’t code, they can’t be a part of this community. But the truth is, startups need all kinds of people with all kinds of talents.
In five years, I’ll… finally own and use a passport.
In five years, the Silicon Prairie… will no longer be a surprise to people. People will know the names of several companies that have grown from our communities, and more and more entrepreneurs will be starting their own stories here.
