The Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL) recognized nine individuals for their outstanding contributions to the Nebraska entrepreneurial community at the 2025 Entrepreneur Awards. The ceremony took place on Tuesday at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln. Recipients included entrepreneurs, startup advocates from across the state as well as UNL students and faculty.
Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship Director Samuel A. Nelson, Ph.D., said the event is a way to bring the entrepreneurial ecosystem together and showcase the talent within Nebraska to students and professionals. By combining the award ceremony with the finale of the center’s annual New Venture Competition among UNL students, Nelson said attendees got a taste of what businesses are accomplishing in the state and what ideas currently under development are showing potential.
“Just the ability to come back, be on campus, be around students — reinvigorates them,” said Nelson. “Other quotes I’ve seen are, ‘You know, events like this give me hope. It’s amazing to see what students are working on these days.’”
Community members were invited to submit nominations across a number of categories to receive the Entrepreneur Awards. You can read a description of each of the awards on the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship website.
The 2025 Entrepreneur Awards winners are:
- Nebraska Distinguished Entrepreneur Award: Christie Stukenholtz, co-founder and CEO of Senior Care Finder.
- Emerging Venture Award: Dropback, co-founded by Luke Bogus and Nick Siscoe.
- Startup Executive Award: AshLea Allberry, COO of Maptician.
- Entrepreneur Advocate Award: Charlie Cuddy, co-founder and managing partner of MOVE Venture Capital and co-founder, president and executive director of Nebraska Startup Academy.
- Jeff Vaske Service in Entrepreneurship Award: Tom Welter, COO at Empower Brands.
- Faculty and Staff Entrepreneurship Advocacy Award: Samuel Nelson, Ph.D., director of the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship.
- Entrepreneurship Campus Fellow Award: Jen Landis, founder of PinCurl Girls, co-founder of MintKit and assistant professor of practice in graphic design at UNL.
- Student Entrepreneur Award: Brooke Bode, senior mechanical engineering major and founder of Cattle Kettle.
“I think one of the biggest things Nebraska startups struggle with — and I see it across the Midwest — is the humbleness of the entrepreneur,” said Cuddy. “They’re so unlikely to shout their success from a rooftop, like you would see in Silicon Valley or you would see in New York or Boston.”
“Just having people who are doing great things get recognized and just awareness for people who want to learn what’s going on here, to have an event like this is great.”
Stukenholtz said the award she received was meaningful to her, especially as a UNL alumnus whose father was a UNL professor. Since her time on campus, Stukenholtz said she’s seen many advancements that support the expansion of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Nebraska. Both, she said, through emerging businesses and initiatives by the university.
“More and more will happen if we can cultivate the community here and encourage young adults and older adults to step out and try something that may feel risky, but is quite rewarding,” said Stukenholtz.
