Young talent, career changers and community members of all experience levels have the opportunity to network with local startups and learn of open positions at the 2025 Nebraska Startup Job Mixer. The event will take place Nov. 13 at the Ashton Building at Omaha’s Millwork Commons.

The mixer itself will run from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., allowing attendees to meet with founders, learn about their companies and discover available job opportunities. A happy hour for continued networking will take place immediately afterward until 7:30 p.m. at the Workshop office, also located in the Ashton Building. 

Workshop is an Omaha-based startup in the internal communications space with a deep history with the Nebraska startup ecosystem. It is also one of the sponsors of the event and is hiring.

Additional sponsors include Open Range, Nebraska Tech Collaborative, Nebraska Angels, NMotion, Nebraska Startup Academy and Millwork Commons. 

Founding organizer Justin Krug said the Nebraska Startup Job Mixer was the outcome of mentorship he received under Matthew Helt, a startup ecosystem builder with ties to Omaha and the global startup accelerator Techstars. As a participant in a “grassroots group” that Helt led called the Startup Community Leaders Academy, Klug said he was tasked with coming up with a new community-building event for Nebraska entrepreneurs. 

Krug said he ended up using his own early career experience as a guide. The Nebraska Startup Job Mixer, he said, is an attempt to help introduce young talent — who typically experience pitches to work for large corporations at career fairs — to the idea that working for a startup company “is an option.”

“Once you work for a startup, you’re going to wear a lot of hats,” Krug said. “You’re going to learn a lot, you’re going to grow a lot and then you’re probably more likely to get plugged into the community.”

Carson Holt, a co-organizer of the event and current college student at Creighton University, said he attended the first Nebraska Startup Job Mixer back in 2023. At the time, he said he had little knowledge of startups or the scene in Omaha. 

“To be honest, I kind of thought (startups were) just something that happened in big cities or just some random event that happened in somebody’s garage,” Holt said. 

Impacted by the conversations he had with founders and attendees, Holt said he eventually applied for a position at the event-promoting startup Event Vesta, where he is an intern. He said he is thankful for the hands-on experience he has received and the rooms he has been able to be a part of that he believes have been possible only by working for a startup.

As part of the effort to support more young people in pursuing a career in startups and entrepreneurship, the 2025 Nebraska Startup Job Mixer will be giving away a $500 sponsorship to one student-led startup or entrepreneurship club at a Nebraska-based college or university. 

Krug said his team was still waiting to confirm the full list of startups who will be present at the job mixer. Names he has confirmed:

• Workshop
• Upwell
• Maptician
• Guardify
• Event Vesta
• CodeBuddy
• Job Lasso
• Nebraska Innovation Labs
• Alpaca
• Set Your Sites
• Marble Technologies
• Travefy
• Pando PEO
• Bluestem Biosciences

Beyond helping pair founders with local talent, Krug said the event is meant to celebrate the work and success of startups in the state. 

People interested in attending can learn more by going to the Nebraska Startup Job Mixer LinkedIn page. Early registration is encouraged.