Fast Forward, a utility technology company headquartered in Kearney, began in 2021 from the idea of improving the process for inspecting overhead electric lines. In light of a recent product release, community leaders and business stakeholders have expressed the significance of the startup’s continued momentum from central Nebraska.
With its new software solution, Fast Forward gives customers the ability to oversee assets and circuitry in a single, interactive mapping platform. Called Switch, it assists with the visualization of where wires go, both above and below the ground. Founder and CEO Dusty Birge said this type of visual aid is often referred to as a one-line diagram.
In comparison to other such solutions on the market, Birge said Fast Forward’s offerings are designed to build models faster, which therefore makes them more up to date and accurate for utility providers to use.
Formerly named Snappy Workflow, Fast Forward has evolved to offer six products, Birge said. These include the company’s signature mounted cameras on both cars and UTVs. The camera systems help locate, inspect and document power lines and poles along streets and off-road.
Birge said the startup’s team and fleet of vehicles have increased to enable the data collection of 30,000 poles per day. He said Fast Forward’s goal is to compile system inventories in 30 days or less.
“Our service is not required for electric utilities to do,” Birge said. “They do it because it works, it saves them money, and every anomaly that we detect is something that will cause an outage and ultimately could lead to a fire.”
While Fast Forward works with both rural and urban customers, Birge said the startup saw an opportunity with rural utilities and municipalities. He said this was due to these providers being overlooked by other businesses for not having as many customers or revenue as their urban counterparts. As a result, rural utilities are often more budget-conscious while operating over large service areas, Birge said.
“You’d have a power line that runs 35 miles all the way down this dirt road to power one house,” Birge said. “Well, that one house can’t pay for the maintenance on that 35 miles of line.”
According to the recently released 2024 Climate Change Impact Assessment Report by the Nebraska State Climate Office, rural communities in the state are subject to aging and shrinking populations on top of lower average incomes and brain drain. As utilities’ infrastructure in these regions degrade and face the pressures of extreme weather, these communities are at risk of not having the expertise or means to make necessary upkeep.
“It takes a lot of manpower and materials to keep everything up to date,” Midwest Electric General Manager Jayson Bishop said. “It’s always that balance between you want(ing) to get the most out of the investments that you’ve made, but you don’t want it to get too past its useful life.”
Bishop said the utilities provider in Grant has about 3,000 miles of line and around 6,000 electric meters across five counties in southwest Nebraska. This makes it so that there are roughly only two paying electric customers per mile.
Adding that each year his limited workforce “thoroughly” visually inspects about half of their system at a time, Bishop said Midwest Electric has continued its standard practices in conjunction with Fast Forward’s quicker services to gather more useful data.
Showcasing what is possible in central Nebraska
The release of Switch comes as Fast Forward has recently grown and received recognition in Nebraska.
Living in Kearney himself, Birge said Fast Forward has extended its reach to over 15 states and expanded its team to 20 employees — hiring locally and from rural towns in the state. The company raised a venture capital fundraising round last year, but Birge did not wish to disclose details.
Scott Henderson is the managing principal of NMotion powered by gener8tor — a Nebraska-based accelerator program that targets early-stage, high-growth startups to help them develop and scale. Birge participated in the NMotion Venture Studio 2021 cohort, receiving $100,000 to ideate, test and validate his venture.
Henderson celebrated Birge’s character and noted the importance of product releases in continuing the success of a company. He said NMotion has invested in and supported other entrepreneurs outside the Lincoln-Omaha area, but he said there are often more small businesses and community-focused ventures in these towns and cities than scalable startups.
“I can tell you from experience and hard data, the number of entrepreneurs in any community is a percentage of the overall population,” Henderson said in an email to SPN. “It takes a critical mass of population and student/researcher talent for high-growth founders to begin to appear.”
Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Derek Rusher said the presence of Fast Forward in Kearney has helped demonstrate to local high schoolers and college students that they don’t have to leave their community to pursue interesting work in tech. Birge was recognized at the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s 2025 Light It Up Awards.
“It proves that communities like ours can support high-growth, technology-driven companies while offering a strong quality of life and a loyal workforce,” Rusher said in an email to SPN.
Birge said Fast Forward will continue forming relationships and connecting with clients.
“We’re going to support rural customers and support accounts regardless of size because a reliable grid is essential to everyone — not just based on how much money can be made,” he said.
