Meet Kellee Mikuls, Executive Director @ Ignite Nebraska 

Ignite Nebraska is a nonprofit with the mission to upskill underserved communities. Its team assists with vetting, supporting and training job applicants and removing barriers to entry-level positions. 

Mikuls joined the nonprofit following her founder journey with Swishboom, a childcare startup. 

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur or support other entrepreneurs?

I’ve always been a builder. As the founder of Swishboom and now as a nonprofit executive, that instinct hasn’t changed — it’s just been pointed at a bigger problem. 

Right now, we’re building a model and organization designed to interrupt generational poverty. That’s not a simple problem, but it is a solvable one. And those “Mount Everest” challenges — the ones people write off as “that’s just how it is” — are exactly what excite me.

We run Ignite Nebraska like a startup: We recruit the best and brightest, everyone wears multiple hats and we’re constantly building the plane while flying it. That startup mentality isn’t a phase we’re growing out of — it’s how we operate.

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time to when you were just starting out?

For startup founders, my advice is always the following: Don’t buy the logo t-shirt before you’ve generated real revenue.

Too often we chase optics before proven outcomes. And the truth is, your logo, your brand, even your whole model might change before you land on what works.

I’d also tell myself not to walk away from my income when I did. Every founder’s situation is different, but I had a family that depended on that income. Jumping too soon put unwarranted stress on the people I love. I regret the timing of that decision

How can the Nebraska community support you?

We’re always looking for Nebraska employers who want to hire Ignite alumni. Our long-term goal is to become the local, upskilled talent pipeline for entry-level roles — the kind of partner where you don’t even have to post the job. You just call Ignite. 

That’s the bigger vision for the state: taking adult career changers who are actively living in poverty and getting them into meaningful careers, for good.