Speaking to an audience of 20, Hasebroock shared stories from his entrepreneurial career, reflecting on mistakes, successes and now, future investments. Photo by Danny Schreiber.
Tonight’s Cornstalks, a monthly gathering hosted by the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce for individuals interested in high growth entrepreneurship, was an insightful look into the mind of one of Omaha’s great entrepreneurs turned investor, Mark Hasebroock. Our editor, Michael Stacy, will have a recap in the coming days – stay tuned to learn about purple feet, popcorn, suspenders and hammocks – but I couldn’t resist sharing one of Hasebroock’s answers during the Q&A.
Hasebroock, a co-founder of multiple startups and an angel investor in others, founded Dundee Venture Capital nearly a year ago, opening shop with a $2 million fund. In tonight’s Q&A, I asked him to comment on the willingness of individuals in Omaha to make risk investments in tech startups like he’s done through Dundee VC.
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“This is one of the greatest wealth transfers in Omaha history right now,” Hasebroock said, “and they’re not young.” In Omaha, he said, there are 130 individuals each worth more than $100 million.
“Just think if we could capture a slice of it … particularly in the startup world,” Hasebroock continued. “Think what we could do, if we could really harness that.”
Addressing Dundee VC, he said: “I think there’s money on the sidelines that if one, two or three of these works it’s … ‘Well, he kind of knows what he’s doing, and I want to be a part of that. I want to be affiliated with these startups.’ ” Hasebroock said he doesn’t believe the city is at that point, but he hopes he’s part of a generation laying the groundwork for future entrepreneurs to succeed, invest and continue to grow the cycle.
