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Omaha entrepreneur Willy Theisen helps guide next generation of business builders
In the early 1970s, a young man named Willy Theisen was driving cross country to California when his car broke down on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River. He was assisted by a stranger and decided to move in with his family temporarily until he could save enough to fix the car. What happened…
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GOVRED aims to train military with VR
The military and police departments face the difficult task of training recruits for uncommon scenarios that do not occur in everyday life. When challenged with the task of re-creating everything from traffic stops to battlefields, virtual reality can become an asset. The Battle Creek, MI., startup GOVRED is hoping to provide state of the art…
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Why Women in Tech Matter Even More in the Midwest
Ugh. Another depressing article about the lack of women in tech? It’s true – gender equality is a hot button issue right now. Google “women in tech” and you’ll get thousands of articles with depressing stats on women in STEM and hundreds more offering tales of sexual harassment and gender inequality in Silicon Valley. If…
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New co-working space for women opens in Cedar Rapids
Co-working spaces are a popular spot for startups to spring out of, and an increasing number of those spaces are catering to women, like The Wing in New York. Iowa’s first women-only co-working space and social club, The Dostal House, recently opened in Cedar Rapids. How The Dostal House works The Dostal House’s founder, Meegan…
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Don’t Panic Labs and AIM Interface School announce software education partnership
Lincoln-based software design and development company Don’t Panic Labs and Omaha-based AIM Interface School have announced a partnership that will provide continuing education for professional software developers in the Omaha area. “AIM Interface School is eager to partner with Don’t Panic Labs to offer advanced software engineering training for people in the Greater Omaha area,”…
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biBERK: Cyberthreats change SMB insurance policies
There are a number of things to consider before opening a small business. While many SMB owners take into consideration things like current economic conditions, regulatory changes, and even sustaining customer loyalty, one problem many of them forget about is cyberattacks. It used to be that small and medium-sized businesses weren’t targeted as often as…
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Pipeline President and CEO Joni Cobb recaps Seattle Module for SPN
Pipeline Entrepreneurs, the Midwest’s most successful organization of high-growth entrepreneurs, recently completed their Seattle module. SPN spoke to Pipeline President and CEO Joni Cobb to get a recap and to find out more about who and how the Pipeline fellows expanded their network outside of the Silicon Prairie. A year of Pipeline consists of four…
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Precision Reality brings virtual reality to corporate real estate
There are some innovative uses for virtual reality, but too often the technology comes across as more of a novelty, with gaming and fantasy being the primary focus of use. Dubuque, Iowa strategic systems innovator Design Mill, Inc. and Chicago’s Ideas Into Apps have joined forces to integrate virtual reality with corporate real estate through…
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SPN special report: the 2016 State of the Silicon Prairie
We are proud to announce the first ever State of the Silicon Prairie Report. In this report, we ranked fourteen Midwestern startup communities on a variety of factors in order to measure where we are individually so that we might progress as a united region. As part of AIM Institute, a nonprofit whose mission is…
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First ever Inside/Outside Innovation Summit in Lincoln mixed startups with corporate innovators
Over 600 people from across the country gathered June 26th through the 28th at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska to attend the first ever Inside/Outside Innovation Summit, a conference that matches startups with corporate innovators. The event showcased a diverse slate of speakers, a startup showcase floor, networking, and a $100,000 startup pitch competition.…