Companies
Over 400 million individuals worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), have diabetes, living each day on the precipice of health determined by the level of sugar in their bloodstream. The vigilance required to ensure that their levels are neither too high nor too low can often become all-encompassing. A circumstance that Lonny Stormo,…
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On Thursday, Turbine Flats hosted a Tech Crawl as part of Lincoln Start-Up Week. About 60 attendees over the course of two hours indulged in free beer and snacks as they toured information booths staffed by local startups and tech organizations. Participating organizations included the AIM Institute, Expansive Media, Tech Expander, the Commonwealth Podcast, Dashr…
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This was a relatively light week for funding announcements in the Silicon Prairie, but it was dominated by rounds from Chicago, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Large Rounds ($10+ million) The Milwaukee Business Journal reported that Shine Medical Technologies raised $50 million in new financing from Oaktree Capital to continue to commercialize radioisotopes for medical uses. In…
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In our increasingly digital society, it’s easy to feel disconnected. Despite the ubiquity of social media and texting, nothing beats the thrill of face-to-face interaction, though a nice handwritten letter or a greeting card comes close. Jesse and Ross Harding, two brothers raised in Omaha, experienced such disconnection when they moved away from home. Living…
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One of author William Faulkner’s most iconic phrases concerns the lingering influence of yesterday: “The past is never dead. It isn’t even past.” (Requiem for a Nun, 1937.) Divorced from context, those lines seem alternately romantic, insightful, absurd, comforting and creepy. In context, they speak of the need to set fire to the failures, lies,…
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In 2005, Chris Potratz was deployed in Kuwait. The war in Iraq had already taken the lives of some 2,000 U.S. soldiers, and many of those who returned were plagued with anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain, as Potratz was. Upon completing his service, Potratz sought relief. He tried pharmaceuticals prescribed by the Veteran Affairs Medical…
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Like many regions in the United States, the Silicon Prairie significantly under performs expectations regarding female entrepreneurship. This has led certain communities to place a premium on identifying high potential women with the goal of helping facilitate more startups from women founded companies. Today, Pitchbook published an article regarding the largest women led, venture backed…
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In acquisition news, Hudl announced the purchase of Wyscout, an Italian based football (soccer) scouting company. The amount of the acquisition was not disclosed. In a previous round of financing, Wyscout raised $3mm on a convertible note at a $25mm pre-money valuation in 2014 (Crunchbase). In this April 2019 article in Forbes, Wyscout reportedly has…
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Daake knows something about reinvention. In May, the Omaha-based branding agency acquired local creative mainstays Webster Design, nearly doubling their staff and gaining some powerful minds in the process. The agency also recently upgraded their offices, rehabbing a former cigar bar into a sleek, sunlit, open-plan environment overlooking a golf course. Spend a few minutes…
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Cameo is a Chicago-based startup that makes it possible to buy personalized shout-outs from celebrities and influencers. In June 2019 they received $50 million in a round of series B funding led by American venture capitalist firm, Kleiner Perkins. After the injection of funds, the company has increased its valuation from $250 million to $300 million. …
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