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Entrepreneurs

  • TalkAbroad founder discusses Silicon Valley, Omaha startup scene

    In January of this year, Todd Nichols began working full-time on his startup, TalkAbroad, a company using online video conferencing to connect American college students learning a foreign language with native speakers abroad. The idea for the Omaha native’s startup came about while working for a micro-finance organization in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where he learned to…

  • Co-founders Jonathan Sharp & Mike Hostetler tell the appendTo story

    “It’s actually kind of fun looking back,” former freelance developer Jonathan Sharp remarked. “When I was first starting [Out West Media], I believe you asked me, ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’ I was like, ‘Same thing.'” One year later, some things are still the same: Jonathan still lives in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, he…

  • TalkAbroad connects U.S. college students with native speakers

    Foreign language study, which is central to Todd Nichols’ company, TalkAbroad, wasn’t central to his early college career. “I found the memorization of words and the grammar studies to be pretty dry,” said Nichols, an Omaha native. His outlook on learning a second language changed, however, when he studied abroad in Cuba and put what…

  • Pongr’s Zach Cox talks about mobile tech & expanding Iowa team

    Across the globe, startups are utilizing mobile technology to create innovative and disruptive product offerings. Locally, we’re seeing the mobile tech community continue to expand, as well. One of those recent additions is a company called Pongr. The startup still maintains a Boston address, but co-founder and native Iowan, Zach Cox, has plans…

  • Dice Holdings’ Paul Melde talks about history of Dice.com & its Iowa base

    Over the past decade, technology professionals across the country have come to know Dice.com as an important site for industry job-seekers and recruiters. What’s not always apparent, however, is that Dice is located in the Des Moines area and has been since the founders moved it to Iowa 15 years ago. The company began as…

  • Joe Moglia shares advice for young professionals & entrepreneurs

    In addition to putting his leadership skills to work inside of TD AMERITRADE, Joe Moglia, the company’s current chairman and former CEO, has been sharing them at conferences, fundraisers, and universities over the past decade. Friends of mine that have seen him speak say he’s one of the most inspirational speakers they have heard. Although…

  • Stacking Up: Carter Cast brings marketing legacy to Hayneedle

    Before Carter Cast began building futures with the nation’s leading companies, he was more interested in the building of past civilizations. The Stanford University graduate was a history buff during his college years. Going on to earn a bachelor’s degree in political science, Cast, as a child, was more so an archaeologist who collected rocks…

  • Joe Moglia reflects on importance of communication & risk taking

    When Joe Moglia, former CEO and current chairman of TD AMERITRADE, sat down with The Reader’s Kyle Tonniges for the first issue of disRUPT, he spoke candidly about subjects ranging from his childhood in Manhattan to his quest to land a career as a Division I head football coach. Most of all, he reflected on…

  • Chad Stansbury talks about leaving full-time job to develop Scriptito

    When I spoke with Chad Stansbury a couple weeks ago to learn more about Scriptito, I also asked him to share his thoughts on entrepreneurship. In January, Chad, 40, married with two children, left his full-time job as director of IT at Carlson Hotels Worldwide to create a product he could call his own. He…

  • Using his dealmaker’s algorithm, Ted Zoller, Ph.D. helps entrepreneurs

    Over lunch at last Wednesday’s Regional Energy Innovation Summit, attendees were treated to a presentation from Ted Zoller, Ph.D., executive director of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Zoller, who’s also an adjunct professor at UNC, has been an entrepreneur for most of his life. Now, it’s his mission to…