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IO2020: the New Innovators’ Summit connects entrepreneurial community (and tickets are free this year)
Great ideas start with curiosity. Bringing those ideas to life is its own challenge. That’s what longtime entrepreneur Brian Ardinger believes, and that’s why he’s made it his mission to help Nebraska startup founders, business leaders and innovators solve those challenges. Ardinger is cofounder of InsideOutside.io, an innovation-focused resource network for startups, entrepreneurs, investors, enterprises,…
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Payment tech company CardFlight gives businesses a break
With no fewer than 32,000 business closures in the restaurant industry through the end of August—nearly 20,000 of them permanent, according to Yelp’s latest Economic Impact Report—the fragility of restaurateurs and similar walk-in businesses has been laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even for establishments that sought to pivot to curbside pick-up and deliveries, the…
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‘You don’t have to be an engineer to do this:’ Local founders say ‘no code’ apps are changing the game
Let’s say it’s 1985, long before “no code” is a thing. You’re lacing up your Keds to hit the cineplex and watch “The Breakfast Club” again when, suddenly, a person from the year 2020 steps through your Michael Jordan poster wearing, for some reason, a surgical mask. They look tired. After terrifying you with grim…
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Lincoln Techstars Startup Week, featuring new social justice and environmentalist tracks, connects vibrant entrepreneur community
Over 30 free virtual info sessions, presentations, panel discussions and networking opportunities covering tech entrepreneurship will mark a weeklong celebration of the Lincoln startup ecosystem beginning Monday. Now in its ninth year, Lincoln Techstars Startup Week gives attendees the chance to connect with the entrepreneurial community while learning about the multifaceted challenges of startup life.…
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Filling the gap: Nebraska Dev Lab provides comprehensive pipeline program to meet demand for tech talent
Lincoln-based software development company Don’t Panic Labs and Doane University have teamed up to turn non-tech employees at sponsor organizations into fully fledged software engineers. The comprehensive initiative, called the Nebraska Dev Lab Pipeline Program, aims to strengthen Nebraska’s tech workforce and grow a larger, more diverse talent pool for employers to choose from when…
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Ground-to-cloud sharing: Lincoln AgTech startup RealmFive revolutionizes wireless connectivity in agriculture
It’s all about connecting the dots for Lincoln agriculture tech startup RealmFive. Through a series of products, sensors and cloud technologies, RealmFive is bringing the latest in tech to farms around the world. “Our goal as a company is to connect and control all the things that our customers care about on the farm and…
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Bay Area AI engineer turned VC joins retired Nebraska STEM educator to strengthen local tech, startup ecosystems
Joshua Armah, president of Wiase Research Institute and managing partner of Wiase Capital, got hit in the head with a baseball bat when he was 14 years old. A former Boy Scout turned teenage runaway on the streets of Atlantic City, New Jersey, he was trying to save his friend from a beatdown. Stepping up…
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Lincoln startup Pawlytics solving a doggone problem for animal shelters
Pawlytics founder Lizz Whitacre has four dogs, three cats, one ferret and two horses. The serial entrepreneur joked that the office of her Lincoln-based tech startup could double as a petting zoo. “Everything I’ve ever done has been related to trying to save animals, while trying to figure out how to make a bunch of…
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Lincoln-based startup Quantified Ag acquired by Merck Animal Health
Lincoln-based agriculture tech startup Quantified Ag has been acquired by Merck Animal Health, the companies announced last week. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed. In August 2016, SPN profiled Quantified Ag. At that time, the company had developed an LED ear tag for livestock that monitors a variety of data points which may…
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Opendorse Gives Athletes the Chance to Grow an Audience, Make Money, Even Build Creative Skills During Quarantine
With college and professional sports up in the air due to coronavirus, athletes have more time on their hands than usual. Many are leveraging the downtime to connect with fans over social media: posting workouts, hosting livestreams, even setting up home podcast studios in the name of content creation. While some might argue an athlete’s…