St. Louis

An Omaha-based company using a data-driven approach to combat human trafficking recently raised funding to expand its crucially needed work to support law enforcement, victims and survivors of the practice. HTI Labs, a social enterprise corporation combating human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assault through data-driven research and tech, has grown far larger than CEO…
Read MoreAs food insecurity rates have nearly doubled in Nebraska since March, local food banks and community nonprofits have expanded their tech resources, and a new field of innovation is emerging to serve their needs. Since the onset of COVID-19 restrictions began in March, Nebraska’s yearly unemployment rate has risen from 3.1 to 5.2 percent, bringing…
Read MoreGreat 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,…
Read MoreOriginally posted on the AIM Institute blog No one knows how the coronavirus pandemic will evolve, how long the economy will stay underwater, or even what recovery looks like. But the radical workplace upheaval and sudden ad hoc shift to remote technology over the past month suggest two truths: We need more tech talent. We…
Read MoreAndrew Glantz embodies the spirit of altruistic entrepreneurship. As a teen, Glantz served for 4 years as VP of the Southern California children’s charity Jr. Variety, planning fundraisers that obtained over $400,000 for various children’s causes. In college, he co-owned a nonprofit storefront promoting reuse and sustainability. And in October 2015, while still a junior…
Read MoreGv Freeman wanted to cultivate joy and reduce suffering in the software industry. Having grown up feeling out-of-the-loop in Central Nebraska, the St. Louis-based entrepreneur burned extra hours to find opportunities in the tech industry. Self-care wasn’t a priority. It wasn’t even on his radar. In true startup spirit, he singlemindedly drove himself to build…
Read MoreAccording to SEC filings, St. Louis based FinLocker has raised a $10.389 million round from the St. Louis Arch Angels and other undisclosed investors. FinLocker is a software tool for individual consumers seeking to improve their financial position and literacy. The company specifically helps aggregate a consumer’s financial data and then analyzes and recommends mortgage…
Read MoreTwo Silicon Prairie companies will be moving to Buffalo in the upcoming weeks, thanks to a program created by 43North. The program announced seven winning companies last week – including Strayos (St. Louis) and Peanut Butter (Chicago). As part of the program, both companies must move their CEO and a majority of staff to Buffalo.…
Read MoreLast summer, the Aksarben Foundation approached Chapman and Company about creating a landscape analysis on talent for Nebraska. While this analysis is about Nebraska, there are many lessons for communities throughout the Silicon Prairie region. Here are some broad stroke lessons from the report: The United States is WAY behind on technology talent. This is…
Read MoreOne of the major problems in the construction industry is that information must be entered into multiple platforms. So, for example, contact information must be entered into an enterprise resource management (ERM) platform as well as a customer relationship management platform (CRM). This makes the construction industry one of the least efficient in the world.…
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