-
Simple Strat – solving a not so simple problem for marketers everywhere
Last week, SPN had the chance to speak with Ali Schwanke, founder and CEO of Simple Strat. In short, Simple Strat is a Lincoln-based marketing agency that helps B2B companies with growth marketing through a variety of services including inbound and digital marketing, video, and sales enablement. However, Ali and her co-founder Tyler are also…
-
Iowa State Fair hosts Iowa State University pitch competition
More than 200 Iowa State University student and alumni entrepreneurs representing 168 business ventures gathered to pitch their products and services as part of Iowa State University’s exhibit in the Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fair. The event took place from August 8-18. Each pitch contestant competed for $1,000 to $5000 awards in the “Great Iowa State University STANDING innOVATION…
-
Pegex raises round, helps waste management with software, and apparently loves dogs
Pegex, a Madison, Wisconsin based startup, has built a SaaS platform that provides waste management companies with business productivity tools that include a robust CRM, an automated quote engine, documents and data automation, workflow management, and other unique sets of templates and tools for their industry partners. But, in doing our research for this company,…
-
Omaha based Bot Image raises money on Start Engine
On the 8th of August, Bot Image filed paperwork with the SEC that they had received $355k in funds from outside investors. The company used Start Engine, a cloud funding website that has helped more than 275 companies raise more than $100mm in investments. Bot Image is an artificial intelligence software tool for accurately identifying…
-
FanFood announces partnership with Samsung
Last week, SPN had the chance to speak with Carson Goodale, founder, and CEO of FanFood. FanFood was originally formed in Iowa but the company has since moved to Chicago to pursue their business. FanFood is a mobile ordering and concessions management platform designed to improve the fan experience while streamlining the concessions management and…
-
Minneapolis-Based Upsie Raise Big Series A Round
Upsie, a tech company that focuses on supplying warranties for various devices based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, received $5 million in Series A Early Stage Venture funding from a group of venture capitalists headed by Silicon-Valley based tech investors, True Ventures, In May. Upsie provides a consumer-friendly platform for the purchase of affordable warranties. Clarence Bethea, CEO said “We want consumers…
-
Startup Spaces: Omaha Code School finds home in Little Bohemia
Omaha Code School grew up somewhat an orphan. Cousins Sumeet Jain and Rahul Gupta had the idea and put it together so quickly that one of Omaha’s first code schools didn’t even have time to find a home…
-
Startup Spaces: How Shift turned a bland office into a DIY haven
Nestled on the top floor of a nondescript office building in West Des Moines, the team at Shift has made the most of their shared space with agency Performance Marketing. When Shift moved in last August, the space was your typical, drab office space—fluorescent overhead lighting and beige walls. But now, thanks to the DIY…
-
Startup Spaces: Alley Poyner Co-Lab manufactured from Model T factory
In 1916, Ford built a factory in North Omaha to manufacture Model T cars. Over the next century, it’s had a history that includes a 50-year run as the Tip Top factory—the maker of hair curlers and bobby pins—then a tire warehouse until someone bought the building to repurpose it…
-
Startup Spaces: DivvyHQ sets up shop in old firehouse, Broadway roastery
Built in 1939, DivvyHQ’s office building in Westport has seen a lot of life in its 75 years. What used to be Westport Fire Station 19 became office space and, once Broadway Roasting Company bought it in 2007, partially a roastery and coffee shop. Fortunately, all that history didn’t die. The fire poles are still…