Startups

  • What happened to Nightlife Transit?

    What happened to Nightlife Transit?

    Nightlife Transit (NT) is a late-night shuttle service that combines GPS, mobile applications and eco-friendly biofuels to keep drunk drivers off the road and increase alternative transportation. The Omaha-based startup hit the streets in June and was only in the market for about two months before getting tied up in litigation issues with local cab…

  • “Science is hard”: QA with Cofactor Genomics’ Dave Messina

    “Science is hard”: QA with Cofactor Genomics’ Dave Messina

    St. Louis-based Cofactor Genomics uses RNA to diagnose diseases earlier and faster than current medical technology. This summer they participated in Y Combinator. With past experience working on the Human Genome Project, Cofactor Genomics is one of the hottest startups in biotech. SPN caught up with co-founder Dave Messina at CIC in the Cortex Innovation Community. SPN:…

  • Platte River Bicycle Goods offers cyclists a subscription box for gear

    Platte River Bicycle Goods offers cyclists a subscription box for gear

    Other monthly subscription boxes for cyclists focus on nutrition. This one’s for equipment. Craig Nashleanas and Christopher Halbkat, co-founders of Platte River Bicycle Goods, first met in 2012 at Halbkat’s custom bicycle build shop in Omaha. “I was living in Dundee when I heard about a new local bike shop,” said Nashleanas. “I ended up having Christopher completely…

  • Upcraft Club wants to change the way you think about sewing

    Upcraft Club wants to change the way you think about sewing

    Sewing is no longer just for your grandma or artisanal hipster friend. With Upcraft Club, thousands are enjoying the new technology that is revolutionizing the sewing industry. Upcraft Club, based in Des Moines, Iowa, is an ecommerce marketplace that sells digital sewing patterns. They also sell their patterns through a patent-pending process which allows brick and…

  • After the hype, what’s next for Invisible Girlfriend?

    After the hype, what’s next for Invisible Girlfriend?

    Invisible Girlfriend launched in January to a national media frenzy. Now they’re figuring out what to do next. When Saint Louis-based Invisible Girlfriend launched in January this year they were on Drudge Report for two days, followed by Gizmodo, Gawker, Washington Post, Bloomberg, the Today Show, among others. Even Conan O’Brien even did a bit on them. “I…

  • Zinnia expands delivery into Kansas City

    Zinnia expands delivery into Kansas City

    Zinnia’s affordable online flowers are now available in Kansas City starting today. Zinnia, an Omaha-based ecommerce site for high quality affordable bouquets, was in the middle of the Straight Shot accelerator when they received the call from Kansas City. It was from a new florist in town, Kansas City Flower Company, who had plans to open…

  • Powderhook’s “Yik Yak for the outdoors” marks a major pivot [Updated]

    Powderhook’s “Yik Yak for the outdoors” marks a major pivot [Updated]

    After trying out a web-based marketplace for hunting and fishing on private land, Powderhook is trying a whole new approach to their mission–a “Yik Yak for the outdoors.” Until now, Powderhook has been developing a web-based platform that helps people find places to hunt and fish on private lands. What the company discovered is that young people who use…

  • MultiMechanics announces new partnership with Dassault Systèmes

    MultiMechanics announces new partnership with Dassault Systèmes

    The partnership will connect MultiMechanics to a massive global user base of engineers. MultiMechanics, an Omaha-based advanced materials engineering software company, has announced a new partnership with one of the largest companies in their industry, France-based Dassault Systèmes. The partnership will integrate MultiMech tools with the Dassault Systèmes platform, SIMULIA Abaqus, and provide a new user base for MultiMechanics.…

  • Northstar Campaign Systems brings tech power to the election ground game

    Northstar Campaign Systems brings tech power to the election ground game

    The Omaha-based company has been an innovative force behind past campaigns of Chris Christie, Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham. In 2008 Andrew Northwall was working in the field for the McCain campaign in Iowa, when he noticed something odd about the Obama volunteers. He saw a transplant from California approach a potential voter and start talking about her…

  • Nature Hills brings e-commerce 2.0 to the gardening industry

    Nature Hills brings e-commerce 2.0 to the gardening industry

    With over 1,800 products offered on its website, Nature Hills is the largest online nursery in the US. The collapse of Garden.com is one of the legendary downfalls of the Dot.com bust in the early 2000s. After a $42.9 million IPO in 1999, the online nursery retailer quickly fell apart. By September of 2000, they announced a restructuring,…