Startups
Taylor Martinez, former quarterback for the University of Nebraska, has released a new “positive social network” app called Journey, which allows users with disabilities, disorders and chronic diseases to encourage each other and seek advice. Martinez says that he was inspired to create the app after his famous touchdown experience with Jack Hoffman, a boy with pediatric brain…
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In 2007, Rod Smith and Don Stavneak started Volano Solutions, a custom software development company. In 2012, they developed their first stand-alone product, Steelwool. They learned a lot from the experience. “One of the lessons we learned with Steelwool is that if you undervalue your product, people won’t see it for what it’s worth,” said…
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Steve Tippery started FarmBright (formerly IntelliFarm) in 2012. FarmBright uses data to make more intelligent agricultural machines. Tippery has nearly 20 years of experience in product development for agriculture machinery. His company is currently in the NMotion startup accelerator in Lincoln, Nebraska. SPN spoke with Tippery at EntreFEST in Iowa City, Iowa. SPN: What are some…
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When Andy Priestley co-founded My Online Camp in 2006, he was motivated by the opportunity to combine his enthusiasm for sports and a love of technology. This year My Online Camp surpassed a total of 1 million registrations. Now Priestley is taking the Ames, Iowa, company to the next level with the launch of Ryzer…
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In fall of 2009, John Jenkins and Mark Waterstraat were anxiously watching the Affordable Care Act debate unfold, knowing it could potentially sink their company. Jenkins and Waterstraat had created Benaissance in 2006 around processing COBRA-compliant insurance payments for employers. (COBRA allows employees leaving a company to remain on their company’s health plan for a period of time.)…
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Angelo Pitassi Jr., Founder and CEO of Health ID, never imagined the day his youngest son would be diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes is a disease that is hard enough for a grown adult, but Pitassi never realized how difficult it was to manage on a day-to-day basis for a 3 year old. His son…
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Windstream posted this stunning video about Vishal Singh and his Lincoln-based Quantified Ag. Quantified Ag went through the NMotion accelerator in 2014. Windstream is a major supporter of the Silicon Prairie region. (H/t to Aaron Babcock)
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Yaw Odame and Caity Klitz, co-founders of Seamster, knew they had to move to Lincoln, Nebraska, if they wanted to start a company. “We were talking about building this thing, and we kind of joked with our friends, ‘Hey, we should move [to Lincoln],’” said Odame. “Food doesn’t cost as much, and rent is really…
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The Fireshark platform offers unique social gameplay across the floor and along four walls. Kent Johnson, founder of Wichita-based Fireshark Gaming, came up with the idea for an immersive theater 18 months ago out of a desire to create something for his teenage sons to enjoy. “He has three sons, all in high school and middle school,” said…
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Next week Jill Liliedahl, founder and CEO of SitStay, will be speaking at EntreFEST, Iowa’s premiere entrepreneurship event. She will be talking about how she revitalized her Lincoln-based ecommerce company. SPN spoke with Liliedahl over the the phone. SPN: What have you been up to at SitStay since you left the StraightShot accelerator last summer? Last December we did…
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