Startups

Is MusicSpoke ready for funding?

By SPN Team / March 17, 2015

When Jennifer Rosenblatt and Kurt Knecht of MusicSpoke completed the NMotion accelerator program last summer, they were adamant about not raising money. “I’ve said it often, ‘I’m not going to raise money for the sake of raising money.'”

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Pear Deck wins Rise of the Rest competition at SXSW [Video]

By SPN Team / March 16, 2015

Last night Riley Eynon-Lynch, co-founder of Pear Deck, won the Rise of the Rest pitch competition at SXSW. His prize? $150,000 in investment from Steve Case, venture capitalist and founder of America Online. Iowa City-based Pear Deck helps teachers keep students engaged in the classroom by connecting their presentations with student digital devices. It also allows students to interact with the presentation, giving teachers immediate feedback from their students.

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Yahoo celebrates 20 years, 6 years in Omaha

By SPN Team / March 3, 2015

On Monday Yahoo celebrated its 20th anniversary with a global party and a record-breaking mass yodel. Over 350 Yahoo employees in the Omaha area participated in the event. The Omaha office includes ad operations, sales, and finance, as well as a data center, serving Yahoo’s one billion users. Altogether these departments make Omaha/La Vista the 5th largest Yahoo office in the nation.

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Nordstrom’s Trunk Club acquisition a success for Men’s Style Lab’s growth

By SPN Team / August 1, 2014

It’s no small news for ecommerce companies that luxury retail giant Nordstrom acquired Chicago-based Trunk Club for a reported $350 million earlier this week.

But for one Des Moines startup, the acquisition validates a business idea that’s less than two years old.

Men’s Style Lab, often billed as “Trunk Club for everyone else,” offers online concierge clothing services for guys in need of a style upgrade, and following Trunk Club’s acquisition founder Derian Baugh says he’s even more confident that his company is filling a growing need.

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50-plus Nebraska startups to follow on Twitter

By SPN Team / July 23, 2013

In anticipation of our Silicon Prairie Awards next month, this week we’re highlighting the software, Internet and mobile startups that call our region home. Today’s focus is on companies based in Nebraska. (Stay tuned for lists of Iowa and Kansas City-area startups.)

With these lists, we hope you’ll take time to learn more …

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eCreamery’s “swimming with orders” since “Shark Tank” appearance

By SPN Team / May 6, 2013

“Although we didn’t get a deal with the sharks, it really taught us that a win can sometimes be disguised as a loss,” eCreamery co-founder Becky App said Friday on “Shark Tank,” the ABC business pitch show she and her co-founder first appeared on last September. The online custom ice cream and gelato shop was the focus of last week’s update …

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Traffic and sales soar, investors call on eCreamery post-Shark Tank

By SPN Team / September 26, 2012

eCreamery founders Becky App and Abby Jordan didn’t walk away from their appearance on ABC’s “Shark Tank” (above) with the $250,000 investment they sought from the show’s panel of celebrity investor judges.

But even though the Sharks didn’t bite on eCreamery, plenty of others have since the show aired on Friday.

In a phone interview Tuesday …

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