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Editorial: The Talent Problem Needs Community Solutions
The talent problem is a multidimensional problem that continues to be portrayed as if it was a single dimensional problem. Job Openings + Job Seekers = Employment But this is not true. Simply put, there are not enough people with the needed skills to fill high-end employment opportunities. The solution has always been to hire…
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Meet a VC: Firebrand Ventures from Kansas City
In August of 2016, John Fein started the process of raising a venture capital fund in Kansas City. He had a target of $7 million as his fund size and as he describes – “zero connections” to the high net worth community in Kansas City. However, he had a mission to raise and invest the…
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Largest Women Run, Venture Backed Startup in Each Silicon Prairie State
Like many regions in the United States, the Silicon Prairie significantly under performs expectations regarding female entrepreneurship. This has led certain communities to place a premium on identifying high potential women with the goal of helping facilitate more startups from women founded companies. Today, Pitchbook published an article regarding the largest women led, venture backed…
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Sidewalk Labs Spins Out Replica, Announces Series A
On Thursday, Kansas City based Replica announced via blog post that it had moved from a product of Sidewalk Labs (in the Model Lab) to a separate company, called Replica. The company also announced that it had raised $11 million in venture funding. In the blog post, Nick Bowden, Replica’s CEO and co-founder explained how…
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Editorial: Connecting Activities, an Appeal
As some of you may know, I write many articles for Silicon Prairie News and have been a regular part of the Omaha and regional ecosystem for almost two decades. I know many of the readers of Silicon Prairie News personally. I appreciate your readership. SPN is a critical way that we connect with the…
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Ensmarten Saturday: Liquidation Preferences – What Are They and How Do They Work?
If you are an entrepreneur who is raising money and do not know what a liquidation preference is, allow Ensmarten Saturday to enlighten you. You are not alone. One of my many surprises as a venture capitalist was the number of entrepreneurs that simply do not understand many of the terms on a term sheet.…
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Ensmarten Saturday: How does early stage valuation work?
In our work with entrepreneurs, there are a number of perception gaps. One of the biggest is that early stage valuation is a science. Many believe that if they just knew the parameters then they could get more outside investment. Most of the time, this is simply not true. Very few businesses ever receive outside…
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Lucky 7: Some Reading for the Holiday Weekend
Surprisingly, Silicon Prairie News is not the only news or information source out there. But, we consider ourselves well versed in entrepreneurship and ecosystem development. As such, we have curated seven articles for the Labor Day weekend. While not all of this is timely, it is timeless. Please feel free to peruse at your leisure.…
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Breaking the Glass Ceiling in Tech: HDC 2019
In 2018, only about 18 percent of the top 1,000 U.S. companies featured a female CIO, according to a 2019 analysis by consulting firm Korn Ferry. This represents a slight increase from 16 percent in 2017. But progress is slow and requires a tech talent pipeline more attuned to the needs of women and girls.…
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Reprint from University of Nebraska-Omaha: Exosuit Makes Walking and Running Easier
The below article is re-printed with the authorization of the University of Nebraska-Omaha. We discovered it quite by accident, but thought that it needed a wider circulation. Please feel free to send similar amazing technology stories for reprint on Silicon Prairie News to editor@siliconprairienews.com. Between walking at a leisurely pace and running for your life,…