Entrepreneur Spotlight: Liz Renner with Only10Pounds.com

Michael Ventrella, a contestant on the popular weight loss show “The Biggest Loser,” dropped 264 pounds in one season. Ventralla, along with numerous other contestants, inspired audiences to shed pound after pound with their remarkable transformations. But Liz Renner, owner of Only10Pounds.com, stresses the importance of losing small amounts of weight as well. “’The Biggest [...]

Investomers: What are they and how they could help your business

As any seasoned entrepreneur can tell you, investment can either help or hurt a company, depending on how it’s handled. That doesn’t change when investment comes from a customer, but the opportunities and risks tend to be a little different. For starters, customer investors tend to be more engaged, according to Isoft Data Systems CEO [...]

Talent and Innovation Initiative: A Growing Help for Nebraska’s Businesses

Check back over the next month as we will be highlighting the different programs created this year by the Nebraska Legislature through the Talent and Innovation Initiative. Being an entrepreneur – or being involved in any capacity with a start-up — can be quite the challenge, yet successful entrepreneurs provide reward not only for themselves, but state economies [...]

Game Development & Starting a Company

Nebraska Entrepreneur recently attended a talk at the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The speaker was Justin Hall and the topic focused on game development and the process of starting a company. Hall started a product called PMOG, later changed to The Nethernet, which focused on making [...]

Startup Tribulations Overcome by Customer Relationships

Given his general apathy toward running, a business geared toward fitness was the last thing on Mike Ewoldt’s mind when he decided to launch Peak Performance with his brother Jim. Founded in February 1994, the business which was conceptualized over a late-night conversation and initially comprised merely an 1,800 square-foot store has now burgeoned into [...]

Are You Destined to be an Entrepreneur? Interview with Grant Stanley

[Our VIDEA contest in August produced a multitude of entries on entrepreneurs that they felt have good lessons to share. Grant Stanley of Contemporary Analysis was one of those.] Nebraska entrepreneur Grant Stanley recently sat down with us to talk about his experience starting Contemporary Analysis and entrepreneurs in general.    

Simplifying IT

Ameet Savant has always been a scientist at heart. Growing up in Mumbai, India, Savant could usually be found disassembling his toys – or for that matter the family radio and television – simply for the sake of understanding their inner workings. “In retrospect, the minor cuts, scrapes and 240-volt shocks were worth the natural honing of my [...]

Nebraska Global: Not Your Average Startup Fund

Good things grow in Nebraska. That’s the belief behind Nebraska Global – and they’re ready to back that up with $37.3 million. Steve Kiene, Patrick Smith and Doug Durham, who founded the software development fund in 2010, describe themselves as nerds with money. All three have extensive experience in business and technology and share a [...]

Startup Weekend Returns to Omaha

Time and money are two roadblocks faced by every entrepreneur, but with just $75 and 54 hours, you can jump-start your ideas and maybe even launch a business. Startup Weekend Omaha is back.  From Sept. 16-18, business people, creatives and developers will converge at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Mammel Hall for a unique [...]

Startup lessons and insights from Nebraska Global and Agile Sports founders

On April 27, the Lincoln Young Professionals Group and its Entrepreneurship Committee brought together two local entrepreneurs, one seasoned and one fresh, to talk about their startup experiences. John Wirtz, COO of Agile Sports, is best known for the product Hudl, which is marketed to high schools, universities and professional sports teams to allow coaches and [...]

Agile Sports and Stephanie Healy talk about growth

2011 Nebraska Summit on Entrepreneurship How to rapidly grow a Nebraska startup – unlimited vacation and Jets tickets Brian Kaiser, CTO, Agile Sports Technologies In four years, Agile Sports has grown from its three founders to 30 employees and from one devoted customer (the University of Nebraska Husker football team) to 2500 teams in 48 [...]

Nebraska Global venture capital fund unveiled, website goes live

It’s no surprise that businesses with a technology focus are likely to succeed – but finding funding to get a technology startup off the ground can be difficult. That’s where Nebraska Global comes in. Nebraska Global prides itself on being a successful combination of “nerds and money” by creating a venture capital fund that focuses on [...]

Allo Communications Helps Make Western Nebraska Viable for Global Business

In today’s global market, businesses require fast, reliable data and communication networks that simply didn’t exist in much of western Nebraska. What most people saw as a roadblock, Brad Moline considered an opportunity. In 2003, Brad and his partner, Russ Pankonin, started Allo Communications to provide the telecommunications support needed to help make rural Nebraska more [...]

Collin Caneva – Lincoln YPG Startup Lessons

Collin Caneva – Lincoln YPG Startup Lessons from Nebraska Entrepreneur on Vimeo.

Paradise Cafe Brings Big City Living to Western Nebraska

If he was being as honest as the songwriter’s craft so often requires, then all Jimmy Buffett needed to achieve total bliss was a cheeseburger in paradise. However, patrons of Scottsbluff’s Paradise Cafe may consider the famed musician somewhat shortsighted in that regard. Sporting a selection of tanning beds, Internet-ready computers, a martini bar offering [...]

Startup Drinks Lincoln Bringing Worldwide Networking Phenomenon to Star City

In business (to quote the age-old mantra), it’s often not what you know, but who you know. While that’s certainly sound advice, it doesn’t really offer any specifics; namely, who exactly that “who you know” happens to be. Toby Schroder — whose search engine optimization company Fierce Robot helps clients find the magic words to [...]

Kauffman Foundation Executive Stresses Understanding Market and Building Network

Bo Fishback, vice president of entrepreneurship at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, gave practical advice to entrepreneurs gathered at the 2010 Nebraska Summit on Entrepreneurship. Fishback, who started his first company when he was 13 years old, said there are two things that matter disproportionately in a startup’s life: your market and your network. “The [...]

Bo Fishback: The Big Picture

Bo Fishback, vice president of entrepreneurship at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, gave practical advice to entrepreneurs gathered at the 2010 Nebraska Summit on Entrepreneurship. Fishback, who started his first company when he was 13 years old, said there are two things that matter disproportionately in a startup’s life: your market and your network…