February 9, 2012 by Michael Stacy
Washington, D.C. A group of government officials, academics and non-profit leaders convened today in Washington, D.C. to call for the reduction of legislation and regulation that they believe is impeding the progress of the country's high-growth startups. Benno Schmidt, the interim president and CEO of the Kansas City, Mo.-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and Govs. Dave Heineman of Nebraska … read more
February 9, 2012 by Michael Stacy
Washington, D.C. Benno Schmidt, the interim president and CEO of the Kansas City, Mo.-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and Gov. Dave Heineman of Nebraska headline a group of speakers slated to talk today at the Kauffman Foundation's third annual State of Entrepreneurship Address in Washington, D.C. The event is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Central Time and continue for 90 minutes, and a live stream is available. … read more
February 9, 2012 by Kate Ellingson
Lincoln Unite Private Networks and the City of Lincoln will form a joint public-private partnership to place a grid of telecommunication fiber in downtown Lincoln. Lincoln mayor Chris Beutler outlined the plan during a press conference today, where he said that the city will finance a grid of conduits that will ultimately hold fiber from Unite and be open to any other communication company. The city will own the conduit, and Unite will maintain it. Any telecommunication service providers will be able to install fiber in the conduit. … read more
February 9, 2012 by Geoff Wood
Des Moines As you may be aware, the anticipated and recently rumored Series B funding news broke this week for the good folks at Dwolla in Des Moines. This round totalled $5 million and was not only raised out-of-Iowa but out-of-Silicon Prairie, with money coming in from both coasts. As rumored, the round was led by New York-based Union Square Ventures. Union Square, and its principal Fred Wilson (left) … read more
February 9, 2012 by Danny Schreiber
Kansas City Leap2, a Kanas City, Kan.-based startup that launched its iPhone app in November, released its Android app on Wednesday, bringing wider distribution to its new take on searching the web on mobile devices. Leap2, a Kanas City,Kan.-based startup that launched its iPhone app in November, released its Android app on Wednesday, bringing wider distribution to its new take on searching the web on mobile devices. "You don't have to go to a page of search results any more," Mike Farmer (below), founder of Leap2, said in a phone interview on Saturday, "you can go direct to the website … read more
February 8, 2012 by Michael Stacy
Des Moines Bio: A Des Moines native with entrepreneurial parents responsible for raising me with a strong work ethic and passion to build things. Constantly looking to listen and learn — from what music I should queue up to a great book or blog I should be reading. | Title: Lead Interactive Designer at Hatchlings | Age: 24 | City: Des Moines, Iowa | Website: hatchlings.com | Twitter: @lyndsayclark | Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/lyndsayclark/ | Intro music: I may be partial (my brother is in the band), but I can’t get enough of St. Lucia’s "We Got It Wrong." | Silicon Prairie News: You joined Hatchlings during what CEO Brad Dwyer calls a "re-startup" phase for the company. What does that mean to you, and how do you see it manifested … read more
February 8, 2012 by Michael Stacy
Des Moines Been there. Done that. Have the foursquare badge. For folks that make the rounds in Des Moines, that's now a possibility, thanks to a grassroots effort led by Chris Snider and his students at Drake University. foursquare announced today that Des Moines is one of five cities nationwide that earned its own badge in the foursquare city badge contest. foursquare, the popular, location-based mobile app that's a social network and rewards platform, last month challenged people to create and … read more
February 8, 2012 by Geoff Wood
Des Moines Not one but two Mikes joined us this week on PrairieCast. Mike Colwell, director of the Business Innovation Zone in Des Moines and Mike Ferrari, co-founder of SmartyPig (now Social Money Systems) both sit in to discuss the big news that broke early on show day, Dwolla's $5M Series B raise, as well as the recent news from SmartyPig including a name change … read more
