Silicon Prairie News

A crowd gathers at the opening party of BarCamp Omaha 2009 at Nomad Lounge. Photo from nomadlounge.com.

Today, I'd like to continue a series we talk about frequently: building an entrepreneurial ecosystem. On several occasions, we've referenced a list that Sarah Lacy came up with:

Every center of innovation needs a cocktail of things:

• Wild, almost naive ambition
• Money
• A culture of risk taking
• A social scene where Valley-like serendipitous moments can happen. (You know, stuff like: Oh, hey! I haven't seen you in forever! You're starting a company? OMG I know an angel investor who's really into that space! etc)
• Big companies techies can spin off from
• Universities

There is almost certainly a myriad of other things one could add to that list, however we've been particularly moved by these six and spend a great deal of our time talking about them and building our organization around these principles.

Moving on down the list, one of the areas where Silicon Prairie News can play a *huge* role in is with regards to the social scene. It's no secret that we've been heavily event focused since the very beginning. Here's just a sampling of the events that we've either produced or helped support in some way:

• Sarah Lacy book tour event
• Creative Capital Pitch Sessions (I, II, III, and Des Moines I)
• Big Omaha (2009 and 2010)
• Omaha Tweetups
• Barcamp Omaha (2008 and 2009)
• Highlight Midwest (2008 and 2009)
• Omaha Blog Co. Meetup

And likely many others.

For many media organizations, supporting events is about awareness and promotion. While there's certainly an aspect of that here, we believe at our core that the grass-roots movement of startups, creatives and entrepreneurs can be motivated and excited by gathering together and chatting with each other. In a sense, events are *crucial* to building a vibrant and connected community of people interested in all things creative.

If we look back to the first event – the Sarah Lacy book tour – those that were there will likely remember the special energy that existed in that room. For us, this was the event that started it all. It was at this point in time that we realized the "serendipitous moments" that Sarah herself so clearly stated. The room was filled with entrepreneurs, investors, creatives and people from all over the spectrum. These are exactly the types of events that spawn random conversations between people with crazy ideas, people with interesting projects, or people with loads of experience. 

One of my favorite things about helping to support and build this vibrant startup "social scene," is seeing all of the other events that are also taking place in this space:

• Government 2.0 Innovation Competition
• Startup Weekend
• Springboard Lunch
• Startup Drinks
• MVF Networking Receptions
• Lincoln YPG Events

And that's just in Omaha and Lincoln! 

Just over two years ago, very few (if any) of these events existed in the region. In just a short amount of time, we've gone from a city / area devoid of entrepreneurial events, to one with a good number of them. It's my genuine belief that these events spark relationships and connections between people that are impossible to foster otherwise. They serve as catalysts for the community that we're trying hard to foster, and truly compliment the work that we do online.