Green Bein’ awarded $50K to help expand business in Lincoln (Video)
Team Green Bein' poses with Dan Hoffman, Invest Nebraska, after winning $50,000. Left to Right: Aaron Davis, Dan Hoffman, Collin Caneva, and Deana Ward. Photo by Kate Ellingson.
Green Bein' Productions won Invest Nebraska's third annual venture competition last week at the Embassy Suites in Lincoln. Last Tuesday, Green Bein' and the four other finalists competed for $50,000. The Lincoln-based entrepreneurs were given 15 minutes and then had an opportunity to answer judges' questions.
“All five of them did a really great job, but the winner, Green Bein’ Productions Inc., based on the judge’s discussion rose to the top based on their business and what they’ve been doing in Lincoln and the potential for that business as well,” said Dan Hoffman, Invest Nebraska’s executive director.
(Left: Ryan Cooper, founder & CEO of GolfStatus Inc., gives his presentation to judges. Photo by Kate Ellingson.)
The competition was hosted by Invest Nebraska, in conjunction with the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development and the University of Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship.
“What we’re trying to do is start as many businesses as we can,” said Hoffman. "The research is out there that shows that you have to continue to have that pipeline of businesses being started to increase that churn rate, and this is just our attempt to help facilitate that in Lincoln."
Deana Ward, vice president of Green Bein’, said that the win will help the team move forward with its marketing efforts. In this video interview, I asked Ward what’s next and about their new video game product.
ARCHIVED COMMENTS
Wow. I couldn't disagree more with Mr. Hoffman. The last thing we should be trying to do is start AS MANY businesses as possible. We should be trying to focus on quality- not quantity. 95% of the ideas out there are bad ideas and should NOT get funding. We need to educate and encourage folks to come up with better ideas. And it's not about churn- it's about sustainability. Flaming out one startup in the midwest rarely results in multiple startups from the ashes- the employees and founder usually just go to another existing company. But one successful startup can result in several offspring startups.
I think Invest Nebraska has the wrong focus and wrong strategy- unless they're just trying to poorly emulate silicon valley. Lets leverage our uniqueness and strengths rather than following what every other state is trying to do.
I would have to agree with Steve. One issue is the abundant number of businesses offering the same services in Lincoln, which has created too much choice with not enough variety.
On the other hand, if Hoffman was serious in his attempt to grow new businesses, choosing a three year old business with large overheard costs hardly facilitates the organization's operation for even a short period of time.
The idea of it is great, but does it actually work?
I don't believe the point of Dan Hoffman's comment was to insinuate that Invest Nebraska is just starting businesses without any regard to their quality. Thanks to Invest Nebraska, many small towns have actually seen growth due to the success of the venture competitions and new businesses being started. For example, Game On Games, a competition winner in McCook, NE, opened their store in 2007 and have already opened a second location in Kearney.
The only way for Nebraska to continue to grow is through entrepreneurship and as of now, Nebraska is experiencing brain drain. We are losing our college grads to other states with better opportunities and can only hope Invest Nebraska keeps promoting new business development to keep our talent in Nebraska.