Our emcee, Antonio Neves (top left), and the seven speakers of the first day of Big Omaha 2012.

Also see: “Read up on the Big Omaha 2012 Friday speakers“

Already pick out your clothes in anticipation of Big Omaha? Now, it’s time for you to do your homework on the speaker lineup. Lucky for you, we’ve done the hard part and put together a series of links on the latest news and videos of each of the speakers in hopes of building your enthusiasm before you even step out your door. Filled with one of the youngest entrepreneurs to receive venture capital funding, the founder of a company that began the blogging boom in 2002 and an ex-Google intern, you won’t want to miss reading through the accomplishments of this lineup.

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Antonio Neves (@theantonioneves)

Business journalist, speaker and founder of THINQACTION

• Covering all things business and media for News One, Neves introduces Thomas Edwards, "The 'Professional Wingman' Shows You How To Network" (April 2012) 
• Turning potential into performance, Neves conducts an interview for "THINQACTION TV: Sian-Pierre Regis Has Swagger" (March 2012)
• Helping students all across the country, "Antonio Neves Shares Why He's a Mentor at StudentMentor.org" (Video) (March 2012)
• Founder of THINQACTION, a consultancy for young professionals, Neves shares his wisdom on networking with "Start asking questions", a guest post on revolution.is (Nov. 2011)

Ted Rheingold (@tedr)

Founder and general manager at SAY Media

• A year after joining SAY Media, TechCrunch reports Rheingold's "Dogster Gets A SAY Media Makeover" (above) (April 2012)
• In a January interview with Scatter/Gather, Rheingold talks about his 2012 SXSW Interactive panel about online identity in "SXSW 2012 Q&A: Ted Rheingold" (January 2012)
• Joins the SAY Media team as general manager in 2011, "SAY Media Acquires Dogster (And Has More Acquisitions In The Works)" (April 2011)
• Rheingold, despite having never had a dog himself before starting Dogster, explains where the idea came from in an interview with Pack People, "Video Interview with Ted Rheingold - Dogster.com" (Video) (Sept. 2011)

 

Ben Lerer (@benjlerer)

Co-founder and CEO of Thrillist Media Group

• Lerer joins TechCrunch contributer Chris Dixon to talk about the current startup environment (above), "(Founder Stories) Ben Lerer On The Startup Gold Rush" (August 2011)
• Highlighting the growth of Thrillist, a men's lifestyle publication he co-founded, Lerer answers, "What’s Next for Thrillist?" (May 2011)
• Speaking 2011 PSFK Conference in New York City Lerer gave a bit of the history and growth of Thrillist:  "Ben Lerer: Bridging Content And Commerce, Thrillist Style" (Video) (May 2011)
• In an article from Crain's New York Business, Lerer earns recognition as one of the top entrepreneurs under 40 in 2010, "40 Under 40 - Ben Lerer" (2010)

 

Sahil Lavingia (@shl)

Designer, founder and CEO of Gumroad

• After helping design Pinterest just as it gained popularity, Fast Company explores Sahil Lavingia's latest project, Gumroad (above): "Who's Next: Pinterest Designer Sahil Lavingia And His New E-Commerce Site Gumroad" (April 2012)
• With companies such as Pinterest, turntable.fm and Crate on his resume, YoungEntrepreneur.com talks with Lavingia about where he's been and where he's headed in "From Pinterest To Gumroad, 19-Year-Old Sahil Lavingia On His Trek Through Silicon Valley" (April 2012)
• "You almost need to be inexperienced and ignorant to be successful," Lavingia told The Economic Times in a recent article, "Sahil Lavingia: 19-year old Indian college dropout gets ($1.1 million) for his startup Gumroad." (April 2012)
• As a 19-year-old college dropout, Lavingia's startup "Gumroad Gets $1.1 Million From Chris Sacca, Max Levchin And Others To Turn Any Link Into A Payment System" (Video) (April 2012) 

 

Jim McKelvey (@2000f)

Co-founder of Square

• After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis in 1987, McKelvey had no idea he would co-found one of the fastest growing technology companies in the United States, earning himself the 2012 award of "Alumni Achievement Award: Jim McKelvey, Jr." (Video) (April 2012)
• Alongside camera phone inventor Philippe Kahn, SMS message innovator Neil Papwort and Instagram founder Kevin Systrom, "St. Louisan and Square co-founder Jiim McKelvey Featured in Super Bowl Commercial" for Best Buy (Feb. 2012)
• Sitting down for a long interview, Robert Meyerowitz of St. Louis Magazine explores, "Jim McKelvey has altered the way money changes hands, what next?" (March 2011)
• Revolutionizing the way people transfer money, Fast Company gives a rundown of how "Square Brings Credit Card Swiping to the Mobile Masses, Starting Today" (above) (May 2010)

 

Seth Goldstein (@seth)

Chairman of turntable.fm

• Anticipation of international expansion and and Android app show potential of turntable.fm from The Verge, "Turntable.fm co-founder teases Android app coming 'pretty soon,' is working on international expansion 'as fast as we can'" (April 2012)
• March was a big month for Goldstein as The Verge reported "Turntable.fm locks licensing deals with all four major music labels" Warner, Universal, Sony, and EMI. (March 2012)
• On a Grammy panel (above), Goldstein discusses early adopters in relation to turntable.fm and the desire to discover a band that hasn't gotten big. "Turntable.fm Chairman Seth Goldstein On Early Adopters" (Feb. 2012) 
• As founder and co-editor of A2SM, Goldstein is the co-host of weekly podcasts on a2sm.com. (2011)

 

Yael Cohen (@msfuckcancer)

Founder and president of F Cancer

• A local Vancouver news source (where Cohen is from) reports Cohen's latest move took F Cancer to Hollywood for a meet up with Funny or Die to create a video about early cancer detection in "Local cancer campaign heads to Hollywood" (April 2012)
• After initially making one F Cancer shirt for her mother in 2009, The Daily Brink (above) explores how Cohen's movement has become so much more in her interview, "Yael Cohen: Cancer Activist" (2012)
• Cohen was featured as an inspirational role model in Teen Vogue in "Giving Back: Yael Cohen's Mission to Promote Early Cancer Detection" (March 2012)
• Convinced that Generation Y can make a difference, Yael Cohen was invited to speak at the TEDx conference in Vancouver, "TEDxVancouver - Yael Cohen - Using the F-word to battle" (Video) (April 2011)

 

Philip Rosedale (@philiplinden)

Founder of Coffee & Power and founder and chairman of the board with Second Life/Linden Lab

• Taking a new approach to business, Rosedale explains a system he calls "The Rewarder" and "Why Employees Should Decide Who Gets Bonuses" in an article from Inc. (March 2012)
• Rosedale explains why he decided to create a virtual work in his 2008 TED Talk, "Philip Rosedale on Second Life" (Dec 2008)
• With the desire to bring the creativity of Second Life's virtual world to reality, Coffee & Power (above), "Philip Rosedale's new startup creates marketplace for small, fun jobs" (Nov 2011)
• Laid back in conversation, Rosedale talks about his start in the industry with Kevin Rose of Foundation: "Foundation 03 // Philip Rosedale" (Video) (Mar 2011)