Prairie Moves is a roundup of career changes, media coverage, product development and other updates from the companies and individuals regularly covered by Silicon Prairie News. To submit an item for consideration, please email editor@siliconprairienews.com or use the form below.
Lead Read
“Kansas Reminders, and our First Missouri Deadlines” – After installing Google Fiber in some parts of Kansas City, Kan., Google announced it would begin installation of its gigabit internet in Kansas City, Mo. this spring.
Quotable
“If you’ve never worked together before hand, I would say think twice.” – Bulu Box co-founder Stephanie Jarrett reflected on founding a startup with her husband. – Business on Main (above)
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Mergers and acquisitions
- ActiveGrade of Iowa City, Iowa was acquired by Haiku Learning Systems of Goshen, Ind. – ActiveGrade Announcement, Press Release and SPN
Career moves
- Caleb Ulffers joined Silicon Prairie News as speaker manager – SPN
- Mike Naughton joined Hatchlings as an engineer
- Joel Wiggins, CEO of the Enterprise Center of Johnson County since 2005, has accepted the position of president at his alma mater, Crown College in St Bonifacius, Minn. – Kansas City Business Journal
New tech
- Pickit, an app offering users “the next level of fundraising through coupons,” launched in Lincoln, Neb. – Google Play Store
- Think Big Partners launched PitchCastr, a virtual demo day platform for entrepreneurs and investors – pitchcastr.com, Think Big Partners blog and Press Release
Product and business updates
- Hatchings left beta mode, celebrated its fifth birthday – Hatchlings Updates, SPN and Des Moines Register
- Locusic to host its first “virtual listening party” – Locusic blog and Des Moines Register
- Change introduced its “Change Dashboard” – Change blog and Des Moines Register
Mentions
- SkyVu Entertainment – “Zynga, East Coast Publishers Talk Strategies at Mobile Gaming USA East” – Xconomy
- EyeVerify – “EyeVerify’s Vein Popping Password Technology: Interview With CEO Toby Rush” – Huffington Post
- My Diabetes Health – “Tech Spotlight: Doctor’s personal story leads to diabetes tool” – Des Moines Register
- Front Flip – “Young Guns” – 435 Magazine
- Bulu Box – “When Co-Founders Run a Business – and a Marriage” – Business on Main
- Sojern – “Big Data, Little Data” – Travel Weekly
- Hollman Media – “Kearney Web designer gets spotlight in New York Times” – Omaha World-Herald
- BetaBlox – “Young Guns” – 435 Magazine
- Pipeline – “5 Nebraska entrepreneurs among 2013 Pipeline fellows” – Omaha World-Herald
- Archer Foundation – “Archer Foundation offers entrepreneurs a hand — and a cup of coffee” – Kansas City Business Journal
- State of Entreprenuership Address – “Kauffman Foundation’s McDonnell: Feds need to ease entrepreneurial financing” – Kansas City Business Journal
- “Big 5: Progress Report on Making KC America’s Most Entrepreneurial City” – KCPT
- “Far From San Francisco and New York, Silicon Prairie Emerges” – CNBC
- “Lending a helping hand to entrepreneurs” – Press Citizen
Gig bits
Gig Bits is an occasional feature keeping our readers up to speed on Google Fiber. Read Gig Bits.
- “Kansas Reminders, and our First Missouri Deadlines” – Google Fiber Blog
- “On the internet’s new frontier” – Irish Times
- “When Will the Rest of Us Get Google Fiber?” – MIT Technology Review
Recognition
- Rodrigo Neri’s Syte project was named a “Black Duck Open Source Rookies of the Year” – Black Duck and Wired
- Front Flip founder Matt Beckner named a Rising Star by Kansas City Business Magazine – Front Flip
- Front Flip was named in the top 35 Restaurant Apps by FastCasual.com & QSRweb.com – Front Flip
- Missouri ranked No. 6 on the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity – CNN Money
- Grain & Mortar received two international HOW Interactive Design Awards for their development Omaha Bikes and BarCamp Omaha 2012.
Blogged
- “Ignite the imagination: UMKC’s Digital Sandbox, the Next Big Thing and Kansas City media” – Alex Parker
- “Who Says You Can’t Start a Company in Omaha?” – Ben Vu
- “Not a ‘Fly-Over-State’ Anymore” – Brian Ardinger
- “I Moved My Startup From the Valley to the Plains” – Stephanie Jarrett
- “Why Omaha Startups are Successful” – Julie Mahloch
- “036 Think Big Radio: Carrie Royce on KC’s Startup Crawl” – Think Big Partners
- “Iowans not new to tech innovation” – Andy Stoll
- “CIG 002: From College To Successful Startup With Leo Widrich” – College Info Geek
- “2013 State of Entrepreneurship Address” (Photos) – Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
- “Front Flip Insider of the Week: Kelli Griffith” – Front Flip
- “Alex Gamble: Spring Junior Copywriter Intern at Think Big Partners” – Think Big Partners
Misc.
- Digital Sandbox revealed its director and board of advisors, opened applications – SPN, Kansas City Business Journal and Kansas City Star
- SparkLabKC opened its application process – sparklabkc.com
- The Code for America fellows landed in Kansas City for their one-month stay – Kansas City, Mo.’s Mayor’s Office and SPN
- Sporting Innovations credited for helping test Cisco’s new StadiumVision Mobile, a platform that delivers live-streaming video to mobile devices within sports and entertainment venues over Wi-Fi – Press Release and Sporting Innovations blog
- Plains Angels announced an investor training program – Des Moines Business Record and SPN
- “Kauffman Foundation’s 2013 State of Entrepreneurship Address Proposes Policies to Expand Financing Entrepreneurial Growth” – Video and Press Release
- “UNL’s Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic opens, gives advice to startups” – Nebraska Entrepreneur
Credits: Screenshot from businessonmain.msn.com.
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