The inaugural Big Omaha in May 2009 at KANEKO.
Four and a half years ago, Sarah Lacy came through Omaha on a book tour, and unknowingly changed the entrepreneurial landscape across the Silicon Prairie. It wasn’t any one thing she said to the audience, but rather the mere fact that people gathered together. Here you had a diverse mix of entrepreneurs, creatives, developers, marketers and more, together under one roof. It was at that event where we realized the value of bringing a group of innovators and entrepreneurs together – that from such gatherings “serendipitous” things would happen. And thus was the born the initial spark for all of the “Big” events as you see them today.
The first Big Omaha in many ways was that same Sarah Lacy event—only bigger. Only a single day, it has served as the blueprint for the many events that have followed. We never set out to run conferences, but instead wanted to recreate at larger scale that feeling that we got at that very first event. That buzz, energy and excitement. That sense that everyone around you is doing incredible things. And that sense that you too, could do those things if you just follow your passions.
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Over the subsequent years our events have grown—Big Omaha is now two days—but the format, the feeling and the intentions have remained the same. We draw attendees from all over the country, and continue to have amazing speaker lineups.
Over the years the stories and outcomes from Big Omaha have continued to pile up as well. For some the takeaways are all about hearing from the speakers on the stage. For others it’s about being surrounded and inspired by their fellow attendees. Either way, it’s hard for anyone in the room to deny the power of the connections, and countless lessons to be learned from speakers and fellow attendees alike.
And it’s the hard-to-quantify things like connections or inspiration. Multiple startups have received funding from investors that they first met at Big Omaha. Countless founders have been introduced and have gone on to start companies. And others have been moved to change their life’s direction based on the messages from the stage.
As we look to the future—both for Silicon Prairie News the organization, and for the community that has grown around us—we continue to be inspired and amazed by the truly incredible people that make up the Silicon Prairie, and by the new friendships that we form with each and every event that we hold. We know that events—whether small like the Sarah Lacy event, or large like Big Omaha—play a pivotal role in shaping the entrepreneurial landscape of the region. We’re honored to play a small part in that, and will continue to do so for Big Omaha V all the way through Big Omaha XX and beyond.
Credits: Photo by Malone & Co. / Big Omaha
