Silicon Prairie News

5672_32115aaf94_small May 8, 2013 by Annie Sorensen & Fred Bauters

Omaha We all know the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but what about the Six Degrees of Jeff Slobotski? Big Omaha is bound to create thousands of connections, which will continue on long after Friday. Attendees can see the relationships being built as they scan … read more

5681_fff3723c52_small May 8, 2013 by Danny Schreiber

Omaha It's here. Big Omaha 2013 begins tonight. For the fifth year, we're inviting badge holders and the general public to join us at The Slowdown for the Big Omaha Opening Party. This year's shindig is brought to you by our premier sponsor, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In celebration of our high fashion brand, we're partnering with our friends at Omaha Fashion Week to bring the runway to the rock club. … read more

5673_12d42699e9_small May 7, 2013 by Dusty Davidson & Jeff Slobotski

Omaha 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 … read more

5655_589b2aaee2_small May 7, 2013 by Megan Bannister

Des Moines Classes may be out for the summer, but Dwolla is bringing teachers, students and administrators back together for its second Des Moines hackathon. … read more

5670_0a0b6ececa_small May 7, 2013 by Danny Schreiber

Omaha If you've ever struggled to recall the name of someone you recently met, then you can relate to Sumeet Jain, the co-creator of Omawho. "When I moved to Omaha a couple years ago, I starting meeting a lot of people—and I couldn't always remember their names. So I wanted a way to put faces to names," Jain said in an email interview. "That's the first reason I had for building Omawho." The second? … read more

5671_f6658d210e_small May 6, 2013 by Danny Schreiber

Omaha "Although we didn't get a deal with the sharks, it really taught us that a win can sometimes be disguised as a loss," eCreamery co-founder Becky App said Friday on "Shark Tank," the ABC business pitch show she and her co-founder first appeared on last September. The online custom ice cream and gelato shop was the focus of last week's update … read more

5652_c6dbfe725d_small May 6, 2013 by Fred Bauters

Kansas City Two friends want to build a Maker Village for engineers, entrepreneurs and designers to create under the same roof. Nick Ward-Bopp and Sam Green weren't getting satisfaction out of their work, so they decided to take on a tangible project. That ended up being the rehab of a building on the west side of Kansas City in exchange for rent. Called The Jarboe Initiative, it was the start of a larger mission to lower the barrier of entry for local makers. They made an agreement to revitalize the building while they lived on the property … read more

5669_7bbe6f40e1_small May 6, 2013 by Fred Bauters

Kansas City From 94 submissions for Digital Sandbox KC, six early-stage technology companies have been selected by the proof-of-concept resource partnership to receive funding for consulting, resources and equipment. But all 94 will get a hand in building their castles. The companies that will receive funding are communications technology startup … read more

The polls are open!

Through August 22, help us decide the winners of our inaugural Silicon Prairie Awards, which will recognize 12 companies and individuals. You can vote once per day per category.
Winners will be announced live on stage at
our August 30 event.

Vote!