Silicon Prairie News

Lincoln Articles
3600_66cb19c0d0_small February 9, 2012 by Kate Ellingson

Lincoln Unite Private Networks and the City of Lincoln will form a joint public-private partnership to place a grid of telecommunication fiber in downtown Lincoln. Lincoln mayor Chris Beutler outlined the plan during a press conference today, where he said that the city will finance a grid of conduits that will ultimately hold fiber from Unite and be open to any other communication company. The city will own the conduit, and Unite will maintain it. Any telecommunication service providers will be able to install fiber in the conduit. … read more

3538_63bbd9873a_small February 8, 2012 by Kate Ellingson

Lincoln The Turbine Flats Project is an "idea community" in Lincoln that began in 2008 with 22 people and 11,500 square feet. Today, some 75 employees work in the space, which has undergone one addition and is in the midst of a second. In December we covered ISoft Data Systems and the company’s CEO, Matthew Wegener. ISoft Data Systems is part of the Turbine Flats Project, which essentially started when ISoft out-grew its old offices and relocated its four employees into a larger space on 9th Street in … read more

3584_58397a167d_small February 6, 2012 by Michael Stacy

Lincoln Bio: Do-Gooder, information gatherer, data nerd, pop culture observer, made in Nebraska | Title: Director of Community Outreach, Nebraska Global | Age: 34 | City: Lincoln, Neb. | Website: nebraskaglobal.com | Twitter: @amandanebr | Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/amanda-garner/ | Intro music: "There's Always Someone Cooler Than You" by Ben Folds | Silicon Prairie News: As the person in charge of organizing Nebraska Global's philanthropic and service work, how have you seen building software companies and serving the community complement each other? | Amanda Garner: It's about problem solving. We volunteer time to help organizations solve problems to make our community … read more

3535_0839ce0a19_small February 1, 2012 by Patti Vannoy

Lincoln Lincoln couple Khara and Emir Plicanic’s cross-country bicycle trip started very low-tech, in a way, with four books. The first three were all books Khara read (and Emir read "by proxy" based on their discussions): "My Life on the Run" by Bart Yasso, "A Million Miles and a Thousand Years" by Donald Miller and "The Art of Nonconformity" by Chris Guillebeau. Each included some mention of riding bicycles across the United States. "I had never thought of a bike as a mode of travel transportation," said Khara, a … read more

3526_8718b916bb_small January 26, 2012 by Danny Schreiber

Lincoln It's a problem faced by many successful startups: running out of room for a growing staff. Last week, the Des Moines Register reported a major expansion underway for an Iowa startup planning to hire 23 developers. This week, the Lincoln Journal Star has a story on the plans of MacPractice, the maker of Mac software for doctors (founded in 2004), which includes a major construction project in the works. Patrick Clyne, co-founder of MacPractice, told the Journal Star that his company … read more

3466_357f50c579_small January 19, 2012 by Michael Stacy

Lincoln With its latest investment, Nebraska Global is using its software development muscle to help, well … develop muscle. The Lincoln-based software investment fund today announced its fifth investment: EliteForm, a company that makes tools for collecting and analyzing workout data and tailoring lifting regimens to help coaches and athletes get the most out of time spent on workouts. The company is launching with two products, StrengthPlanner and PowerTracker — more on those in a moment — and one … read more

3325_014c2280ae_small December 26, 2011 by Kate Ellingson

Lincoln While studying electrical engineering at The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Matthew Wegener had a part time job at a salvage yard where he worked on cars and poured concrete. During his time there, Wegener realized the salvage yard needed an inventory management system. He made a proposal to build the system for them on evenings and weekends. "Literally it was just a card table in a salvage yard," … read more

3357_5ac4700f3c_small December 26, 2011 by Patti Vannoy

Lincoln The new president of the Nebraska Angels has two goals for 2012: "More members and more deals." Bart Dillashaw, a Lincoln attorney, succeeded Nebraska Angels founder John Brasch in October as the second president in the organization’s history. Dillashaw has been interested in technology and startups since attending college in Texas during the '90s dot-com boom, and he previously practiced law in Silicon Valley before moving to Lincoln in July 2010. "There's something … read more

3353_a2b2b65d02_small December 22, 2011 by Michael Stacy

Lincoln Nebraska Global on Tuesday announced its latest investment: Beehive Industries, a company that makes infrastructure management software. The deal is the fourth announced in a span of 16 months by the Lincoln-based software investment fund, which was established in 2010 with the goal of launching 10 companies in five years. "Beehive is an excellent fit … read more

3351_5e620d7be5_small December 21, 2011 by Michael Stacy

Lincoln Hudl’s crib may not feature a 450-square-foot bed adorned with the Superman logo (a la Shaquile O’Neal's) or an on-site helicopter pad (like 50 Cent's). But, rest assured, the Lincoln-based startup's space has its fair share of creature comforts. Hudl, which makes web-based video and analysis tools for sports coaches, highlights some of those amenities in a video … read more