June 4, 2013 by Danny Schreiber
Fresh off a Big events season and the addition of a Des Moines editor, our newsroom team of three is taking a look at how we can better cover the Silicon Prairie startup community. We have our own ideas, of course, but we really want to hear what's important to you. With this in mind, we recently published a reader survey. More than 200 responses have been submitted so far—208 to be exact—but we're hoping … read more
June 4, 2013 by Danny Schreiber
Lincoln Two weeks ago, Ella Wirtz and Courtney Rodgers launched their marketing software following three months of private tests with around two-dozen stores. This week, nine months into their startup journey, the duo announced their latest milestone: Boutique Window closed a $650,000 Series A round. The new capital, which comes from software investment firm Nebraska Global, education company Nelnet and an undisclosed investor, will allow the company … read more
June 4, 2013 by Megan Bannister
Kansas City After years of owning his own small business, William Robison's children had begun to ask questions about owning their own business someday. "As a business owner for as long as they can remember, they have only witnessed this side of the world," he said. "As they mature, I challenge them to explore opportunities of their own." But Robison didn't see many entrepreneurially-minded events geared toward teenagers. So he brought … read more
June 3, 2013 by Megan Bannister
Des Moines The Des Moines Register in February rolled out a new series focusing on startup communities around Iowa. The series, titled "Starting up Iowa," kicked off with a story package looking at the "Cedar Valley," the area … read more
June 3, 2013 by Megan Bannister
Cedar Rapids Former educators Shawn Cornally (left) and Trace Pickering are bringing students back into the classroom for the summer with their latest "big idea," aptly named The Big Ideas School. Set to begin its first session June 24, the program promises … read more
June 3, 2013 by Danny Schreiber
Lincoln Remember about two-and-a-half years ago when Dachis Group, a venture-backed Austin startup that builds social media marketing tools, snapped up Lincoln, Neb.-based youth branding agency Archrival? Well, the deal has been undone. Archrival co-founders Clint! Runge and Charlie Hull along with a group of undisclosed, Nebraska-based minority investors … read more
May 31, 2013 by Danny Schreiber
From two National Day of Civic Hacking events this weekend to the six-day extravaganza 1KC Week in late June, here are eight events to check out across the Silicon Prairie. Visit our event calendar for more events. ... read more
May 31, 2013 by Megan Bannister
Iowa City Six months ago Iowa City-based startup clusterFlunk was little more than an idea. Now co-founders Joe Dallago and AJ Nelson have stopped attending the University of Iowa to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. "We are working on clusterFlunk full time and are excited about it," Nelson said. "It was cool to take our 'leap of faith,' and we're ready to keep building the company." And so far, they have. Since the company launched in January … read more
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.