Omaha If I remember correctly, I was in my middle school keyboard class when I first took notice of a series of black and white images that encouraged me to "Think different." As we tested for our highest WPM (words per minute), it was hard not to take a break, stare up at the series of at least a dozen posters and just daydream. There was Albert Einstein, Muhammad Ali, Amelia Earhart, Jane Goodall and, my favorite, Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog. Individuals whose very existence inspires the imagination. Yesterday, we lost one of those individuals. Not one featured in that campaign, but the one at the center of the company behind it and the person … read more

Des Moines I love that our friends in the larger publications in Des Moines are writing more and more about the startup community in the area (did you see Juice just highlighted "The Startup Scene" as part of their "Hot in Des Moines" issue?), and I was especially excited to see that the Business Record ran a story on entrepreneurial education in Iowa's largest universities, "Students see benefits to entrepreneurial studies." Writer Kyle Oppenhuizen interviewed … read more

Omaha In our community, it's often asked, "What's the most important element to grow our entrepreneurial ecosystem?" The answer: talented and passionate people. In 10 days, the city of Omaha will be losing one of those individuals. Tom Chapman (left) will be departing the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, where he's served as the director of entrepreneurship and innovation, to join Nebraska … read more

Omaha Thank you. It's absolutely amazing to look at what we've accomplished together as a community over three years. We at Silicon Prairie News are more committed than ever to continue building as well as highlighting the great work taking place, and we have some exciting things in store over the next several years. For a quick walk down memory lane … read more

Omaha One of our friends in the Pacific Northwest, Rick Turoczy of the blog Silicon Florist, is about to help serve up the second helping of the Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE) as co-founder. Modeled after TechStars – a Boulder, Co.-based startup accelerator that takes an equity stake in exchange for its three-month program involving seed funding, mentorship and an investor pitch day – PIE is touting … read more

Des Moines Last month, the Des Moines Register ran an article titled "Why is it so hard to start a business in Iowa?" in which the writer, Lynn Hicks, asked several entrepreneurs and community members, "What can state or local officials do to help startups and create an innovative culture?" In the article, four main ideas were discussed. Things like, "create …  read more

Des Moines A mentor or professor from my past — I don't even remember who at this point — mentioned to me that upon moving to a new city the first thing he did was seek out the coffee shops where the local tech entrepreneurs hang out. That, in his opinion, was the best way to get the vibe of the startup community and to find the people who were building companies. … read more

Des Moines As someone who participated in the first Startup Weekend Des Moines (see my Silicon Prairie News guest post at the time: "Startup Weekend Des Moines is a success") back in July 2009 and had the chance to spend several hours at this past weekend's event… read more