Silicon Prairie News

4301_87f6ffe9b0_small July 12, 2012 by Geoff Wood

Des Moines Last December, I wrote a post asking “Who’s the No. 2 startup in Des Moines?” In that post, I shared the results of an informal (and unscientific) poll that I conducted around the community to seek out which companies were the "top startups." While Dwolla was a unanimous selection at No. 1, there was no consensus on No. 2 or even what makes for a "top startup." The folks I talked to clearly felt like Dwolla was doing the correct things to be at the top even though most people didn't necessarily have a concrete opinion on what those "things" were. It seemed it was Dwolla and then everyone else. Fast forward to today, and progress within the local startup scene has helped bring greater clarity to the question I posed in December. Rather than defaulting to one company to characterize the startup … read more

4430_099d779101_small July 7, 2012 by Guest Contributor

Kansas City One Week KC was Kansas City's first major step towards realizing the vision established by our Chamber of Commerce: to make Kansas City America's Most Entrepreneurial City. It was one week (nine days, rather) of activities all around the city to help local entrepreneurs connect, form bonds, get inspired and celebrate entrepreneurship. It was an opportunity to spotlight the regular meetups and events that are already going on … read more

4393_9260260903_small June 30, 2012 by Guest Contributor

Des Moines (Guest post by Brianne Sanchez.) I traveled 7,317 miles to Qatar and came back wanting to go to Fargo. Yes, that Fargo. Let me tell you why. But first, a confession: I am not an entrepreneur. (Well, at least not yet.) I'm a lurker here in this space where ideas meet action, repurposing your #-ed wisdom for my more 8-4:30 career at a nonprofit. … read more

4378_6a87b9d214_small June 28, 2012 by Jeff Slobotski

Chicago I participated Monday in a Chicago TechWeek panel titled "Stories from the Silicon Prairie: Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Outside of the Valley." I was joined by Naithan Jones of AgLocal, Thad Langford of Open Air Equity Partners, Ben Milne of Dwolla and Greg Kratofil of Polsinelli Shughart, who served as our panel's moderator. This was the first time that most of us had presented on the same panel, and I was interested in hearing stories … read more

4360_db7bf567a4_small June 23, 2012 by Guest Contributor

Omaha (Guest post by Daphne Eck.) For one glorious year, Fresh Juice entrepreneur and creative consultant, Elle Lynch, was the owner and chef of Daily Grub. If you're from Omaha, you probably know the joint as 2010's Best New Restaurant. A whole food, farm-to-table lunch spot that didn't necessarily sell itself as a vegan restaurant, but was. Everyone … read more

4283_c0d9cd365e_small June 9, 2012 by Guest Contributor

Des Moines This week Tej Dhawan, Andy Stoll, Amanda Styron, and I trekked from Iowa to Boulder Colorado for the Startup America Partnership Regional Leaders Summit to represent StartupIowa. Over the two days, the SUAP team and our peer regions (states) were relentless in sharing best practices and programs that they have developed to build their entrepreneurial ecosystems. The Summit has had me thinking deeply about where we are in the gestation of StartupIowa and the overall ecosystem … read more

4244_e37d156728_small June 2, 2012 by Guest Contributor

Omaha Last week the last of the second batch of the Stored Potential banners went up in Omaha. The project was ambitions, the work was hard, and the final project is exceptional. Defunct grain elevators were transformed into a piece of art which speaks for the city. The city didn’t do it. You and I didn’t do it. Emerging Terrain, an Omaha non-profit, did it. And they are to be thanked. It is organizations like theirs which are helping … read more

4088_f427b3c800_small May 7, 2012 by Jeff Slobotski

Omaha It's hard to believe that we're days away from the fourth year of Big Omaha. It seems like just yesterday we were debating about hosting an event, fondly something similar to an "Omaha Web 2.0 / Social Media" conference. I for one am glad that we decided on the name "Big Omaha" instead of the "Web 2.0 Conference in Omaha" as the event is so much more than just the latest trends or predictions … 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!