Overland Park Silicon Prairie News: What factors led to your decision to leave your previous gig and start Twentyseven Global? | Steve Roatch: I had spent my entire career at Accenture. It was a great run from new analyst to managing partner. But as the company grew, it became more bureaucratic and harder to innovate. So I joined a small software company as the COO, turned it around and ran it until we sold it. I found that I liked the small business environment and had several of my own ideas I was anxious to implement. | SPN: What have you found to be the biggest challenges to working with offshore delivery centers? How about the most significant benefits of it? ? SR: The biggest challenge, not surprisingly, is culture. I don’t mean … read more

Kansas City Silicon Prairie News: What was the series of events that led you to up and move to Kansas City and into the Homes for Hackers house? | Andrew Evans: I was working hard and playing hard in San Francisco for about two years. I got burned out. I needed a really, really big break. I decided to quit my job, transfer the apartment and travel the world for a year or two while trying to start a company. While on my first month away in Costa Rica, I heard about Homes for Hackers. Free rent and Google Fiber sounded great. | SPN: Aside from Gigabit-speed internet, what have been the biggest benefits of your time spent in Kansas City Startup Village? … read more

Kansas City Silicon Prairie News: Given that you once doubted you'd join a big firm, what was it that drew you to Polsinelli Shughart? Kristin Kenney: Polsinelli is an entrepreneurial firm that values lawyers who think like business people. Although it’s now a large national firm, Polsinelli has remained headquartered in Kansas City and is committed to supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses throughout the Midwest. I decided to join Polsinelli because I’m encouraged to use my business experience in addition to my legal skills. | SPN: What experiences or lessons learned during your time as an entrepreneur have proven most valuable in your work an attorney for entrepreneurs? KK: There are two big lessons I’ve learned as an entrepreneur. First, develop relationships … read more

Overland Park Silicon Prairie News: You're planning to pursue a pretty well-rounded academic regimen over the next couple of years. How do you intend to put all those studies to use after graduation? | Michael Cauble: The nice thing about already owning an company while also being in school is that I’m able to apply the knowledge I gain at school directly to my business. Which I definitely plan on continuing to do while studying at NYU. My ideal plan after graduating is to work at an international company (that of course promotes entrepreneurship internally), travel the world for business development and at the same time grow my own side businesses. While attending NYU, I plan on flying back to Kansas City … read more

Omaha Silicon Prairie News: To what would you attribute your interest in social entrepreneurship? Can you pinpoint any particular individuals or experiences that sparked it? | Lucas Turner: I first became aware of social entrepreneurship as a potential career path after coming to Creighton. It sounded like the perfect major because it allowed my passions of business and engaging with people from all backgrounds to intertwine. Participating in service trips, working at Camp Laurel South in Maine and being involved in philanthropy events all have driven me to want to start something that will make a difference for everyone. Also, seeing how connected, personable and fun the startup communities are really excites me. … read more

Kansas City Silicon Prairie News: What's the latest and greatest on the interactive marketing front at AMC? | Shane Adams: For the last couple of years, I've been working pretty hard on a project to completely overhaul the AMCTheatres.com site. We started first with the architecture. All our developers are in-house, and we're using an agile methodology, which is a great way for us to build new pieces of functionality quickly. And having the developers in-house instead of as vendors means we have people who care about the quality of the site. Our previous vendors did not seem to care quite as much. AMC has some experience with trying to outsource … read more

Yankton Silicon Prairie News: You spent several years in magazine publishing before opening Ben's Brewing Co. What led to your decision to make such a significant career shift? | Ben Hanten: I don't see publishing as being a lot different than running a bar. Both types of businesses need to be run like a campaign in order to be successful. Both require you to work long, erratic hours. Both involve creative marketing campaigns. I think publishing prepared me well to run bars. | SPN: Looking back at year one of the Wire Me Awake conference, what stands out as one thing you might do differently in the future and one smashing success? | BH: We really have been overwhelmed … read more

Des Moines Silicon Prairie News: What were your main takeaways from the Big Dream Gathering last week at Drake? | Katie Weiler: I love the connections that are made at Big Dream Gatherings. We had someone who wanted to learn Hebrew who was able to connect with someone who speaks it fluently. There as also a woman who wanted to learn how to work on antique cars, and she was able to connect with someone who does it as a hobby. It amazes me how much people can help each other if they're just willing to share what they need. | SPN: As someone with a passion for teaching and learning, what are ways — aside from your formal education — that you make both of those part of your daily life? | KW: Outside of school, I’m constantly reading books about self-improvement and subjects … read more