Omaha This Thursday KANEKO, in conjunction with the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, will host the first in a three-part series of lectures on the the lessons that can be learned from professional and personal failure. Marcus Nelson (left), founder and CEO of San Francisco startup Addvocate, will speak at the first Failing Forward Conversations along with Anne Trumble, founder and director of Omaha nonprofit Emerging Terrain and Dr. Carl Greiner, a professor of psychiatry. "A community that accepts and endorses failure is a community that fosters an environment of creativity and innovation," Dusty Reynolds, Omaha Chamber director of entrepreneurship … read more

Omaha John Legend is coming to the CenturyLink Center on Feb. 28 but it's not to sing in front of concert goers. Instead, it's to speak to more than 1,500 young professionals and business leaders at the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce's Young Professionals Summit. Joining Legend as a keynote speaker for the annual event will be Pencils of Promise founder Adam Braun. Both Legend, a member of TIME's … read more

Two awards honoring startups in Omaha and Kansas City are quickly nearing their nomination deadline. Friday is the last day to put a company's name in for the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce's "Innovator of the Year" award and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce's "Aspirational Entrepreneur" award. The Omaha Chamber's award, which is a part of its annual Big O! Excellence Awards (left), recognizes an "individual or an organization that has both envisioned and executed on an opportunity." Proxibid earned the title last year, and in the award's first year in 2011, our organization was honored to receive the recognition. To nominate a company or individual, visit omahachamber.org. The Kansas City Chamber's award … read more

Omaha Early LinkedIn employee Ellen Levy is the featured speaker of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce annual meeting luncheon Jan. 29. Levy (left) is currently the managing director of Silicon Valley Connect, a company that works to create programs, services and initiatives meant to build bridges between Silicon Valley and the rest of the world. The title of a Fast Company profile on Levy last year posed the question if she is the "most connected woman in Silicon Valley." With this year's theme, "Celebrate Entrepreneurship and Innovation," Levy brings more than 15 years of experience in Silicon Vally to the event, including a stint … read more

Omaha Paul and Stephanie Jarrett, the husband-and-wife co-founders of Bulu Box, moved east from San Francisco to Lincoln earlier this year to accelerate the growth of their startup, a service that mails subscribers boxes of vitamin and supplement samples. On Thursday, the Jarretts (left) will travel a little further east, to Omaha, share their story at Cornstalks, a monthly forum hosted by the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce for people … read more

Omaha Todd Simon, senior vice president of Omaha Steaks, will speak Thursday at Cornstalks, a monthly forum for individuals interested in high-growth entrepreneurship. Simon (left) will talk about his involvement in the startup community, primarily from a funding perspective. In February, Silicon Prairie News covered his participation in the Series A round of Artspace.com, an New York-based online marketplace for contemporary art. Cornstalks is hosted … read more

Omaha The Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce will kick off a new event July 24 geared towards startup executives and employees. Common Ground, a quarterly event, brings together two companies for an open discussion. The event begins at 9 a.m. with a three-hour private session, and then opens to the public at noon for a lunch panel. This first … read more

Austin Amid the rain and eventual shine at South By Southwest last week in Austin, Texas, Silicon Prairie News hosted a different kind of open bar. We tried something new this year to extend the networking, take a breather from the conference craze and provide our party attendees a unique experience with an edible spoon. We hosted the Silicon Prairie Cereal Bar on March 11, and more than 600 SXSW attendees joined us at Halcyon, a coffee shop just a few … read more