Catch up on regional tech news with these recent top stories from Silicon Prairie News:
Turbine Flats, a startup and small business collaborative near downtown Lincoln, started ten years ago out of necessity.
“There was a group of early-stage software companies that ended up roommates of sorts in a crummy, run-down building,” Co-Founder Matthew Wegener said. “We discovered how valuable it was to be in close proximity to one another, so when that building became unsustainable we made a conscious decision to scale that concept to the next level.”
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Inc. recently released their annual Inc. 5000 list that ranks the fastest-growing private companies in America. The Midwest had an impressive showing with 12 of the 14 communities in our State of the Silicon Prairie Report represented on the list with a total of 165 companies.
Inc. says their annual 5000 list is a ranking of America’s company creators, value creators and job creators, with over 619,631 collective jobs accounted for between the companies listed over the last three years.
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Omaha-based Median, a customer support software company focused on making customer interactions fast and in-context, made their public launch today with the beta release of their browser-based screen sharing software.
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The Hayneedle app includes standard e-retailer functionality such as search capabilities based on user style preferences, special offers and deals, favorites list and secure purchasing via Apple Pay.
“We developed our app with the goal of providing a great mobile experience that is fast, secure, and optimized to our users’ needs when shopping on-the-go,” said Ryan Paulson, VP of Technology for Hayneedle. “While mobile web has a significant place in our portfolio, we saw the need for a Hayneedle native app that allows closer integration with the smartphone itself.”
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As Brent Comstock grew BCom Solutions, his Auburn-based digital marketing agency, two things became clear. One, that the business was reaching a point where it needed to expand outside of Auburn. And two, in order to expand, he needed to figure out a way to reach other rural communities.
“We were struggling to figure out how do we get our foot in different rural communities on a level that doesn’t literally require us to go to every small town,” said Comstock. “That’s just not scalable, nor is it very entrepreneurial.”
Do you know a student, teacher, innovator or business in the area that is doing amazing things in the Tech sector? Click here to nominate them. Nominations close September 22, 2017.
The six awards categories include:
Tech Student
Tech-savvy high school or college student with an excellent work ethic and superior technical skills. This shining star uses their talents to help others understand how to leverage technology to reach new heights, gain efficiencies and improve their capabilities.
Tech Educator
Dynamic kindergarten to 12 grade or post-secondary educator who is a key player in developing and building the future generation of tech talent. This person is an outstanding technology educator or administrator, a dynamic colleague and a caring mentor to students.
Tech Innovator
Creative, outside-the-box organization, group or individual that has demonstrated an unwavering dedication to tech innovation. The award recognizes sustained performance over an extended period of time or significant contribution related to a specific program/project.
Tech Leader
Outstanding, executive-level leader of a technology company or a technology division who strives to provide effective, efficient, high-quality service to internal and external clients. This person inspires and supports the growth of others within the tech community.
Emerging Business
A startup or small business recognized for their outstanding application of technology. Relevant criteria may include groundbreaking ideas or implementations, innovative product/project deployment or providing an outstanding return on a technology investment.
Enterprise Business
A medium or large business recognized for their outstanding application of technology. Relevant criteria may include groundbreaking ideas or implementations, innovative product/project deployment or providing outstanding return on a technology investment.
When: November 15, 2017, 5:30 PM
Where: Omaha Design Center, 1502 Cuming St, Omaha, NE
Registration for the event is free. Click here to RSVP.
AIM Heartland Developers Conference (HDC) returned last week to the Embassy Suites Conference Center in La Vista, Nebraska. The 14th annual HDC event included hands-on workshops, speakers, breakout sessions and networking events.
HDC is 3-day software development event for tech professionals where attendees learn from national industry experts as well as regional and local leaders who share the latest knowledge and demonstrate new techniques.
AIM’s Director of Events, Dave Vankat, said that this year’s conference surpassed expectations as one of the largest yet.
“AIM HDC continues to grow with more sponsors and over 800 attendees,” said Vankat. “We had some great new features this year with moving our Mesh Party, sponsored by Deliveron, to Buildertrend’s new headquarters, and adding the new Startup Connections, in collaboration with Don’t Panic Labs, on Friday.”
Vankat said that both new features had great feedback, as did the breakouts and keynotes.
“People really appreciate the deep tech content HDC offers,” added Vankat.
Keynote speaker Cory House gave a Friday presentation on Becoming an Outlier: Systems For Exceptional Developers. He offered advice and tips for not just developers, but professionals in general, on changing their lives for the better.
“If you are someone who is happy and optimistic, you have a radical advantage over everyone else,” said House.
House said that when it comes to learning programming, deliberate practice will be strenuous, it will hurt your ego and it will be frustrating.
“Find a way to give back what you’ve learned,” added House.
Other presenters included Dave Crawford from Microsoft, Kevin Hoyt from IBM, Jordan Degner from Hudl and Collin Forrester from Buildertrend.
Gallup was on site live streaming interviews and speakers. Check out Dave Crawford’s interview below and the complete series of videos right here on SPN.
Catch up on regional tech news with these recent top stories from Silicon Prairie News:
Iowa City-based IDx knows the importance of keeping tech talent in Iowa. The medical device company is entering into clinical trials for their AI technology that automates the detection of diabetic retinopathy in diabetes patients.
If the trial is a success and IDx becomes a leader in AI medTech, they’re going to have to scale up their team of 20. As they look ahead towards the possibility of increasing their staff to 100, 200 or more, they’re asking the question that all tech companies in the area are asking.
Is there enough tech talent in Iowa to sustain the scaling of the business?
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Nebraska is not California. Omaha is not San Francisco. This sounds glaringly obvious but sometimes entrepreneurs in the Midwest get caught up in proving that we’re the same as any other startup scene in the country.
But we’re not… and that’s okay! It doesn’t mean we don’t have big ideas here. It doesn’t mean there’s no tech leadership here. And it certainly doesn’t mean you can’t build a disruptive tech company here. The Silicon Prairie may not have the same quantity of startups as Silicon Valley, but we have just as much quality. You just have to know where to look.
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The Midwest is gaining increased attention as fertile ground for startups and entrepreneurs. Using publicly-available data on such things as number of startups, investor activity and cost of living, Chicago-based venture firm M25 Group has compiled a ranking of 54 cities in the region.
“This has been a five-month process,” said Victor Gutwein, M25’s Managing Director. “We talked with our team and other experts to identify variables that make up an ecosystem and how they should be weighted, including human subjectivity. Then we pulled the data and didn’t tweak it.”
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It’s fitting that my favorite band is Kings of Convenience. Two musicians. Two acoustic guitars. Two voices that sing as one. The duet is a work of art. How one voice compliments the other, identifying notes that strike a chord. The interplay. The duality. Two independent streams that when merged together, create something 10x better.
The duet––there is a strong parallel between two musicians making music together and two founders starting a company together.
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Instructor and tech professional David Dugger has a first-hand understanding of the frustrations and challenges faced by his students at the AIM Brain Exchange in downtown Omaha. Afterall, it was less than a year ago that he was living in a storage room with $70 to his name and a dead end part-time job with no long-term plans or job skills.
“I ended up in the storage room because I had a roommate who caused a bedbug infestation in my apartment and didn’t have money to move out on my own,” said Dugger. “I was living paycheck to paycheck.”
AIM Institute is offering an exciting afternoon of tech-driven competition throughout downtown Omaha on Friday, Aug. 4. Now in its second year, the AIM Amazing Tech Race, sponsored by Cox Business, is a scavenger hunt consisting of challenges that will provide a unique and engaging learning experience for all ages.
Competitors will be split into teams of four and receive a map leading to 12 locations throughout downtown Omaha. The first team to move with the speed of technology and post a “selfie” on Twitter at each location will receive the most points for that stop. Additional tech challenges will be set up at the AIM Brain Exchange for competitors to earn bonus points. The winning team will be announced and awarded prizes at the end of the event.
Several businesses and startups that include Cox Business, First National Technology Solutions, Agape Red, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, Drive Spotter, Union Pacific, Kaneko, No More Empty Pots, Fat Brain Toys, Appsky Labs and Mutual of Omaha will participate in the Amazing Tech Race by hosting an activity or a challenge.
Thanks to generous donations from our community and business partners, this event is free and open to the public. Teams with children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Registration is required for all participants.
When: Friday, Aug. 4, 2017, Noon to 4 p.m.
Where: AIM Brain Exchange, 1902 Howard St., Omaha
