Ben Pankonin with Social Assurance shares about maturing an industry

Building a product where an industry is already at, technology wise, is an easy task. But building a new product that matures an industry, and a big one at that, is no small task. To create a remarkable product it means focusing on one industry and knowing everything about it. Ben Pankonin and Social Assurance [...]

Video: Pacha Soap raises the bar for socially conscience entrepreneurs

Pacha Soap started as an idea while on a bus in South America, grew out of a college dorm room and has successfully grown from there. Hastings entrepreneur Andrew Vrbas shares his story about creating a business that will help change the world. For every bar of a soap sold, one bar is given to [...]

Video: Sam Featherston on manufacturing and acquisitions

Sam Featherston left his job of many years in management in plastics manufacturing and took a new role of ownership. He and a team of other investors from the industry have bought several companies now and have diversified beyond just plastics. In this video, Featherston shares about what went in to buying the first company [...]

Video: Social technology will change business forever

Mike Betzer, CEO of Social Dynamx, presented his talk ‘Social Technology Will Change Business Forever’ to students of UNL’s Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management. An experienced executive in contact centers and CRM, Mike drives the overall corporate and product strategy for Social Dynamx as CEO. Mike worked for MCI for 14 [...]

Video: Khara Plicanic with KaBloom Studios

Khara Plicanic, owner of KaBloom Studios, joined Nebraska Entrepreneur to share about her journey with the evolving photography business she started a number of years ago. She talks about how the hardest decisions really have set her up for success. From moving from part-time to full-time, changing from shooting everything to shooting just weddings and [...]

Video: Boyd Ober Advice on Being a Serial Entrepreneur

Boyd Ober’s desire to help others achieve success inspired him to found Leadership Resources and continues to fuel his passion today. Serving as president of the company, he devotes his time to building relationships, coaching and consulting with clients, and strengthening the Leadership Resources team. His guidance and direction have enabled the company to experience [...]

Video: Vestn Builds Startup on Ideas, Raises Seed Funding

Vestn helps individuals develop personal brands and institutions market their outstanding programs. Vestn was founded by Conner Dana, Brian Cary, and Phil Baylog at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The company started out as a way to network students at a school via their interests and skillsets and quickly became a branding solution for both the [...]

Blank Slate Theater Owners Reinvent Ord Theater

Brian and Kelly Magiera, a couple from Ord, Neb., recently opened the Blank Slate Theater. When the couple first bought the building it was a movie theater, which they kept open for another four years. But with new times come new activities, and slowly but surely they were losing profit from the lack of customers. [...]

Nick Bock – Five Nines Technology Group

Nebraska Entrepreneur recently had the opportunity to sit down with Nick Bock, CEO of Five Nines Technology Group. In the five years that Five Nines has been in existence, they have out-grown several offices and now employ over 60 people. Some of the main topics covered are how to have a successful business partnership, managing [...]

Video: Embracing the Mighty Bootstrap

Mark Carson started Fat Brain Toys out of the garage of his house based on the curiosity of his son. They now have 45 full time employees and up to 250 employees during the holiday season. Below the video you will find several of the key things that Mark talks about. This talk was given [...]

Video: Courageous Curiosity: Transcending Conventional Wisdom

Philanthropist Doug Burgum discussed the pursuit of successful entrepreneurship and innovation in this April 20 session organized by the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management. Burgum’s presentation is titled, “Courageous Curiosity: Transcending Conventional Wisdom.” Burgum, entrepreneur and philanthropist, has served as an investor and board member of SuccessFactors, a cloud-based leader in [...]

Video: Three successful growth stories

The first growth track at the 2012 Nebraska Summit on Entrepreneurship had growth stories from three successful small businesses. George Johnson, George Paul Vinegar Charlotte Ralston, RU Nuts Company, Inc. Brian Turner, Distefano Tool and Manufacturing Co.

Mergers, acquisitions, stock offerings and other frightning ways to grow your business.

Guest presenters Bart D. Dillashaw and Heidi Hornung-Scherr of Scudder Law Firm in Lincoln spoke about company growth at the 2012 Nebraska Summit on Entrepreneurship on Feb. 24. Scudder Law Firm specializes in legal services for public and private companies at every stage of the business life cycle. Scudder Law Firm’s touchstones are: 1) Focus, [...]

Video: Joining the Family Business – Succession and Re-Invention

Dave Specht, coordinator of the family business programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), facilitated the Succession and Re-invention track at the 2012 Nebraska Summit on Entrepreneurship. This first track focused on those joining the family business (or not) and what those on the panel have learned through that process. Betsy Branscombe, Speedway Motors, Inc. J.P. Rhea, [...]

Video: Startups from the eye of a student

With the Nebraska Summit on Entrepreneurship becoming a popular event for students, for 2012 there was added a panel of startups that were created about students. The panel included Calvin Pappas of SelectOut Inc., Allen Kruse of Rare Earth Solar and Craig Zuhlke of Photonic Solutions, Inc. This panel is about students who juggled the [...]

Video: Opening Summit Keynote Christian Renaud

Startups – Midwest Style Opening keynote for the 2012 Nebraska Summit on Entrepreneurship was Christian Renaud of Startup City Des Moines and Present.io. Face Reality Rethink Infrastructure Forget Ownership Shut up and Build it  

Video: Startup advice from MindMixer and TELCOR

The first Startup Track at the 2012 Nebraska Summit on Entrepreneurship was a great one. Moderated by Danny Schreiber of Silicon Prairie News, the topic covered the five ways to break in. On the panel was Nick Bowden with software startup MindMixer as well as veteran software  pioneer Jim Terrano with TELCOR. 1. Identifying an [...]

What it means to be a Nebraska entrepreneur

The 2012 Nebraska Summit on Entrepreneurship came to a close this year with a keynote address by Steve Kiene, Managing Principal of Nebraska Global. Steve talks about what it means to be a Nebraska entrepreneur and ends with “you might be a Nebraska entrepreneur if…”  

Insights Into Understanding and Pursuing Successful Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Are you interested in innovation and entrepreneurship?  The Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at UNL would like to share this talk by Barry Uphoff.   Barry will provide a spectrum of insights into understanding and pursuing successful entrepreneurship and innovation. Barry Uphoff is Managing Principal at Capricorn Investment Group and has more [...]

Capital Insights – Interview with Archrival