This past Thursday, September 22nd, over fifty members of the Omaha startup community joined us for our inaugural Startup Summit. Participants included entrepreneurs, professionals in the Omaha tech scene and members of the community interested in fostering the city’s burgeoning digital ecosystem.
Divided into groups, we were tasked with answering three questions; “What’s working well, what’s not working well and what can we commit to changing by the end of the year?”. After each of the groups discussed these three questions over the better part of an hour, a long list of answers were generated, all of which can be seen on the Trello board located here:
https://trello.com/b/5JaXG2bD/startup-summit-do-space-fall-2016 (Log in to leave your own comments).
Some common thoughts quickly became clear;
What’s Working Well:
- A supportive community, from individuals, organizations and local government
- Recognition from the national press and Silicon Valley leaders.
- Omaha’s quality of life and support for small business
What’s Not Working Well:
- Lack of guidance/“on-ramps” for startups
- Communication between stakeholders in Omaha startup scene
- Conservative investment/focus on “big-money” ventures
What We Can Do Better:
- Improve communication and event notification between stakeholders
- Utilize Do Space as a hub for coordination and promotion
- Increase outreach to Omaha business community and political leaders
These are just a few of the many ideas that came up. I encourage anyone who has additional thoughts to add them to the Trello board, and take advantage of the many other resources we have here, such as the Startup Nebraska group on Facebook. Together, we can continue to build on the great work that’s already been done here, and ensure a bright future for digital Omaha.
Check out images from the event:
ABOUT PAUL WRIDER
After fourteen years working in the video game industry in New York, California and abroad, Paul and his wife have returned to their native Midwest. He currently works at Do Space as a Community Learning Specialist, teaching and learning alongside his Teen Hackers. When not at Do Space he is a freelance web developer and amateur furniture refinisher.
