Ben Williams, general counsel and principal at Invest Nebraska, was the featured speaker at the Sept. 26, 2024, Idea Pub: Morning Edition.
OMAHA, Nebraska (September 26, 2024)—UNeMed’s sixth edition of “Idea Pub: Morning Edition” featured Ben Williamson, general counsel and principal at Invest Nebraska, the state’s venture capital investment program.
Williamson covered the broad strokes on the type on entrepreneurial ventures Invest Nebraska supports financially, noting that Invest Nebraska has invested about $55 million-$60 million since 2011. In 2023 alone, they invested $11 million in Nebraska startups, he said.
Invest Nebraska will provide matching funding between $100,000 and $1 million to “all sorts of entrepreneurs” in various stages, whether they be early, seed-stage companies or more mature startups looking for series B or later rounds. But before seeking financial investors, there are four key concerns every entrepreneur should be able to answer for early-stage investors:
- Does the business solve a problem for which people would be willing to pay?
- Will the business be able to grow?
- What makes your business better than the competition?
- “We’re investing in people, first and foremost. Talk about the team.”
“Investors might ask a lot of different questions,” he said, “but [those four] are all that really matter for equity investors.”
Morning Edition also featured two additional speakers: Doug Miller, CEO at Impower Health, Inc., and Silvester Juanes, CEO and founder of Innovative Long Term Care Solutions.
Miller announced that Impower is making the world’s first truly self-pacing treadmill. It will speed up or slow down as needed—with no other input from the user other than their own self-directed pace and speed while walking or running. Such a transformational treadmill would have obvious advantages in the fitness realm, but it could also dramatically improve certain tests, treatments and rehabilitation programs that often use traditional treadmills.
Silvester Juanes, CEO & founder, Innovative Long Term Care Solutions, speaks to an estimated 53 at the Sept. 26, 2024, Idea Pub: Morning Edition.
Invest Nebraska was also among the early investors for Juanes’ company, which created a clever solution to widespread staffing issues associated with long-term care facilities. Juanes developed a program that does more than find temporary workers to fill open spots, but also builds and trains temporary workers long-term employees capable of filling permanent, full-time positions.
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, sponsored the event, which will continue as a regular monthly series. The series will continue to feature guest speakers from the entrepreneurial ecosystem; and will provide UNMC and UNO innovators an opportunity to build new partnerships and allies that can help develop their innovative ideas and discoveries into products that help people.
The next Morning Edition is planned for Thursday, Oct. 31, at 9-11 a.m. in the DRC II commons. The featured speakers will be Timothy Jones and Ben Walker of Innosphere Ventures, a Colorado-based incubator program that is partnered with the University of Nebraska to help develop life sciences innovations and startups.
Morning Edition will continue on the last Thursday of every month, featuring a new speaker each time. Each Morning Edition will also feature “Office Hours,” with UNeMed and MOVE, a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies. Office Hours creates the opportunity for faculty, students and staff to have one-on-one time with MOVE or UNeMed professionals to discuss new technologies or startup potential.
Additional planned speakers in the coming months include, in no particular order:
- Scott Henderson, NMotion: When should you apply to the NMotion accelerator?
- Stephen Hug, UNeTech: Adventures in faculty/entrepreneur matchmaking
