OMAHA, Nebraska (July 10, 2024)—This month’s “Idea Pub: Morning Edition” is set for Thursday, July 25, at 9-11 a.m. in the DRC II common area. The entrepreneurial networking event will focus on the importance of customer discovery for startup companies that have grown out of academic innovations.
The speakers will be Brent Clark, PhD, of the NSF I-Corps Great Plains Region Hub, and Stephanie Kidd, PhD, of UNeTech’s Opportunity Corps. They are expected to discuss the resources available to faculty and student entrepreneurs in brief comments.
Dr. Clark is a business professor at UNO and the Omaha site director for the National Science Foundation I-Corps Great Plains Region. Dr. Kidd is the communications strategist at UNeTech Institute, lead instructor for the NSF I-Corps Great Plains Region, and Director of Opportunity Corps.
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, created Morning Edition to help University innovators and entrepreneurs connect and collaborate with colleagues and experts from the venture capital and startup communities.
Morning Edition will also regularly feature “Office Hours” with UNeMed staff and Charlie Cuddy, who co-founded the Nebraska Startup Academy and MOVE Venture Capital. 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.
MOVE is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies. The Nebraska Startup Academy is a mentoring program for startup founders, investors and the local entrepreneurial community with the aim of building Nebraska into “an innovation hub in the Midwest.”
Morning Edition will be held on the final Thursday of every month and will continue to feature guest speakers from the Omaha entrepreneurial ecosystem. The event 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 event is free and open to all, and complimentary coffee and doughnuts will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
The speaker for next month’s event has not yet been announced, but it is planned for Thursday, August 29, at 9-11 a.m. in the DRC II commons.
Future planned speakers include:
- Scott Henderson, NMotion: When should you apply to the NMotion accelerator?
- Stephen Hug, UNeTech: Adventures in faculty/entrepreneur matchmaking
- Ben Kuspa, Nebraska Department of Economic Development: Securing state matching funds & prototyping grants
- Ben Walker, Innosphere: How you can benefit from a life sciences incubator program
- Ben Williamson, Invest Nebraska: What are VCs looking for?
Future dates are September 26, November 21 and December 19.
Morning Edition is part of UNeMed’s “Idea Pub,” a suite of entrepreneurial networking events that includes “Innovations & Libations” and “Startup Showcase.”
