Kent Obrist, ABR | Homes in Lincoln, Nebraska

During the recession Lincoln topped lists for the lowest unemployment in the nation. Now Lincoln is drawing attention again—as Exhibit A for the promise of the Silicon Prairie.

In March of this year, NPR ran a story on the Silicon Prairie, featuring Lincoln, Nebraska, “a surprisingly strong tech startup community.”

This month Bloomberg Business ran another story on the Silicon Prairie, covering much the same ground (affordability, quality of life, strong talent pool), while describing Lincoln has something of a post-college paradise.

“Any software engineering salary, even starting level out of college, will be plenty to live OK just about anywhere. It’s just a matter if you want to live in a small apartment with the bare essentials, or live in a nice condo with a big TV and nice alcohol every week,” says a Hudl intern in the article.

More impressive is that most of the biggest recent venture capital raises in Nebraska this year have been for Lincoln companies. Bulu Box, Nobl, Travefy, opendorse all had raises near a million dollars this year, while Hudl’s  $72.5 million Series A broke all state records.

Behind many of these rounds are two venture investors committed to Lincoln–Nebraska Global andNelnet. While incubators like VentureTech continue to operate mostly under the radar.

Many entrepreneurs in the region who visit Lincoln come away remarking on the Lincoln magic.

What makes Lincoln special

1. Long runways, slow burn

What makes Lincoln a good example of a “Silicon Prairie” community is its affordability. Office space is inexpensive, particularly in comparison with the costs, which means more money goes towards growth instead of operations.

Not only does that mean early-stage companies have longer time to gain traction, it also makes it cheaper to fail. While that might not sound impressive outside of the startup world, it’s key to creating a thriving ecosystem of experienced entrepreneurs.

2. Ideal location

Lincoln is 30 minutes from Omaha, and 3 hours from Des Moines, Kansas City, Topeka, and Manhattan, Kansas. All within an easy day. You’d be surprised how many Kansas City folks find their way to Lincoln events and visa versa.

A location nestled between Omaha and Kansas City allows Lincoln to tap into nearby talent and experience pools. Both Travefy and Hudl both maintain satellite offices in Omaha for this purpose.

3. Density

There’s one magical word you pick up quickly around startup happy hour small talk: Density. Startup communities are perpetually seeking that close proximity of talent, companies and investment which can lead to chance encounters and collaborations that nobody could’ve predicted.

Of all the startup communities in the region, Lincoln is perhaps the densest, with much of the activity happening in the Haymarket district, anchored by Nebraska Global and the NMotion accelerator. Hudl’s decision to build their new headquarters right in the middle of this ecosystem will only make serendipitous encounters more likely.

4. One university system

Another factor that centers the community is the University of Nebraska. Nearly every major part of Lincoln’s startup community loops through the University somehow. Although rarely mentioned, the NMotion accelerator is a University backed project, as is Turbine Flats, as well as the Nebraska Innovation Campus.

Unlike Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri, there’s only one state university system in Nebraska, which means that most of the state’s homegrown talent is funneled toward Lincoln, one way or another.

Hudl, Elite Form, opendorse, Bugeater Foods are just a few of the companies where the university has been both an important partner and a talent pool.

5. A lock on young talent

Universities are underrated talent engines. But the Lincoln startup community, particularly at Nebraska Global, has a lock on great talent coming out of UNL. Exceptional young talent is discovered, fostered and retained. Talent that stays moves from one startup to the next, only deepening the available expertise.

The Raikes School has also helped keep in town some of Lincoln’s brightest lights. From the NPR story:

[Hudl] CEO and co-founder David Graff says the company could have moved anywhere, and had offers to relocate, but it stayed in Lincoln because “we really like the access to the University.” Hudl has 35 interns and most are from the Raikes School (named for Nebraska alum and former Microsoft executive Jeff Raikes).

6. A supportive but not too aggressive chamber

Unlike other communities, the Lincoln chamber seems to be enjoying the grassroots growth of the startup scene, rather than forcing it along. For a city dominated by institutions (the University and the Legislature), the energy and growth of Lincoln feels more authentic and less top-down than other places.

It also means that the startup community has a much more cosmopolitan flavor. Lincolnites regularly attend Omaha events, Iowa events, Kansas City events. It seems like there’s hardly a month of the year when the Lincoln community isn’t heading outside of their smaller community to share their experiences or cheer others on.

7. More on the way

Even more remarkable is that Lincoln isn’t even running at full strength yet.

The Nebraska Innovation Campus is just beginning to open up. Some have questioned the long timeline to launch, but with a new $750,000 grant for biotech startups just this month, we haven’t seen Lincoln max out its potential for tech innovation.

What’s the limiting factor for Lincoln?

All that said, unanswered questions remain, particularly when it comes to talent. It’s true that companies can launch in Lincoln, but can they scale there? A low unemployment rate is a sign of a strong economy, but it can also mean a lack of available talent. The key factor is a deep enough talent pool. Hudl’s new 7-story HQ in the Haymarket is moving headlong into that question.

Lincoln has plenty of young, gifted students, but at some point growing companies like Hudl need to attract national-level executive tier talent. That takes more than a big salary. It means selling outsiders on the Lincoln community as a whole.

 

Source: Silicon Prairie News