Blog
June 21, 2020

Hidden Startup Gems in Nebraska: University Assets Founders Can Use (Even If You’re Not a Student)

A founder once told me, “I wish I’d known this two years ago.”  She had spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to prototype a hardware product—renting equipment, hiring contractors and paying for small production runs. Then she discovered that some of what she...

More Than Logos: What the UNeMed Startup Wall Really Celebrates

What kind of party involves 240 inventors, investors, entrepreneurs and patent lawyers? UNeMed’s startup wall party, of course! I didn’t know what to expect from a startup wall party, and I left with a rare andat precious gift. It started with faces I haven’t seen in...

Why Venture Capital Isn’t Coming Back: Understanding the New Normal for Startup Funding

Despite optimistic headline numbers regarding VC funding in 2025—which saw US deal value reach $339 billion —the venture capital market in 2026 is leaving several startup founders feeling anything but. In 2025, capital deployment was overwhelmingly concentrated, with...

I Had Never Been the PI on a Federal Grant. Five Weeks Later, We Hit Submit.

About five weeks ago, my colleague Tess McKinney walked into the UNeTech office with an opportunity. She found a funding announcement from the U.S. Department of State that immediately made all of us stop and say, "This is really cool." The program was unlike anything...

Can You Patent an AI Discovery? The Question is Whether You Invented It.

You design a diagnostic tool with three key elements: a biomarker panel you identified, a data collection protocol you developed, a risk threshold you optimized through testing. Then you feed it to Claude: "What's missing?" Claude suggests a fourth element: a...

Hidden Startup Gems in Nebraska: Get Free Help Before You Spend Money

When founders fail it’s not because they don’t work hard enough or because they have the wrong ideas. They fail because they spend money before they gather information. 

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Pipeline Progress: From Medical Devices to Virtual Reality to AI in Omaha’s Innovation Ecosystem

The Economic Development Administration's Good Jobs Challenge marks another milestone in Omaha's evolving innovation pipeline programs. The proposed Omaha AI Pipeline (OAIP) represents the latest evolution in a sequence of successful initiatives that began with the...

Omaha Startup Weekend: How to Build a Business in 48 Hours

Open Range and Techstars Omaha brought Omaha Startup Weekend back to town June 5-7, for a hugely successful event at Catalyst Omaha. After 20+ individual one-minute micro-pitches on Friday night from founders from the Midwest, 60+ attendees voted on their seven...

Forged and Ready: Steel Works Wraps First Cohort

When the Steel Works Health Accelerator launched, it was "only an idea on paper." Tyler Scherr, UNeMed’s Licensing Specialist and Business Development Manager, has now seen the program through to its conclusion. On June 10, the Steel Works Health Accelerator closes...

Entrepreneurship Is a Team Sport: What the MTVA Teaches About Relationship-Building

Entrepreneurship is often portrayed as a solo journey: one founder, one big idea, one breakthrough moment.  But inside the Maverick Technology Venture Alliance (MTVA) at the University of Nebraska Omaha, students learn something different. Innovation happens through...
What is … biomechanics?

What is … biomechanics?

Not to boast, but younger me was onto something. Admittedly, I did not get all the details right but the headline is all that matters: biomechanics really was the next big thing.    Biomechanics is the study of how living things move. The world’s largest free-standing...

Microwash joins UNeTech Incubator

Microwash joins UNeTech Incubator

COVID-19 left so many scars---deaths in the global millions, a legacy of economic upheaval, long COVID, and a lingering sense of vulnerability. There is just no going back to the way things were. Worse still is a realization that the world likely never was as safe as...

Every good startup needs a heist team

Every good startup needs a heist team

I’m a huge fan of heist movies. I love watching the crew come together, the ridiculously overwrought plan, and then watching everyone improvise as it all goes wrong. What’s more rewarding than seeing a quirky group of specialists overcome a series of challenges to...

UNeTech Launches Website Redesign

UNeTech Launches Website Redesign

The UNeTech Institute is pleased to launch its new website, with the support of Wendy Biernbaum from the The Small e, student intern Blair Osika from Metropolitan Community College, and Jeffrey Sterup from UNMC IT Development & Software.The need for the relaunch...

Looking back: The history of the UNeTech logo

Looking back: The history of the UNeTech logo

Charlie Litton notices details. “I always thought it was remarkable, or interesting, that Lincoln has its own shade of red,” he said. “UNO has a different, slightly redder shade of red, and that UNMC has a slightly brighter shade of red too.” Despite their...

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What is UNeTech, Creatively?

What is UNeTech, Creatively?

Noah Wester makes stuff. That’s his job. He is a 3D Modeling Technician at UNeTech and, in that capacity, he designs medical devices, laboratory parts, and other objects associated with healthcare innovation. He has deep and impressive experience in 3d printing,...

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