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. 

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...
Microwash CEO Scores Big by Playing it Cool

Microwash CEO Scores Big by Playing it Cool

I liked James Young before he was cool. It is such a rare privilege to see something succeed so enormously from its most nescient beginning. James had applied for a job at UNeTech. Although he wasn’t the right fit I kept him in mind. I knew we’d need people to lead...

Coming Soon in 2024

Coming Soon in 2024

Watch this space: there is going to be a string of good news coming for the UNeTech Institute. I am sure anyone diligent enough to follow the link back to this post already knows some of it but I’m quite confident very few people know all of it.In 2024, I mean for...

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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Goodbye, Church Basement

Goodbye, Church Basement

Years ago, UNeTech met to discuss its mission, vision and values.  In the session, our facilitator asked everyone to describe UNeTech in a word. Scrappy came up a lot.  The UNeTech team in the "Church Basement" viewing a demonstration of a 3D printer. I took ownership...

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