Silicon Prairie News Awards 3 KC Startups with Golden Analog

Throw together 400+ entrepreneurial enthusiasts, 48 incredible startup nominees and one giant golden prairie dog and what do you get?  The Silicon Prairie Awards.

Last night, the first annual Silicon Prairie Awards honored those startups and Silicon Prairie members who have greatly impacted our Midwest community in a positive way.  With awards ranging from Mobile App of the Year, Startup Service Provider of the Year and the greatly-anticipated Startup of the Year, 12 lucky and talented nominees from Omaha, Kansas City and Des Moines walked away with a golden analog, appropriately shaped as SPN's mascot, a prairie dog.

I was lucky enough to trek across the heartland with two partners from Think Big to partake in the Silicon Prairie Awards.  And after we climbed the stairs of the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, glided across the orange carpet, got "paparazzied" by a SPN photographer and interviewed with the "Joan Rivers" of the event (Michael Stacy), we finally arrived at the Silicon Prairie Awards.

One thing is for sure--there was a lot of entrepreneurial energy in the room.  Lawyers were chatting with startups, sponsors were clinking glasses with executives and even David Cohen, CEO of TechStars, was making his way through the crowd.  It took everything in SPN's power to actually stop people from networking to sit down for the awards ceremony--obviously, we have a lot to talk about!

The awards ceremony was equally as impressive.  It was all smooth sailing for the SPN team as awards were given to startups, entrepreneurs and service providers from across the Silicon Prairie (namely Kansas City, Omaha and Des Moines).  Kansas City alone had 17 nominees, three of which went home with a golden analog.  Those teams and individuals awarded were Front Flip (Mobile App of the Year), Jake Johnson of Divshot (Startup Designer of the Year) and Greg Kratofil (Startup Service Provider of the Year).  The cities of Omaha and Lincoln seemed to walk away with the most analogs, five in total, and Des Moines claimed four (three of which were awarded to Dwolla!).  Don't worry Silicon Prairie, we love a little healthy competition!

After the awards ceremony, guests were invited to an after party in the Joslyn lobby which was sponsored by Lincoln startup Hudl.  Guests had the chance to walk down Startup Alley, a showcase of nine Silicon Prairie startups including eCreamery, MindMixer, Goodsmiths, Vestn, RAZ Mobile, Stackify, RareWire, Obsessive Software and Bulu Box.

Think Big would like to congratulate all winners and nominees at the 2012 Silicon Prairie Awards.  And another big congratulations to Silicon Prairie News for pulling off an event for anyone passionate about startups in the Midwest area!

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Think Big Counts Down to the Silicon Prairie Awards in Omaha

One week from today, Omaha’s Joslyn Art Museum will be filled with hundreds of people in attendance of the 2012 Silicon Prairie Awards. Over 400 entrepreneurs, investors, creatives and professionals will come together to honor the world of startup innovation and recognize individuals and companies for their creativity and success.

The inaugural event will distinguish 12 companies and individuals for particular strengths such as outstanding products, remarkable leadership and noteworthy contributions to the Silicon Prairie community over the course of this past year. The night includes an opening reception, a keynote talk, a closing party and a few surprises along the way.

The awards, which are put on by the people behind Big Omaha, Thinc Iowa and the Startup Job Crawls, will be given to businesses selected by a combination of a popular public vote and a vote by the selection committee.

This year’s awards include:

·       Startup of the Year

·       New Startup of the Year

·       Consumer Startup of the Year

·       B2B Startup of the Year

·       Mobile App of the Year

·       Startup Executive of the Year

·       Startup Technologist of the Year

·       Startup Designer of the Year

·       Startup Investor of the Year

·       Startup Service Provider of the Year

·       Silicon Prairie Community Champion

·       Silicon Prairie Ambassador

When the doors open at 6 pm, the Silicon Prairie Awards festivities will begin. This is not the type of event you want to be fashionably late to— the opening reception will offer everything from complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres to good company. The reception will also feature the Startup Alley, which will showcase nine Silicon Prairie startups...complete with demos and all.

After the opening festivities, guests will sit down for much-anticipated speeches and awards. They keynote speaker, David Cohen, will share his insights on the world of startup. David Cohen is huge in the entrepreneurial community. His company, TechStars, is one of the nation’s most respected startup incubators. His keynote talk will be sure to highlight his experiences with building TechStars and his passion for entrepreneurship.

After David Cohen shares his insights and the awards have been given, guests are invited to enjoy the closing party. There will be more complimentary food and drinks and guests are encouraged to continue to meet one another and learn more about the featured startups.

All are invited to the Silicon Prairie Awards and there are still a limited number of tickets available. Whether you’re the CEO of a startup or an entrepreneurial enthusiast from afar, we highly recommend you attend the event. For those of you wondering what to wear, don’t worry about that tux or gown. The attire is startup suave, so come in something classy but not overly formal. We expect to see you at the Joslyn on the 30^th, you’ll be in for an excellent night of startup ingenuity!

...And don’t forget to cheer on your favorite Kansas City nominees!  Although voting ended yesterday, you can still cheer on and support those KC individuals and companies who have been nominated for the Silicon Prairie Awards.  These KC superstars include RareWire, Klink Mobile, Sporting Innovations, LockPath (Overland Park), Front Flip (Overland Park), Leap2, myHomework, Naithan Jones (Overland Park), Chris Caldwell (Overland Park), Matt Angell, Rodrigo Neri, Jack Johnson, OpenAir Equity Partners, Greg Kratofil, Thad Langford, Joni Cobb and Nick Seguin.