Silicon Prairie News Announces 48 Finalists for Awards Program (17 From KC and OP!)

Yesterday, Silicon Prairie News announced the top 48 finalists for the Silicon Prairie Awards, which will take place on August 30th at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.  The Awards honor those individuals and companies for outstanding products, strong leadership and noteworthy contributions to the community over the last year.

The Silicon Prairie Awards is made up of 12 different categories.  Some of the most notable include Startup of the Year, Startup Executive of the Year, Silicon Prairie Ambassador and Silicon Prairie Community Champion.

We are excited to announce that 17 different individuals and companies from Kansas City and Overland Park have been nominated in the Silicon Prairie Awards!  A huge congratulations to our great neighbors:

• RareWire (Startup of the Year and B2B Startup of the Year nominee)
• Klink Mobile (New Startup of the Year nominee...and bizperc tenant!)
• Sporting Innovations (New Startup of the Year nominee)
• LockPath (B2B Startup of the Year nominee)
• Front Flip (Mobile App of the Year nominee)
• Leap2 (Mobile App of the Year nominee)
• myHomework (Mobile App of the Year nominee)
• Chris Caldwell, LockPath co-founder and CEO (Startup Executive of the Year nominee)
• Naithan Jones, AgLocal co-founder and CEO (Startup Executive of the Year nominee)
• Matt Angell, RareWire co-founder and CEO (Startup Technologist of the Year nominee)
• Rodrigo Neri, Instin co-founder, iOS and web developer (Startup Technologist of the Year nominee)
• Jake Johnson, Divshot co-founder (Startup Designer of the Year nominee)
• OpenAir Equity Partners (Startup Investor of the Year nominee)
• Greg Kratofil, Polsinelli Shughart PC (Startup Service Provider of the Year nominee)
• Thad Langford, Open Air Equity entrepreneur in residence (Silicon Prairie Community Champion nominee)
• Joni Cobb, Pipeline founding president and CEO (Silicon Prairie Community Champion)
• Nick Seguin, former Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation manager of entrepreneurship (Silicon Prairie Ambassador) 

You can become a part of the Silicon Prairie News Awards too!  A 21-day public voting period began yesterday where you can play a part in selecting the winners.  And be sure to purchase your Silicon Prairie Awards ticket today!

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Flyover 50: Five Elms Capital Lists Fastest Growing Companies in the Midwest

This week, Five Elms Capital announced the winners of the Flyover 50, a list of the fastest-growing companies that originated in the flyover states.  Of the 50 companies, 11 reign from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska (a part of the country that is becoming known as Silicon Prairie).  

The Flyover 50 highlights companies in the middle of the country for potential employees and customers, according to Fred Coulson, managing partner of the private equity firm, Five Elms Capital.  These companies applied or were nominated to be considered for the Flyover 50.  The nominees were then ranked based on percentage of revenue growth.  

A big congratulations to the following Flyover 50 companies from Think Big Partners (list from Silicon Prairie News):

1. Appcore – Des Moines
2. Motivity Solutions – Denver, Colo.
3. Brightbox – Houston
4. InQuicker – Nashville, Tenn.
5. VeteranCorps – O'Fallon, Ill.
6. Mill Haven Foods – New Lisbon, Wis.
7. Kutenda – Denver
8. Twentyseven Global – Overland Park, Kan.
9. Dancin' Dogg Golf – Traverse City, Mich.
10. C&J Energy Services – Houston
11. Onsite Occupational Health & Safety – Princeton, Ind.
12. Marketplace Homes – Livonia, Mich.
13. BidPal – Indianapolis, Ind.
14. MentorMate – Minneapolis
15. ebQuickstart – Austin, Texas
16. TEKPROS – Plano, Texas
17. Catapult International – Lenexa, Kan.
18. Tarsus CFO Services – Kansas City, Mo.
19. Gorilla Commerce – Chicago
20. Abstrakt Marketing Group – St. Louis
21. Rise Interactive – Chicago
22. Great Northern Building Products – Louisville, Ky.
23. Red Arrow Labs – Milwaukee
24. Sun King Brewing Company – Indianapolis
25. Aspen Contracting – Lee’s Summit, Mo.
26. Justin's – Boulder, Colo.
27. LeanDog – Cleveland, Ohio
28. Viverae – Dallas
29. Eating Recovery Center – Denver
30. Enviro Clean Products & Services – Yukon, Okla.
31. The Grand River – Ann Arbor, Mich.
32. AXYS Industrial Solutions – Houston
33. Velociti – Kansas City, Kan.
34. The Whitestone Group – Columbus, Ohio
35. Bill Bartmann Enterprises – Tulsa, Okla.
36. The Nerdery – Minneapolis
37. MobileDemand – Hiawatha, Iowa
38. Structura – Austin, Texas
39. MMY Consulting – Indianapolis
40. FTS International – Fort Worth, Texas
41. mPay Gateway – Minneapolis
42. Sonic Equipment Company – Iola, Kan.
43. ITWC – Malcom, IA
44. Innovative-IDM – Carrollton, Texas
45. Pallas Partners – Louisville, Ky.
46. Genova Technologies – Cedar Rapids, Iowa
47. Kinnser Software – Austin, Texas
48. Proforma Promotionally Yours – Kansas City, Kan.
49. Search Influence – New Orleans
50. Sightline Health – Bellaire, Texas

What's next for the Flyover 50?  Each will be recognized at an awards ceremony at the Association for Corporate Growth's Mid-America Corporate Growth Conference today in Kansas City.  Congratulations, Flyover 50!

To learn more about the Flyover 50, please read the recent press release.