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Finalists for 2011 E2W announced

On Friday, INC will sponsor the 3^rd Annual East 2 West Nebraska Venture Competition at Talent Plus in Lincoln. The event is scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm that afternoon. The following finalists were selected to present at the competition:

Ben Blecha with Ace Ortho Solutions – Benkelman; Ace Ortho Solutions is a custom manufacturer of orthopedic braces for veterinarians to fit to animals;

Dr. George Gogos, Dr. Stevan Knezevic, and Chris Bruening with Agricultural Flaming Innovations – Lincoln; Agricultural Flaming Innovations develops flaming equipment for full season organic weed control;

Matt Sherman with Mobile Truckr – Lincoln; Mobile Truckr produces mobile smart phone technology to handle the document acquisition and transmission within the trucking industry;

Jim White, Greg Johannesen, and Rob Harshbarger with Pro-fit Performance Club Fitting – Lincoln; Pro-fit Performance Club Fitting has developed an innovative‐patented software program for properly fitting golf equipment.

Scott Kroeger and Brett Atlas with RestingSpot – Omaha; RestingSpot provides a unique combination of mobile and web technologies to connect the memories of loved ones who have passed with the precise location of grave sites.

Kathleen Gadeken with The Coloring Book Artist – Lincoln; The Coloring Book Artist produces customized coloring books utilizing the talents of Nebraska artists to celebrate life’s stories like wedding celebrations.

Nebraska Prepares to Launch Angel Investment Tax Credit

Starting next week Nebraska-based businesses will be able to sign up for certification to be a “Qualified Small Business” and therefore making their investors eligible for possible angel investment tax credits.Earlier this year the Nebraska Legislature passed LB 389, “The Angel Investment Tax Credit Act” that provides for refundable state tax credits for individuals and certain entities that make investments in companies based in Nebraska. A key component is that it must be an investment by a “Qualified Investor” in a “Qualified Small Business”.

The Nebraska Department of Economic Development will soon be announcing the first step in the process for businesses, how to become a “Qualified Small Business”. The goal of the program is to spur investment in fledgling high technology companies here in Nebraska.
More information will be posted as it becomes available, but in the meantime if you’re interested in the full story here’s a link that will give you everything that is available as of today.

Marketing Internship

The posted position is for an eight-week internship program for an undergraduate or graduate business intern with an interest in pursuing a career in marketing. The applicant will be expected to work independently and will be project based with specific deliverables over the duration of the program. Candidates should have a love for startup companies and be willing and able to work independently. This is an opportunity to add tangible items to a portfolio of work and gain real world experience working with clients.

Day-to-Day

The day-to-day activities that will be within the intern’s responsibility will likely include: managing the Invest Nebraska Facebook and Twitter pages, updating the website, developing an issue of the online quarterly newsletter, and preparing any necessary news releases. Intern will be introduced to the INC portfolio of companies and given contacts within each company for sources of news as well as being directed to external sources of news within the nationwide startup community.

Capstone Project

Intern will be presented with a choice of capstone projects based upon Invest Nebraska’s needs at the time, for example: planning and promoting a venture competition, developing a marketing plan for a portfolio company, or creating a new brand image and packaging for a portfolio company product. This capstone project will be decided upon during the first week of the program, enabling both Invest Nebraska and the intern to properly plan for the deliverable, which will be a firm deadline. If the intern were to choose the marketing plan for a portfolio company, a meeting would be arranged between the intern and the founder at the portfolio company to discuss budget, vision, timelines, and other essential information. Invest Nebraska would then establish milestones for the intern to achieve and corresponding deadlines.

Industry Exposure

The intern will have an opportunity to discuss marketing and outreach experiences with professionals in a variety of types of organizations, from larger marketing firms to solo practitioners and different specialists within the field. This component will be created on an ad hoc basis driven by the interests of the intern.

Compensation: To be negotiated.

To apply please submit a resume and writing sample to: jeff@investnebraska.com

2011 Lincoln Venture Competition

Invest Nebraska, in partnership with the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development and the University of Nebraska Entrepreneurship Center, is excited to announce the 2011 Lincoln only venture competition.

When: March 15, 2011 at 1:00 p.m.

Where: Embassy Suites at 1040 P St. Lincoln, NE

How: Apply here

What: $50,000

Deadline for submissions: March 9, 2011

Rules and Guidelines – 2011 Lincoln New Venture Competition

2011 Lincoln Venture Competition Announced

March 15, 2011

What: $50,000 to a new or existing Lincoln-based business

When: March 15, 2011

Click here for more details