Omaha is a dynamic community with a leadership role in many areas of technology that seem common place today. Three of the top five telemarketing companies call Omaha home. The software to drive ATM machines came from Omaha. More credit card transactions pass through Omaha than any other city on the globe. All of these companies that are community leaders today - started here as an entrepreneurial effort, expanded there businesses, and kept their main operations or headquarters in Omaha.
The same can not be said for startup businesses in Omaha today. Something has changed, if you are a startup company with a leading edge technology, you are about as likely to leave Omaha for business capital as you are to go out of business altogether. The city with one of the highest per capita incomes in the country does not have a structural system to help fund or locate funding for startup technology firms. Perhaps that is consistant with Nebraska ranking 48th in the Union for investment capital. The money is here, but local investors do not recognize the opportunities within their own community.
The net result is that more investment dollars leave the state than are reinvested within the state - thus creating a void of investment capital that greatly impacts startup firms and small businesses. Every time a startup firm leaves because it obtained funding somewhere else - we are exporting our future technology leaders, our future tax base, our future success stories and our future community supporters.
A local nonprofit technology organization recognized the lack of financial tools for startup businesses after several members left the area due to funding requirements from sources on the coast. Starting in 1997, several members of the Information Technologies Council (ITC) embarked on a venture to provide a meeting format for technology firms and the people with ideas to meet with financial managers and investors. The ITC recognized the "funding disconnect" in the community and was interested in providing a forum for the solution.
This concept has evolved over the past several years with the continued interest of various members of the ITC who recognize the need in the community to provide such a forum. The forum idea was further highlighted in the results of the ITC workshop in July (see the E-Commerce Workshop Section). The ITC Leadership Development meetings in October and November fo 2000 provided additional involvement from Board Members of the ITC. The end result was the development of another nonprofit, separate from the ITC, but with some of the same leadership, called ITVenture.
The purpose of ITVenture is to provide a platform for investors and entrepreneurs to meet and network with each other. The community reaction to the ITVenture idea has been very exciting. There continues to be progress made with the organization and the volunteer support. Local startup firms have been very interested in demonstrating there products and services. The investment community has been saying that this is long overdue. More details will be coming in the with future updates on the web site. For additional information about ITVenture, volunteering, sponsorships or presentation contact:
Michael Shonka
mshonka@qwest.net
402-397-6231
