Proven GP and other Nebraskans leverage MIT for entrepreneurial acceleration

Written By Gabrielle Keaton
 

This past week, Proven Ventures’ Erica Wassinger was in Boston attending the first of five learning experiences that are apart of the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Accelerations Program or MIT REAP. She is a member of a nine-person team hand-picked by the Omaha Chamber that have dedicated themselves to growing Nebraska’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Omaha joins the MIT REAP as a part of its ninth cohort, comprised of teams from Kansas City, Des Moines and St. Louis with international teams from Brazil, Australia, Hungary, Dominican Republic and Hungary.

MIT REAP is an established initiative that engages with communities around the world to strengthen innovation-driven entrepreneurship (IDE) ecosystems that will transform economies. The program utilizes faculty to work with the teams to develop customized and actionable strategies based on MIT’s researchand frameworks that will empower key stakeholders and leaders to drive meaningful economic and social change. Over the next two years, the Omaha team will learn and adapt these frameworks to implement in Nebraska to accelerate IDE.

The Omaha Cohort will address common challenges facing local start-up communities such as risk aversion and the need for consistent, beneficial programs and resources, build strong partnerships with other regional teams, and learn ways for Omaha to work with neighboring cities and leverage their own unique strengths to make the Greater Nebraska Area an attractive community for startups.

The team is made up of the following key stakeholders of Nebraska’s entrepreneurial ecosystem:

  • Brian Ardinger, Director of Innovation, Nelnet

  • Scott Brag, Vice President, Chapman & Company

  • Trevon Brooks, Business Development Manager for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development

  • Adriana Cisneros Basulto, CEO, Maxwell

  • Michael Dixon, President and CEO, UNeMed

  • Niki Ferguson, Entrepreneurial Development Manager, Advance Southwest Iowa Corporation

  • Alyssa Kuta, Analyst, Invest Nebraska/Nebraska Angels

  • Laurel Oetken, Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Omaha Chamber

  • Joe Petsick, Executive In Residence, University of Nebraska, College of Business

  • Ashlei Spivey, Vice President, US Bank

  • Erica Wassinger, General Partner, Proven Ventures

Gabrielle Keaton
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