I/O Innovation Summit Unites Corporate and Startup Innovators

The first-ever Inside/Outside Innovation Summit (www.theiosummit.com) brought 600 entrepreneurs, investors, corporate innovators and speakers from around the globe to the Pinnacle Bank Arena earlier this summer. The three-day event included a diverse batch of speakers, networking and matchmaking opportunities, a startup showcase and a $100,000 startup pitch competition.

The conference was centered on matching startups with corporate innovators and forming relationships between the corporate world and the startup ecosystem. The startup showcase featured the best in startup innovation from over 64 startups based out of 20 cities. Major sponsor Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development helped to facilitate and fund startup companies from Australia, Pittsburgh and San Francisco to come to Lincoln for the showcase. Each startup had a booth in the “demo pit” for visitors to learn about their business and had the opportunity to participate in matchmaking meetings with participating corporates.

The finale of the summit was the $100,000 startup pitch competition sponsored by Nelnet. Six startups from across the country were selected to pitch prior to the summit and other four were chosen by Nelnet from the startup showcase, just one day before the pitch competition. Lincoln-based startup CompanyCam, a software solution allowing contractors to manage field work with smart photos and instant messaging, won the prize. Luke Hansen, founder and CEO of CompanyCam, said the money will help the company create more jobs in Lincoln.