LaunchLNK 2023: LPED Announces New Cohort

In early February, we were happy to announce the five local startups selected to participate in the LaunchLNK program for 2023!

Now in its fifth year, LaunchLNK was created by the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development (LPED) to help scalable, high-growth startups thrive in Lincoln. The cohort receives five grants totaling $125,000, other services and aid, connections to potential sources of additional capital and local mentors who may become early customers or partners.

This innovative program leverages best practices of entrepreneurially focused economic development. By design, it fits into the landscape of other resources available to startups and helps create a robust business ecosystem.

By creating an environment that is conducive to entrepreneurial success, communities can create a more resilient economy and foster innovation. This type of economic development can provide a strong foundation for local businesses and startups, which can then be used to create a more vibrant and resilient startup ecosystem.

This year’s cohort was selected from a competitive pool of 68 applicants by representatives from across the entrepreneurial ecosystem. That selection committee included Brian Ardinger (Founder of NMotion, Director of Innovation at Nelnet); Stephanie Luebbe (Executive Director of the Nebraska Angels); Vishal Singh (Founder of Quantified Ag (acquired) & Advisor); Ben Williamson (Principal & General Counsel at Invest Nebraska); Emily Kist (Corporate Analyst at Nelnet); and Maria Heyen (Managing Director of the Husker Venture Fund).

The 2023 cohort includes: 

• BovEye, founded by Andrew Minarick, uses remote sensing technologies to help agricultural lenders assess and audit asset quality quickly and efficiently.
• Curbside solves a problem in a HIPAA regulated industry, allowing users to render files and share them with other specialists, alongside audio/video explaining diagnoses and recommendations. Founders are Matt Secoske and John Meyer.
• Nave Analytics, Inc. offers data enabled digital tools for ag professionals to help advise farmers on efficient irrigation water use. They use a unique technology that fuses satellite signals with telemetry from pivots to deliver solutions that are scalable and cost effective. The company is co-founded by Jessica Korinek, Val Kovalsky and Bradley Griggs.
• InforMedic is a platform that accelerates the life insurance underwriting process through medical record summarization and automated decision making. Tan Phan and Pranav Rajan are the founders.
• Cattle Kettle, LLC founded by Brooke Bode, Seth Daup, and Jace Ruth, is a livestock management company that is revolutionizing the industry by offering a simple, yet effective solution to save ranchers time and money. With Cattle Kettle, ranchers can effortlessly monitor and regulate the water temperature, inflow rate and level of their cattle tanks through a user-friendly app on their phone or a website on their computer. 

To date, the LaunchLNK program has provided seed funding for 24 different startups in Lincoln who have gone on to employ 50 people and additionally raise over $85 million in capital, contributing to the startup and Lincoln ecosystem. 

We are incredibly excited for this year’s cohort and look forward to the continued growth of the startup ecosystem in Lincoln!

Save These Dates:

February 22: Public Policy Forum

February 22: Annual Meeting Featuring Shola Richards

February 23: The LNK at Cosmic Eye Brewing

March 1: Chamber Coffee

March 8: Face the Chamber Featuring Governor Jim Pillen

April 13: Face the Chamber: Mayoral Forum

May 10: Face the Chamber Featuring Husker Football Coach Matt Rhule

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