Matt Helt | SecretPenguin Blog

Boulder Creek, Boulder, CO

It’s Wednesday afternoon and I’m sipping on a iced chai in a cozy cafe in Boulder, CO, called The Cup. Nice little place on Pearl St. From what I hear a lot of entrepreneurs work out of here. Boulder, as many of you know, is quickly becoming a tech start-up nirvana. People from the Valley are flocking here to get in on the action or start their own thing. And the people that move here want to work hard. Definitely no shortage of work ethic. Reminds me a lot of the work ethic we’ve got in Omaha.

One thing Boulder is doing that we should learn from is how the community fosters entrepreneurs. They bend over backwards to make sure they thrive here. We’re starting to get some things going in Omaha that will do the same, but it seems to be coming from small groups or individuals rather than the community. I think one thing that will help is if more businesses got involved in sponsoring entrepreneurial development. I’m talking the big, multi-million, mutli-billion dollar companies that call Omaha home. By fostering this development, it will only work to help our community stronger by bringing in smart, ambitious people. If Omaha could offer start-ups incentives to move here like affordable housing and affordable office space, we’d all be way better off.

One idea I have is to extend the Empty Room concept that What Cheer, Bluestone Development and SecretPenguin came up with. Our initial goal was to supply 6 artists or entrepreneurs with a one-month, rent-free space in the 22 Floors building to do whatever they wanted with it. The response was amazing and we were able to give some very talented people a place to get their start. If we could do that with one space, why not do it with several others? There are plenty of unleased properties all over Omaha that could house new start-ups. The owners of those properties would just need to be willing to let someone occupy them for a month or two. What would it hurt? They’re empty anyway, and could potentially be empty for a long time. (Imagine filling Crossroads with a hundred start-ups!)

If we sent the message out to the world that Omaha has rent-free space for start-ups to move their operation to, I think some fantastic things would happen. We may not have mountains and 300 days of sunshine a year, but we do have a low-cost of living, clean air, and plenty of hard-working people. Let’s put those last few pieces of puzzle in and see what happens.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching a small town parade in Ashland, NE. Every year the citizens of Ashland host a three day event to honor their town by blocking off streets, having a street dance, and one heck of a parade.

As I sat there I was amazed by the sense of community that these folks exhibited. Each organization that participated was damn proud to be there, from groups of cheerleaders to various Shrine clubs, to little kids sitting on the back of a flatbed throwing candy to the kids lining the street.

They were especially proud of the country we live in. American flags were everywhere. I felt that same pride this year, where last year I was a little disappointed in the way we were handling ourselves. We were in a different place last year, a dark and unsure place. But things feel like they’re starting to turn around. We’re showing the world a different face and the world seems to be responding. I know we’re still not safe from terrorists, and may never be, but at least we’re not alienating ourselves from countries who could be our friends.

This year, I feel proud to be an American again. And in a way I have the folks of Ashland to thank for reminding me of that. The smiles and waves from the people marching in the parade to the people smiling and waving from the curb gave me the feeling that in some places strangers really do care about one another. This is the America I want to belong to. I guess the trick is finding it. Luckily, I got a glimpse of it yesterday when I really wasn’t looking. Sometimes the best gifts are the ones you aren’t expecting.