A publication by Open Range
Open BookA snapshot of the startups building in Nebraska
40 stories tracing Nebraska entrepreneurship from first-time founders to breakout companies, and the investments, people, and pivotal moments that helped get us here.
Open Book brings together stories that tell the bigger story of Nebraska’s startup community.
The founding edition pairs those stories with the investments, programs, companies, and early bets that helped get us here. It’s not a complete history of entrepreneurship in Nebraska, but a record of this particular moment and an invitation to be a little less humble about what’s being built here.
What You’ll Find Inside
40 startup stories
Open Book offers a peek into the different paths founders take as they grow.
01
How we got here
The bets, breakthroughs, and businesses that came before the current generation of founders.
02
The numbers behind the momentum
A closer look at the capital and support behind Nebraska’s startups.
03
Founders who pay it forward
How one company’s story often becomes part of the next.
04
Built Across Nebraska
From the largest cities to the smallest communities.
Founders are building companies and bringing deep expertise to industries across the state.
in venture funding raised by Nebraska startups in 2025.
jobs created by companies backed through Nebraska’s Business Innovation Act.
Over $200M capital deployed from major funds.
Read the Founding Edition
Get the stories, history, and context behind Nebraska entrepreneurship today, all in one place. Download your free digital copy and dig in.
Free digital edition.
Creating the Silicon Prairie
The people, programs, and pivotal moments that helped Nebraska’s startup community find its early footing.
Read the story
Hudl: Home Field Advantage
How three University of Nebraska-Lincoln students turned an idea for Nebraska football into a global sports technology company without leaving Lincoln behind.
Read the story
Werner: Being the First Customer
For startups, an early customer can change everything. Werner Enterprises has become that customer for founders across Nebraska.
Read the story
Beyond the Book
The stories in Open Book don’t end when the book goes to print. We’ll keep sharing stories from the founding edition and checking back in with the founders and companies featured in its pages to find out where they go from here.
Subscribe to our Substack to keep up with what’s happening across Nebraska’s startup community.
About Open Range
Open Range is a nonprofit organization making it easier to start, build, and grow a company in Nebraska. We connect founders with the resources that can help move an idea forward. We aim to celebrate and share more founder stories coming out of Nebraska. Open Book is one way we’re doing that.
Learn more about Open Range