The Hustle Conference started as one of those "Hey, someone should do that" ideas. And honestly, we've heard that a lot. There’s a clear need for an entrepreneurship conference in Omaha. There's a hunger for it—a void that needs filling. Instead of just talking about it, we decided to make it happen.

Entrepreneurship events are common elsewhere; we've attended a few ourselves. Omaha had something similar at one point, but it faded away, and then COVID hit, putting in-person events on pause. Now, with live events making a strong comeback, the timing felt perfect to launch Hustle.

We believe there’s something special about a live event—especially one that brings together an eclectic, curious, and driven group of people like entrepreneurs. If you bring a few hundred entrepreneurs in the same room together, good things will happen. The energy, the exchange of ideas—it’s infectious.

You might be surprised to know that Nebraska is home to over 180,000 small businesses. And according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, more than 21,000 new businesses were started here in 2023 alone. That blew us away. As we have connected with people across the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Nebraska, we’ve been amazed by the incredible companies, organizations, networking groups, accelerators, incubators, advisors, mentors, and investors out there—many of them flying under the radar. That’s why we want to cast a wide net and invite everyone. We hope attendees will forge new connections that otherwise might not happen. The more diverse the group, from different industries and locations, the better.

We’ve all attended our fair share of conferences, and most of them follow the same formula: a lot of sitting and listening. Don’t get us wrong, that can be inspiring. We love hearing success stories from fellow entrepreneurs. But we want more, and we’re excited to experiment with the conference format to make it more engaging. This is for people who don’t like to sit still. We’re including workshops, round tables, Q&As, and guided networking activities. We want a conference that’s noisy, lively, and bursting with energy.

We also want real, honest conversations—not just about success but about the failures and missteps too. Being an entrepreneur is a roller coaster. It can be thrilling, but it’s also hard, lonely, and sometimes deflating. But we keep going because there’s purpose behind what we do. Let’s share those stories, listen, learn, and explore the journey together.

We both chose to live and build our businesses in Nebraska. We’ve raised families here. Entrepreneurs are already making a significant impact in Nebraska, driving economic growth, creating jobs, and enriching our culture. We want Hustle to shine a light on the incredible things already happening and help fuel even more growth.

This is just year one. Based on the response so far, we’re expecting 300-400 attendees, and next year, we’re aiming even higher. Who knows—maybe one day we’ll build something together here in the Midwest that rivals South by Southwest. 

Why not?

Curt Drew and Eric Gautschi
Co-Founders of the Hustle Conference