KEYNOTE

Maverick entrepreneur, global brand strategist, fearless adventurer, author, Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and EO board member, Franziska has been featured in Inc., Forbes, Business Insider, and SmartCompany.

KEYNOTE

Chairman of Birthing of Giants: The Princeton Fellowship Program for Business and Moonshots and Moneymakers: The Oxford Innovation Conference for Business Leaders at Oxford University. Sold two media businesses to publicly traded companies, iVillage and TheStreet.com.

KEYNOTE

Founder of the Do More Good® Movement, Jay has dedicated his career to leveraging business as a force for good. With a track record of founding over a dozen companies and investing in more than 100 startups, Wilkinson exemplifies the success that comes from combining profit with purpose.

FIRESIDE CHAT

Legend in the restaurant industry worldwide and the Nebraska business community, Willy built Godfather’s Pizza from scratch into a household name and one of the fastest growing restaurant chains in America. He has inspired countless other entrepreneurs, including some former employees. 

FIRESIDE CHAT

Founder of Scooter’s Coffee, Don and his wife Linda have grown what started as a local drive-through coffeehouse into a fast-growing chain covering nearly a third of the country, with over 200 locations, built on the motto: "Amazing People, Serving Amazing Drinks, Amazingly Fast."

BREAKOUT SESSION

Trainer and coach for integrating movement mastery and spiritual evolution, David has a master's in Medical Qigong and is the Founder of the Noble Movement Academy. He has led in-person transformative experiences, reaching over 250,000 students around the world.

BREAKOUT SESSION

Rooted in his own bi-racial journey that started in a trailer park, Jim is obsessed with unlocking and accelerating evolution towards our peak potential.  A serial for-profit and non-profit entrepreneur, he has founded fintech and human capital management companies, along with organizations serving aspiring entrepreneurs and disadvantaged youth.

BREAKOUT SESSION

Founder, CEO, and Managing Partner of Goosmann Law Firm, Jeana is the CEO’s Attorney and personally acts as general counsel to CEOs and company presidents. One of America's “Top 100 Bet-the-Company Litigators,” she was also named Enterprising Woman of the Year and is the author of the Amazon BestsellerWorth It: Business Leaders Ready Execute Deliver.

FIRESIDE CHAT

Founder of Culxr House, a community-focused creative hub in North Omaha, serving as a space for artists and entrepreneurs to grow their talents and access resources to transform their art into economic opportunities within the inner city. 

FIRESIDE CHAT

Logistics entrepreneur with the inside scoop for outsiders, Paul was born in a Nebraska trailer park, honed his team skills on the football field, and earned his chops working in NYC and San Francisco before becoming CEO and Co-Founder of Bulu.

ROUNDTABLE

Executive Director of Spark, whose mission is to help profoundly transform disinvested neighborhoods into thriving and prosperous communities. Previously, he was founder of the international nonprofit, Aqua Africa, which brought water systems to villages in South Sudan. 

BREAKOUT SESSION

General partner and cofounder at Proven Ventures, a venture capital firm that aligns investors and entrepreneurs for better outcomes in Nebraska, Erica has been recognized as a Silicon Prairie Champion and a 40 Under 40 for her impact on the midwest economy, supporting some of Nebraska's most exciting startups.

BREAKOUT SESSION

President and CEO of Ervin & Smith, a consultative marketing firm that helps organizations use marketing to solve complex business problems. With a background in creative direction and brand strategy, she shapes the agency’s culture and creative vision while overseeing operations that enable a team of marketing, design and media experts to produce impactful work.

BREAKOUT SESSION

As Chief Client Officer at Ervin and Smith, Katie connects the dots between objectives, research and marketing activation to help organizations align marketing with their business vision – and ultimately generate growth. Her competitive nature means she’s always up for finding new ways to solve business challenges.

MC/MODERATOR

Author, executive coach, and host of the weekly leadership podcast, The Growth Edge, Laurie is a board-certified fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American College of Medical Practice Executives. Her most recent book is Mentor, Coach, Lead to Peak Professional Performance.

ROUNDTABLE

Dubbed “Nebraska’s Economic Storyteller,” Brooks has served as Chief Strategy Officer for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. His work focuses on economic development and relationship building, with a particular focus on North Omaha.

BREAKOUT SESSION

Internationally acclaimed filmmaker and co-founder of Match/Cut Productions, Nik was nominated for the Spirit Award for his film Lovely, Still. He has directed music videos for Sia, Bright Eyes, and The Faint and commercial videos for Chipotle, Discover, KPMG, and Arbor Day Foundation.  

ROUNDTABLE

State Senator, entrepreneur, and activist, Megan has worked to promote entrepreneurship in Nebraska. Her work and impact has been featured in Forbes, INC, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, the Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, and others.

BREAKOUT SESSION

Storyteller, creative director, designer, and writer, Steve helps clients define/refine their stories, and discover the best ways to tell the world.

ROUNDTABLE

Director of Small and Emerging Business Development for the Greater Omaha Chamber, Alejandra oversees the REACH Program, providing education, technical assistance, mentoring, and networking opportunities for entrepreneurs.

BREAKOUT SESSION

With over 25 years of franchising and small business ownership experience, Blake is owner of FranNet of The Heartland. He has helped over 500 aspiring entrepreneurs on 6 continents become small business owners.