I was born and raised in Seward, NE, a small town just west of Lincoln. I had that burning desire as an 18-year-old to leave and never come back…until I came back. I spent over a decade growing a career with a large retail corporation, enjoying every aspect of defining a customer, negotiating with suppliers, identifying new trends, and leading teams. When it came time to raise a family, home to Nebraska I went.
I joined the Nebraska Angels 4.5 years ago and instantly became passionate about our members, local entrepreneurs, and contributing to making Nebraska a better place for future generations. Nebraska Angels is simply an organized network of accredited investors that are also passionate about supporting early-stage entrepreneurs through funding and mentorship that will help move their businesses to the next level. The more angel investors we can activate, the more Nebraska-based startups we can fund. On the other side of the equation, the more streamlined process we can provide to founders to access startup capital, the quicker they can activate and begin to scale. Our organization plays a critical role in supporting and growing the Nebraska entrepreneurial ecosystem, and we actively partner with numerous organizations across the state to expand our impact.
Our organization’s lifecycle loop can easily be described by: 1. more angel investors fund increased investment activity, 2. more investment activity funds more outcomes, and 3. more positive outcomes generate more angel investors. The Nebraska Angels’ process has existed for over 15 years; now is the time to add more fuel to it. Over the last five years, our investors impacted an average of 13 companies per year through the deployment of an annual $5.5m.
Near-term goals include:
- Adding more angel investors into the organization, while also keenly focused on engaging corporate members in a way we haven’t previously done.
- Increasing our annual impact to an average of 20 companies while also increasing the number of funds invested.
- Supporting other local organizations and policies that will have a positive impact on local entrepreneurs.
A couple of fun facts about me? I’m an avid chicken farmer who avoids the majority of the dirty work, and we’re expecting our third child’s arrival in early June.
If I had five minutes to prepare an hourlong lecture, I would talk about the life-long importance of prioritizing self-health and personal balance, while finding fun in everyday work.
Interested in learning more about me and my work? I invite you to check out the following links:
https://www.nebraskaangels.org/