A Public/Private Partnership Supports Startups in Nebraska
Nebraska’s governor, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, the University of Nebraska’s Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, and the Gallup Organization have successfully collaborated to stimulate small business development.
The initiative provides business-to-business guides and a consulting program called the Entrepreneur Acceleration System, created by The Gallup Organization, to help early-stage entrepreneurs and established firms grow their businesses.
The effort promotes value-based relationships between businesses, customers and employees to generate revenue and create jobs.
Gallop has selected and trained more than 50 volunteer leaders to work with entrepreneurs in the 12-month development program. They will serve as mentors for small and medium-sized companies statewide, offering practical advice to business owners in several areas: securing startup capital, developing new products, building leadership teams, and transferring ownership of existing businesses.
The program has grown quickly and now has more than 160 companies with about 5,000 employees participating. The results speak for themselves:
• LiteForm Technologies in South Sioux City customer engagement efforts have helped it land its largest single order to date: $220,000. It plans to hire three more employees to help meet the growing demand for its services.
• Intellicom of Kearney increased its revenue and employee productivity by 24 percent each while increasing its profits by 75 percent during the first half of 2011.
• Hudl of Lincoln more than doubled its workforce, growing from 18 to 41 full-time employees. Its client did likewise, growing from 2,200 high schools to more than 5,000 after acquiring a competitior.
The partnership is helping Nebraska to deliver a more coordinated, intensive business development effort for the state’s small businesses.
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