If You Live in the Middle of the Country And You’re Thinking About Starting a Business, Your Community Needs You Now

When you grow up in the middle of the country, you learn two things early:

1. Weather is going to ruin at least one major life event (graduation, wedding, Husker games…you name it).
2. If you want something done, you’re probably going to have to do it yourself.

That second lesson is part of our DNA here in Nebraska and across the Midwest. We’ve built a reputation on grit. On bootstraps. On keeping our heads down and working hard while the coasts get the glossy headlines and the venture capital checks. And for decades, that identity has worked for us.

But right now, we’re staring down a storm bigger than a spring tornado in Sarpy County. Rising costs of living. Stagnant wages. The quiet takeover of our local economy by corporations so large their customer service departments sound like game shows: “Press 1 for roofing, press 2 for painting, press 3 if you’ve lost the will to live.”

Add to that the looming question of artificial intelligence. Not just what it means for jobs today, but what it means for the next twenty years and you’ve got a recipe that should make every would-be entrepreneur in the Midwest sit up straight.

Here’s the truth: if you live in the middle of the country and you’re thinking about starting a business, your community needs you now more than ever. This is not the time to sit on the sidelines. This is not the time to wait for “someday.” Someday is already here.

My Journey: From Nebraska to Austin and Back

Hi, I’m Brian Lee.

I grew up just south of Omaha, Nebraska. A place where the corn grows tall, the winters are long, and the entrepreneurial advice mostly came from your uncle at the Friday night fish fry. After graduating from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, I packed up and headed out into the bigger world: first Austin, Texas, then Los Angeles, then a few stops along the East Coast.

What I saw along the way was eye-opening. Communities that were building innovation hubs weren’t just lucky, they were intentional. In Austin, I joined a startup called Social Matters and spent hours in the Capital Factory, a towering downtown building with glass walls and whiteboards you could practically see the skyline through (shown below). Startups shared ideas freely, mentors were accessible, and failure wasn’t a stigma, it was a stepping stone.

One of my best mentors came from the original WP Engine team, a startup that would later acquire Flywheel (which is a company that became a Nebraska success story). That connection, those lessons, and that exposure to a thriving community showed me what was possible when people actively supported each other.

By 2016, I was back in Nebraska as the Managing Director of Big Omaha and Silicon Prairie News. The potential was incredible: local companies like Flywheel, Hudl, Bulu, and CompanyCam were making waves. But there was a problem, many people didn’t even know these stories existed. Our innovation community was strong, but scattered, and somewhat isolated. If we wanted the Midwest to compete over the next twenty years, we had to build intentional connections, and we had to act now.

Three Actionable Steps for Midwestern Entrepreneurs

So, what can we do here in the middle of the country to set ourselves up for the next twenty years? I boiled it down to three actionable steps. Basically it’s things you can start doing right now, without waiting for the “perfect moment” or a coast-to-coast venture capital check.

1. Find Your Community

If you want to start a business, don’t do it alone. Midwestern pride teaches us to work hard, pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, and figure things out ourselves. That’s admirable, but it’s not enough. The difference between thriving and barely surviving often comes down to who you surround yourself with.

Plug into the local entrepreneurial community. In Lincoln, check out startuplnk.com for a calendar of events. Omaha has 1 Million Cups, a weekly gathering where founders pitch ideas, share lessons, and get feedback from others doing the same thing. And of course, there’s Silicon Prairie News, an incredible network highlighting innovation across Nebraska. There’s even a Startup Nebraska Facebook group where founders exchange ideas and encouragement every day.

The key here is abundance, not scarcity. Don’t be afraid that someone will “steal your idea.” The magic happens when ideas are shared, connections are made, and support flows both ways. That’s how communities like Austin thrived and that’s exactly what we need here.

2. Embrace Modern Tools and Technology

Software has changed the game. You can run entire businesses today on tools that are affordable, scalable, and insanely powerful. CRMs for managing customers, project management platforms for keeping teams aligned, marketing automation for staying top-of-mind. All of these are available now.

What surprises me is how many local companies are still running on spreadsheets for their sales systems. Just moving to a CRM can boost efficiency dramatically. Automation tools help you follow up with clients, streamline processes, and create space for strategy instead of busywork. Content marketing might feel intimidating, but putting your voice out there is crucial in a world where you’re competing with national brands for attention.

Embracing these tools isn’t just about keeping up, it’s about giving yourself the infrastructure to scale, compete, and thrive over the next two decades.

Here’s a quick video of me talking about CRM’s:

3. Sharpen Your Sales and Marketing

You can have the greatest product in the world, but if no one buys it, it doesn’t matter. That’s where sales and marketing come in. Start by understanding two things about your business:

• Are you B2B (selling to other businesses) or B2C (selling directly to consumers)?
• Is the lifetime value of your customer over or under $10,000?

If you’re B2B with high-ticket clients, your organization should focus on relationships, trust-building, and a long sales cycle. If you’re B2C with smaller purchases, marketing and consumer engagement become more important than a long-term sales relationship. And if you’re somewhere in between, you’ll need a balanced approach.

Mastering this is a process, but it’s essential. Start small, test what works, and double down on strategies that bring results. Learning how to sell and market effectively isn’t optional—it’s survival.

These three steps—find your community, embrace modern tools, sharpen sales and marketing—aren’t theoretical. They’re things I’ve seen work in Austin, Los Angeles, and right here in Nebraska. And if we want our innovation community to thrive over the next twenty years, they’re the foundation.

Take Action: Join Prairie Founders Club!

If you’ve made it this far, here’s the truth: talking about opportunities in the Midwest is great, but action is better. And that’s exactly why we started Prairie Founders Club.

Our goal is simple: celebrate local entrepreneurial success, bring people together, and create a space where ideas can be shared freely. Just like the communities I saw thriving in Austin. We connect founders, innovators, and dreamers. Because innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens when people collaborate, share lessons, and support one another.

We’re building something bigger than any one business. Whether you’re running a small startup, scaling a local company, or thinking about your first idea, the club is for you. We highlight the incredible work being done here in Midwest, spotlighting companies like SimpleStrat, Guardify, 3AM Luxury, Fermented Felon and connect you with networks like Silicon Prairie News, Startup Nebraska, and 1 Million Cups Omaha.

Now is the time to plug in, learn, and grow. Don’t wait for someone else to create the ecosystem you want to be a part of: help build it yourself. Sign up for Prairie Founders Club today, join the community, and start shaping the future of Midwestern innovation.

Sign Up for Prairie Founders Club → https://prairiefoundersclub.com/

The Midwest has always been about grit, determination, and hard work. But if we want to thrive over the next twenty years, it’s also about connection, knowledge, and collaboration. Your community needs you. Your ideas matter. And your time to act is now.