Building Tech in Nebraska Instead of the Coasts with Kirk Zeller, Founder of the Silicon Prairie Center
About this episode
Kirk Zeller discusses building and growing tech companies in Nebraska, challenging the notion that success requires leaving for coastal hubs.
Most people think you have to leave places like Nebraska to build a successful tech company. But in this conversation, Kirk Zeller, founder of the Silicon Prairie Center, shares what it actually looks like to build, grow, and even relocate companies here. Kirk’s path isn’t typical. He grew up in central Nebraska, spent years in Japan building his career in business and medical device startups, and worked across both large and early-stage companies before returning to Nebraska to build something of his own. This episode is for entrepreneurs, employers, and anyone thinking about where innovation can really happen. We get into: Why building in Silicon Valley isn’t always the advantage people think it is What it takes to bring companies and talent into Nebraska How reversing brain drain can actually work This isn’t theory. It’s someone actively building companies and ecosystems in a different way.
More episodes of TEN
- The Hidden Gap at Work | Adriana Cisneros Basulto on Fixing Employee Experience
- Turning Strategy Into Execution That Actually Works with Taylor Korensky, CEO of VisionSync
- The Importance of Employer and Student Connections with Andre Tan, Michael Lathan Jr., and Shohina Sultonova
- Christopher Frankland on the “Bionic Agent,” AI, and Building Innovation in the Midwest
- AI Is Moving Fast. But Is It Built Right? | Archana Raghu, AI Quality Lead at Quantum Workplace
- From 5 Women to 1,800 Worldwide: How Maura Abad Built a Global Movement
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the TEN podcast page.