Pivoting to scale
Facing difficulties to scale an organization centered on writing companies, Aumueller mentioned he and his staff about two years in the past began wanting into AI instruments to assist streamline their very own story manufacturing course of. As their purchasers confirmed the same curiosity in bettering the speeds of their very own story outputs, Aumueller mentioned FanWord pivoted to supply its AI-powered writing software program as a product.
He mentioned FanWord is at the moment serving over 160 faculties with its product and companies.
Similarly, eager to discover a higher approach to scale, Friesen mentioned SheMate is at the moment growing an app. This product would give customers curated supplies to entry at any time when that they had time in their busy schedules — as a substitute of having to attend for a coordinated assembly with a mentor.
Under Rhone’s management, SportsTrip has advanced right into a full-service product, aiding with journey logistics resembling transportation, in addition to increasing into markets resembling youth sports.
Rhone mentioned the firm has grown over 10 occasions the quantity of clients since COVID. Internally, the SportsTrip staff has expanded from three members earlier than the pandemic to 17 full-time staff.
“With Hudl and Opendorse, I think a lot of that’s built around … you’ve got good tech but then you’ve got a really, really good workforce,” Rhone mentioned.
Finding a house in Nebraska
“The talent coming out of our local universities is exceptional, and the city’s growth and Nebraska’s quality of life (have) made it easier to attract professionals from across the globe,”
Hudl Co-founder Graff mentioned.
Aumueller, who moved to Nebraska from Germany to play tennis at UNL, mentioned he fell in love with the state’s adoration for the Huskers. As a Husker himself, he additionally received the likelihood to attach with then UNL soccer gamers Blake Lawrence and Adi Kunalic — the co-founders of Opendorse. The two would act as mentors in his personal journey, Aumueller mentioned.
“When you see that in your hometown, you want to follow the lead,” Aumueller mentioned. “Nobody’s competing with anyone — not that I would ever want to compete with Hudl or Opendorse — but we’re all in different verticals of sports.”
“Seeing them just absolutely crush it motivates me and motivates us to continue to carve out our niche and be a leader there,” he mentioned.
Friesen mentioned she was additionally grateful for the early conversations and relationships she has shaped with native leaders in the sports industry. Acknowledging the “all-virtual” nature of her enterprise, she mentioned basing her operations out of Omaha as a substitute of Lincoln can really feel like a barrier to traction at occasions.
“I do think there is definitely something to be said about the culture and the connections that have been established in Lincoln that lean themselves very well to being a leader in sports tech development,” Friesen mentioned.
Rhone furthered the reward for the Lincoln neighborhood and the expertise and assist he has acquired in the state’s capital.
“At the end of the day, this is always going to be a Lincoln-based company for me,” Rhone mentioned.
Silicon Prairie News is the main impartial, nonprofit newsroom centered on masking tales about innovation and entrepreneurship in Nebraska.