The Greater Omaha Chamber is pleased to announce the hiring of Nathan Preheim as its new senior director of entrepreneurship and innovation. Starting today, Feb. 22, he will leverage his unique blend of Fortune 500 and dot-com-Internet startup experience to build Greater Omaha’s entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem.
“I’ve launched and worked for a variety of startups and been exposed to game-changing technologies. I saw ?rst-hand the challenges of investor expectations, met people from all over the world, and learned effective strategies for growing organizations and products. I look forward to channeling that experience to help our region and its innovators really thrive,” says Preheim.
Among other ventures, Preheim started a company called Daytipper in 2004 and built it into the Internet’s premier tip sharing service. In 2011, he and a partner launched MindMixer, a community engagement platform.
“I hoped to demonstrate to other area entrepreneurs that yes, you can start and grow a startup in Omaha,” Preheim says.
“It was incredibly challenging to leave a company I started,” he says. “When I left MindMixer, I promised myself I would be more accessible to the startup community and offer mentorship so others could bene?t from my own startup trials and tribulations.”
Preheim has served as a Straight Shot mentor to the last two classes and has independently advised Noulli, viirt, and Artifact Bag Company. In his new position, he will be actively involved in cultivating entrepreneurial and innovative ideas, activities and people by:
- Connecting entrepreneurs to assistance and programming
- Facilitating the development of funding for startup companies
- Developing opportunities to attract new ventures to – and retain existing ventures in – the Greater Omaha region
- Coordinating programs to improve the “human capital pipeline” for the region’s entrepreneurs and innovators
“Nathan has lived and worked in Silicon Valley, but he is an Omaha champion through and through. We are thrilled to welcome him to our team – and we look forward to seeing him use his experience and passion to electrify our entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Randy Thelen, the Chamber’s senior vice president of economic development.
Preheim holds a Master of Community Planning from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the Peter Kiewit Institute of Information Science and Technology at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Creighton University.