Any startup founder knows that customers are the key to success, which is why buyer personas are a critical part of marketing efforts. You need to understand what your average customers look like, what’s important to them, where they are, and how they might find you. Building buyer personas means digging into demographic data and anecdotal feedback as well as behavioral insights, which can be applied to use cases and real-life scenarios. Expert marketer Ali Schwanke will teach you how to build buyer personas and use them to guide your overall marketing strategy.
Ali Schwanke is the founder and CEO of Simple Strat, a marketing agency with a focus on strategy first. She’s also a Startup Weekend alumni, co-founder of Ignite Lincoln, and startup community advocate and marketing advisor.
Beverages, snacks, and prize drawings will be provided courtesy of Forgelight Creative.
In May of 2016, Mark Zmarzly successfully launched a Kickstarter campaign for the new Hip Money app. He surpassed the $15,000 goal in 5.5 days and ended up raising $21,600, which put Hip Money into the top 50 all-time top apps on Kickstarter. Hear more about the goals, creative elements, and execution of the Hip Money campaign and learn some good reasons to consider a Kickstarter for your own startup.
Mark Zmarzly is an innovative entrepreneur who is changing banking forever for everyone’s benefit. As founder of Hip Pocket, Mark and his team have developed software that does everything from allowing people to compare their mortgage and retirement savings with their peers to saving money and prepaying debt with a simple swipe right from the Hip Money app.
Beverages, snacks, and prize drawings will be provided courtesy of Forgelight Creative.
Hear from local journalist, Matt Olberding; Silicon Prairie News Managing Editor, Ryan Pendell; and startup PR extraordinaire from Bulu, Mariah Nimmich, about PR for startups. This panel, moderated by Forgelight Creative co-founder and CEO, Tyler Sprunk, will answer your PR-related questions, explore the importance of PR for startups, and cover tips and tricks for effective PR.
Matt Olberding is a Lincoln native and University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate who has been covering business for the Journal Star since 2005.
Ryan Pendell is the Managing Editor of Silicon Prairie News. In 2009 he received his MFA in Writing from the Art Institute of Chicago. Since then he has taught college writing and has written for regional and national online and print media. In 2014 he was publications editor for the Sundance Film Festival. He lives in Omaha, Nebraska.
As Director of Public Relations, Mariah Nimmich coordinates Bulu, Inc. press coverage nationally, showcasing Bulu Box and Bulu Marketplace in media outlets like CBS, Buzzfeed, Forbes and more. Her favorite activity is to #BangTheDrum for the achievements of the Bulu Crew! Mariah is also a board member and Communications Chair for nonprofit TEDxLincoln, and heavily involved in Lincoln events like LNK DNA and Startup Week.
Tyler Sprunk is co-founder and CEO of Forgelight Creative and Managing Editor for Cultivate Press. Tyler is also a proud supporter of the startup community through events such as 1 Million Cups, Startup Week, and LNK DNA.
Beverages, snacks, and prize drawings will be provided courtesy of Forgelight Creative.
Are you still trying to understand why your company brand is one of the most important elements of your company? Yes?! Then don't come to this presentation. This session which is part presentation, part workshop, part peek-behind-the-curtains isn't meant to make believers of branding. This session is for brand believers looking for concrete explanations and tangible action items to build company brands and help that brand echo throughout company culture. If you're sold on the idea of branding but don't have a damn clue about what to do next, this sesh is for you. Paul Jarrett is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bulu Box and has over a decade of experience in marketing, advertising and branding from Nike in NYC to Adobe in San Francisco - he's gonna break it down for you.
Paul Jarrett's Startup and Advertising Agency work experience spans the country. From NYC to San Francisco, Paul has launched million dollar brands such as Neebo and executed multi-facted campaigns for billion dollar brands such as Lowe's and Nike. In 2010, Paul joined Complete Nutrition where he became the Vice President of Marketing and an Executive Board Member. He built the MarComm department, trained dozens of franchises and positioned Complete Nutrition and its products for success in a saturated market. The company's growth skyrocketed. In fact, it was one of the fastest growing startups in the U.S. Paul's experience at Complete Nutrition was the precursor to starting his own company. In 2012, Bulu Box was born.
Beverages, snacks, and prize drawings will be provided courtesy of Forgelight Creative.
"Two Magic Questions" is a disciplined and respectful approach to working with others, to strategic communication, and to focused and faster sales.
Mailani Veney grows businesses with the aloha spirit - ensuring everyone benefits in a relationship. She is the co-founder and CEO of DealAnyDay, a nationwide marketing technology company that provides mobile marketing analytics to help small businesses attract more customers and increase profitability. Mailani created the "Two Magic Questions" approach and has honed it over 25 years - resulting in millions in sales successes and good relationships.
Beverages, snacks, and prize drawings will be provided courtesy of Forgelight Creative.
Want to sell your wares online? Jill Liliedahl will give quick and dirty tips for getting online quickly, saving money in key areas, and spending your time on what matters to make the sale.
Jill Liliedahl is a short-nosed dog enthusiast, CEO of SitStay, Chief Popsicler at Pop Art, and co-launcher of Ladies Who Launch-Lincoln.
Beverages, snacks, and prize drawings will be provided courtesy of Forgelight Creative.
Hiring the right salespeople can accelerate your growth and catapult your company forward. Hiring the wrong salespeople could hurt your reputation and waste your precious cash. In this small panel, we’ll learn from team-building expert, Marianne Worthington; and founder of Hail Varsity, Aaron Babcock, about how to hire the right salespeople. Bring your questions and join us for a discussion exploring everything from compensation structure to interview techniques and much more. The conversation will be moderated by Forgelight Creative co-founder and CEO, Tyler Sprunk.
Marianne Worthington is the founder of Work Warrior LLC, a company that helps organizations and non-profits build fearless, strong, and skilled teams. Work Warrior focuses on team, leadership, and process development.
Aaron Babcock is the owner and publisher of Hail Varsity, a magazine that covers Nebraska athletics through a combination of world-class photography, unforgettable stories, cutting edge analysis and commentary.
Tyler Sprunk is co-founder and CEO of Forgelight Creative and Managing Editor for Cultivate Press. Tyler is also a proud supporter of the startup community through events such as 1 Million Cups, Startup Week, and LNK DNA.
Beverages, snacks, and prize drawings will be provided courtesy of Forgelight Creative.
Not every business is ready to launch an affiliate marketing program. Learn if you're ready and what it will take to get it off the ground.
Stacy L. Carlson will be leading this discussion on affiliate marketing. Stacy is the COO of SitStay.com and CEO GottaPixel.com.
Beverages, snacks, and prize drawings will be provided courtesy of Forgelight Creative.
