Big Omaha is a wonderful conference. For inspiration, connecting and a swift kick in the ass. Billed as the nation’s most spirited conference on innovation and entrepreneurship, 2014 is the 6th annual and the second I’ve attended. Two packed days of speakers, breaks and parties. What I particularly liked this year was hearing from so many women leaders in tech. Diversity of perspective matters, especially in the male-dominated tech space. Hearing about tech’s great job opportunity for blacks and latinos from Laura Powers of Code 2040 and the urgency of taking on our global food system from Ellen Gustafson of FEED were two of my favorites. The importance of diversity, the need to prioritize creativity and why balance, including meditation and healthy eating, benefits the work. These are the ideas that stuck. Ideas I don’t associate with the startup world. The mark of a good conference is one that pushes out from the expected storyline. For that, bravo Big Omaha. Oh, and Ev Williams is a pretty humble guy.
JKDC
DESIGN + ACTIVISM + COLLABORATION
