Building Nebraska

In this special Season 2 recap of Building Nebraska, we sit down with Dr. Tom Field and Hailey Demers from the Engler Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln to reflect on the biggest themes that emerged from 28 episodes featuring business owners, innovators, and founders from across the state.

What began with a Craigslist wheelchair and a messy problem inside poultry barns has grown into one of Nebraska’s most fascinating ag-tech startups. Dusty Reynolds shares how Birds Eye Robotics is using robotics to tackle labor shortages, improve efficiency, and reshape the future of poultry production.

Before Scooter's Coffee became a nationally recognized franchise, Don and Linda Eckles spent years chasing opportunities, learning hard lessons, and building businesses ranging from restaurants to ice cream wagons. In Part 1 of this Building Nebraska conversation, the founders share the entrepreneurial journey that took them from radio broadcasting and life in Alaska to a small drive-thru coffee c...

In Part 2 of Building Nebraska, founders Don and Linda Eckles share how a single Nebraska coffee shop grew into one of America's fastest-growing coffee franchises, now approaching 1,000 locations across more than 30 states.

Jacob Hansen and the team at ALA Engineering are developing self-driving feed trucks designed to help cattle feedlots solve labor shortages and improve efficiency. Using advanced cameras, sensors and software, the company plans to commercially deploy autonomous trucks in Nebraska next year.

In Part 2 of this conversation, Mark Whitehead reflects on growing up in the family business and eventually taking over leadership of Whitehead Oil Company and its U-Stop convenience store brand. He shares stories from his early days in the industry, the realities of working alongside his father, and the challenges that often come with family business succession. Mark also discusses scaling the co...

In Part 1 of this episode, Mark Whitehead shares the strategy behind growing U-Stop and Whitehead Oil Company into nearly 40 locations across Nebraska and Kansas. We go inside the economics of the convenience store business, how fuel pricing really works, and why most of the profit isn’t made at the pump. Mark also explains how the company differentiates itself in a crowded market and what it take...

What does it take to grow a small-town business into something much bigger—without losing what made it work in the first place? On this episode of Building Nebraska, we sit down with Ryan Clark, Vice President of Eustis Body Shop, to talk about the journey from a single shop in rural Nebraska to eight locations across the state. Ryan didn’t grow up in the business. After marrying into the family,...

Robinette Farms started with a simple idea: connect people to the land through food. But building that vision hasn’t been easy. In this episode, Alex Robinette shares the journey — from launching a local food business to navigating a life-changing accident that reshaped his role on the farm. We also dive into the realities of building a direct-to-consumer ag business, the tradeoffs between control...

Just days after graduating high school in 2024, Emory Conrad took a leap that most people her age wouldn’t consider — purchasing the local popcorn shop where she had worked throughout high school. Instead of heading to college, she chose the entrepreneurial path and became the owner of GoodyPop. What started as a small downtown shop has become a destination for popcorn lovers, offering more than 2...

How do ag startup ideas actually turn into real companies? In Part 2 of this conversation, Brennan Costello breaks down how entrepreneurs move from idea to prototype to funding — and what it really takes to build a scalable ag tech business. He shares real Nebraska success stories and explains why the state is becoming a hub for agricultural innovation. Building Nebraska is powered by the Engler A...

Why do some ag startups take off while others struggle to gain traction? In this episode of Building Nebraska, we sit down with Brennan Costello, Director of The Combine at Nebraska Innovation Campus, to talk about what separates successful ag entrepreneurs from the rest. Costello shares lessons from working with founders across the ag tech space, including why testing ideas in the real market — e...

Could cargo planes full of salmon soon be landing in Nebraska? On this episode of the Building Nebraska Podcast, Bryce sits down with entrepreneur Kiel VanderVeen, the founder behind a proposed $250 million salmon processing facility in Nebraska City. The idea started as a hobby. VanderVeen and his wife built a small aquaponics system in a greenhouse outside town, raising salmon and growing leafy...

Presented by the Engler Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. In Part 2 of our conversation with Hannah Klitz, founder of Oak Barn Beef, we move beyond business strategy and into life behind the storefront. Hannah and her husband Eric met through the Engler Entrepreneurship Program and now run their West Point-based beef company together — while raising two young daughter...

Hannah Klitz was just 20 years old when she launched Oak Barn Beef as a sophomore in college. Today, the West Point, Nebraska-based company raises cattle, operates a storefront, and ships dry-aged, Nebraska-raised beef to customers in all 50 states. In Part 1 of this conversation, Hannah shares how she built a direct-to-consumer beef brand from scratch — including learning how to ship a perishable...

As more farm families retire and look to reduce risk, Big Iron Auctions is seeing continued growth in its online auction model, according to co-founder Mark Stock. Stock discussed the company’s evolution and current business dynamics on Part 2 of the Building Nebraska podcast, powered by the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Stock, who started the...

In Part 1 of the Building Nebraska podcast, Mark Stock—co-founder of Big Iron Auctions—shares how a willingness to experiment with technology years ahead of the curve reshaped the auction business. Long before online bidding was widely trusted in agriculture, Mark and his brother Ron were testing real-time internet auctions. This episode dives into the importance of timing, trust, transparency, an...

Most people don’t think about restrooms — until they need one. Grant and Erin Stahla built Stahla Services LLC, a Nebraska-based company that provides high-end mobile restroom, shower, locker room, and specialty trailers for construction sites, commercial remodels, disaster response, and major events across the country. What started as a college startup operating out of a metal shop outside Lincol...

Before Amigos became a familiar name across Nebraska, it was just a husband and wife with an idea. In this episode of Building Nebraska, we sit down with Roger and Jan Moore, the founders of Amigos, to hear the full story behind one of Nebraska’s most recognizable restaurant brands. From opening their first location in Lincoln in 1980 to growing the business to 30 stores statewide, the Moores shar...

Entrepreneurship doesn’t care where you come from. It doesn’t care about your GPA, your hometown, your age, or your background. And in Nebraska, wherever you go—from a kindergarten classroom in Omaha to the wide-open rangeland near Cody—you’ll find people with a shared belief: Nobody’s coming to rescue us, so let's get to work. That no-nonsense spirit is at the heart of the latest episode of the B...

When cattle prices crashed during the farm crisis of the 1980s, rural Nebraska faced a hard question: what’s next? For farmers and ranchers near Valentine, the answer came not from the pasture, but from the Niobrara River. In this episode of Building Nebraska, host Rebel Adamson visits with Mary Mercure of Brewers, Canoers, and Tubers to learn how a simple idea to boost local tourism turned into a...

In the quiet Sandhills town of Cody, Nebraska, something extraordinary is brewing—or rather, fermenting. What began as a retirement hobby for George Johnson transformed into George Paul Vinegar, a nationally acclaimed maker of handcrafted, old-fashioned vinegars now shipped to all 50 states. In this episode of Building Nebraska, George and his daughter, Emily Johnson, share how they have turned a...

Entrepreneurship can take many forms. For Nick and Kristen Ryan of Central City, Nebraska, it’s entrepreneurship has been a vessel to give back to their hometown while creating abundance for themselves. In this special live episode of the Building Nebraska podcast, recorded at an Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program event at UNL, the Ryans shared how they built two thriving hometown busine...

On this episode of Building Nebraska, we travel to Cherry County to visit the Circle C Market, a one-of-a-kind student-run grocery store that has become the heartbeat of the community. A Community’s Big Idea The Circle C Market began as a bold experiment. Two business teachers dreamed of giving kids hands-on learning opportunities while solving a critical problem: the nearest full-service grocery...

For Jim Pinney, owner of Husker Meats, the journey from raising cattle on his family ranch to running a full-service meat processing plant has been a full-circle experience. Pinney grew up in Ainsworth, worked in the old butcher shop during high school, and later earned a meat science degree at Kansas State University. After working in plants across the country, he returned home to ranch, and even...