Building Nebraska

What started as a truck stop in Grand Island in 1948 has grown into a multi-state family business. On this episode of Building Nebraska, Kinsey Bosselman shares how Bosselman Enterprises is expanding Pump & Pantry, bringing more than 400 new employees into the company and building customer loyalty. She also discusses learning the business from the ground up, leading by example and the goal of reac...

What does it take to turn a farm into a direct-to-consumer business? Mindy McGrew of Little Red Farm shares what she’s learned about selling directly to families, pricing products, raw milk, customer relationships and making the numbers work — all while running a farm seven days a week. For farmers and entrepreneurs building a business around what they produce, this conversation gets into what it...

As Bruce Furniture continues to grow, Doug Bruce’s sons, Michael and David, are taking on a larger role in the family business. In Part 2 of Building Nebraska, the Bruce family discusses the transition to the next generation, expanding to new locations and adapting to a changing retail industry. They also talk about competing with online retailers, the value of personal service and why they contin...

In 1977, Doug Bruce moved to Alliance, Nebraska, with his wife, six-month-old son and a dream of opening a furniture store. With limited money and no home, the family lived in the store while Doug built the business from the ground up. Nearly 50 years later, Bruce Furniture has grown to six locations across Nebraska. In Part 1 of Building Nebraska, Doug joins his sons, Michael and David, to share...

Karter Otte never planned on building a career painting parking lots. But after taking a chance on his own business, Pickup Lines Striping has grown into a blue-collar business serving customers across Nebraska. In this episode of Building Nebraska, Karter shares how he got started, the lessons he's learned along the way and what it takes to build a business from the ground up.

In this episode of Building Nebraska, fourth-generation owner Mike Hesse shares how his family’s Pender, Nebraska, company evolved from making cattle oilers into a diversified manufacturer serving agriculture, RV and automotive markets. Hess discusses knowing when to pivot, competing with much larger companies, investing in a rural workforce and finding growth even when an industry is shrinking. I...

Rod Giese has spent nearly 30 years with Mighty Giant, eventually taking ownership of the Beemer, Nebraska, company. In this episode, Rod shares what it takes to run a small manufacturing business through rising costs, supply chain challenges and a tight labor market—and why he believes quality, persistence and people are key to keeping Mighty Giant moving forward.

She went from working at GoodyPop during high school to owning the business less than a week after graduation. Now, Emory Conrad’s story has earned another distinction. Listeners selected GoodyPop of York as the Building Nebraska Season 2 Fan Favorite, followed by Oak Barn Beef and Eustis Body Shop. In this special episode, we announce the results and revisit Emory’s decision to choose entrepreneu...

Nearly 30 years after opening Emsud's Clothiers, the Deumic family reflects on the values that have sustained their business. In Part 2 of Building Nebraska, they share why treating customers like guests, building relationships instead of chasing sales, and leading with honesty and fairness has created generations of loyal customers. The family also looks back on the kindness they received after a...

In 1993, Emsud and Samka Deumic arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska, with their two children, Salko and Alma, carrying only a few bags of clothing and a determination to start over after fleeing war-torn Bosnia. In Part 1 of this Building Nebraska episode, Emsud shares how the tailoring skills passed down from his father helped the family rebuild their lives, from learning a new language and finding work...

Keith Burns shares the story behind Green Cover and how a family farming operation in rural Bladen, Nebraska, grew into a company serving farmers across the country. In this episode of Building Nebraska, he discusses the evolution of the business, the importance of education and company culture, and why solving real problems for customers has fueled Green Cover's growth. Building Nebraska is power...

What do you do when you're over 50 and looking for your next chapter? For Len Dickinson and Jule Goeller, that question led to Timberlyne—a Nebraska company that now ships custom timber frame barns, homes, and commercial buildings across the country. In this episode of Building Nebraska, they share how they found their market, overcame major challenges, and built a thriving business by putting cus...

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...