Technology leader fosters innovation in its hometownOVERLAND PARK, Kan.– Oct. 10, 2012 – Sprint (NYSE:S, news, filings) is working closely with startups and developers to help drive innovation in Silicon Valley, around the globe and in its hometown, Kansas City. Today Sprint announced a sponsorship of Silicon Prairie News that will support the establishment of a full-time presence for Silicon Prairie News in the Kansas City community.
“Making more connections in a growing ecosystem and evangelizing all the good things that are happening here is important to the long-term growth of an entrepreneurial environment in Kansas City,” said Kevin McGinnis, vice president of Product Platforms at Sprint. “As that advocate and connector of influencers, Sprint recognizes the valuable support Silicon Prairie News delivers, and through our sponsorship we want to help build more opportunities for the startup community here in Kansas City.”
“As a technology leader, Sprint brings a wealth of knowledge and resources to our community,” said Jeff Slobotski, co-founder and chief community builder of Silicon Prairie News. “Sprint’s involvement is valuable on so many levels. Whether it’s hosting a startup pitch session at its headquarters or highlighting the app of a local developer on its blog, Sprint’s participation in the community is a testament to its commitment to Kansas City and the greater Silicon Prairie community.”
Silicon Prairie News is conducting “Thinc Iowa” Oct. 9-11 in Des Moines – a two-day event filled with speakers providing inspiration and lessons learned, all centered on the entrepreneurial spirit and building the startup community. Coming this May, Silicon Prairie News will produce the fifth year of “Big Omaha,” its other premier event. These two signature events attract nationally recognized entrepreneurial leaders and attendees from more than 25 states.
Thinc Iowa and Big Omaha are just two of the many ways that Silicon Prairie News supports entrepreneurship in Des Moines and Omaha. The company is planning to debut a similar event in Kansas City in 2013.
Since its founding in 2008, Silicon Prairie News has built a strong community among entrepreneurs and startup teams in the Silicon Prairie, a region loosely defined as a triangle between Kansas City, Omaha and Des Moines. The company’s website, siliconprairienews.com, publishes more than 100 articles a month and attracts visitors worldwide.
Silicon Prairie News will hire full-time staff members in Kansas City and is planning an official Kansas City launch event for the week of Nov. 12 to coincide with the Global Entrepreneurship Week hosted at the Kauffman Foundation.
Contact(s):
| Media Contact:Jennifer Walsh, Sprint 913-315-3715 Jennifer.r.walsh@sprint.com
Jeffrey J. Slobotski Silicon Prairie News 402-968-9048 http://www.twitter.com/slobotski |
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 56 million customers at the end of the second quarter of 2012 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The American Customer Satisfaction Index rated Sprint No. 1 among all national carriers in customer satisfaction and most improved, across all 47 industries, during the last four years. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in its 2011 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
Sprint will host the 12th annual Open Solutions Conference on Oct. 24-25 at the San Jose, Calif., Convention Center, offering developers, ecosystem partners and executive attendees an up-close view into the latest app developing tools and capabilities, keynote presentations from Sprint CEO Dan Hesse and other industry leaders, breakout sessions, coding sessions, event sponsor exhibits, and business-critical networking opportunities. Registration is open at http://developer.sprint.com/OSC2012.
About Silicon Prairie News Silicon Prairie News is a digital media company dedicated to highlighting and supporting entrepreneurs, creatives and investors through an emerging model for grassroots entrepreneurial ecosystem development in and around Omaha, Des Moines and Kansas City. Founded in 2008, Silicon Prairie News also produces events, such as the Silicon Prairie Series (Big Omaha, Thinc Iowa and a to-be-named Kansas City event) and the Startup Job Crawl. For more information, visit http://www.siliconprairienews.com, and follow Silicon Prairie News on @SiliconPrairie and www.facebook.com/SiliconPrairieNews.
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