The Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development (LPED) is proud to announce that this year’s JumpStart Challenge will feature collaboration with two distinguished partners from the Lincoln community.

JumpStart Challenge 2021 events will be presented by ALLO Communications and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletic Department. The goal of the JumpStart Challenge is to solve problems for existing businesses and create new, scalable innovative startups in Lincoln. 

The challenge is open to any creative thinkers, founders, innovators, designers, developers, students and more. Previous years have focused on industry challenges in fintech, real estate, insurtech and health care among others.

“I’m very excited about the challenges that are going to be presented from ALLO and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletic Department,” says Christina Oldfather, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development. “These are incredible opportunities in growing industries to spur innovation and create new avenues for entrepreneurs to create and grow businesses.”

The JumpStart Challenge Kickoff event will be held on September 21 beginning at 5:30 p.m. This kickoff event will feature a fiber network industry challenge presented by ALLO and a sports tech challenge presented by the UNL Athletic Department. The event is free to attend by registering here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jumpstart-challenge-kickoff-tickets-168747461199.

Once the challenges have been revealed, participants can choose to pitch a potential solution at the JumpStart Challenge Pitch Competition on October 7 at 5:30 p.m. Each participant will have six minutes to present their solution to the judges. Both events will be held at The Mill, 330 South 21st Street, in the Telegraph District.

The winner of each challenge will receive a $1,000 cash prize, three months of free coworking at FUSE Coworking or Turbine Flats, a year or free internet from ALLO, and an opportunity to partner with ALLO or the UNL Athletic Department to take their idea to the next level. Winners also have the potential to earn a $25,000 LaunchLNK grant with their solution.

More information on this year’s events can be found at www.jumpstartchallenge.com/lincoln.

For more information, contact Christina Oldfather, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development, at (402) 436-2374 or coldfather@selectlincoln.org.