Cities where startups are thriving

Omaha is better known for its "wizard," Warren Buffett, but a new group of sorcerers is on the rise.

Much of that is thanks to Big Omaha, a conference on innovation and entrepreneurship that aims to be as big as SXSW or TED. It draws in entrepreneurs from across the Midwest.

Meanwhile, startups have a one-stop information hub with the Silicon Prairie News, a local digital media company dedicated to fostering the startup community there.

Like other cities in the nation's heartland, Omaha isn't yet in full bloom. But the Kauffman Foundation's director of research and policy, Dane Stangler, said Omaha is home to big corporations that are turning to startups for new tech approaches to banking and insurance.

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