Heartfelt desires and dreams can still come true

Congratulations to Courtney Pollmann, who recently won the Hormel Family Foundation Business Plan Competition. As this year's winner of the competition, Pollmann will receive a $25,000 investment in exchange for a minority stake in her business, Peacocks and Paisley. Pollmann plans to expand her online vintage clothing and accessories store by opening a storefront in McCook.

The value of the Hormel Family Foundation investment and support can be readily observed by looking at the winners of last year's competition -- Game On Games. Owners Cody Dame and Tanner Lytle have transformed their idea for a video game store into a successful reality. They have also expanded into video-game competitions, board games, disc golf, and a strong e-commerce web site.

But what about the other competitors who presented strong business plans, as well as the heartfelt desire to operate that business in our area? Curt Swanhorst of Southwest Implement sees a real need for a customer telephone support center to troubleshoot problems with the sophisticated agricultural equipment on the market today. Mathew Winder of Nebraska Link would like to create an online business directory website. And Tom Andrews would like to partner with three enthusiastic FFA members (Samantha Yonkers, Kayla Messinger, and Katelyn Fritsche) to form a bee club. Through the club, Andrews would extract the honey, repackage, and market the product.

John Decker, Director of Nebraska Angels Network, presented a possible answer to the need for capital investment to help new ideas get off the ground. Nebraska Angels is an independent consortium of individual angel investors organized about two years ago. Their mission is to provide opportunities for members to obtain outstanding financial returns by investing in promising early-stage companies primed for expansion. Their primary focus is to invest in companies with a Nebraska presence or other ties to the state.

In addition to the financial backing angel investors can provide, they also provide mentoring, coaching, and networking to the entrepreneurs they invest in. The investors are hands on, and the leadership and strategic planning they supply is vital to the success of the new ventures.

Nebraska Angels Network currently has about 42 members in the Lincoln, Omaha, and Kearney area. Decker is encouraging the Southwest Nebraska area to also consider an angel investment organization. According to Decker, "Nebraska is kind of like the farm-teams in baseball. We develop highly educated team members with great ideas and work ethic. Then they leave the state to follow the money to other areas. The goal of angel investors is to match the money and experience with the ideas and keep them in the state."

Southwest Nebraska has the imagination, determination, and desire to grow. An angel investment organization may be the catalyst that is needed to bring those dreams to reality for some future entrepreneurs.

For more information on Nebraska Angels Network, go to www.nebraskaangels.org.