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Every Friday, Silicon Prairie News presents opportunities in the region's tech, startup and creative community. From a contract job to a co-founder role, these positions are submitted by companies and gathered from public postings.

To submit a job listing for consideration (free), complete our job board submission form. To feature a job listing (paid), select the duration in the form. Positions submitted by noon each Thursday will be presented in Friday's weekly post. Contact editor@siliconprairienews.com with questions.

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If you apply to one below, please make sure to mention that you found it on Silicon Prairie News.

Featured

	.NET Developer, Centrix Solutions, Inc. (Lincoln, Neb.) - Centrix provides financial institutions with software solutions used to manage risk and increase operational efficiency. We are looking for a .NET developer with a passion for learning and the desire to be an integral part of a growing company. Becoming part of our innovative company, provides unlimited opportunity for the right candidate. We hire based upon current skills and demonstrated ability to learn new skills. See posting
	Digital Designer / Front-end Developer, McCormick Company / MC Interactive (Johnston, Iowa) - MC Interactive is the digital division of McCormick Company. McCormick is a multi-location ad agency with digital talent based out of Des Moines, Iowa. McCormick / MC Interactive is currently looking for 2 talented full-time Digital Designers/Front-end Developers to be a part of a growing group of digital talent in their Des Moines office. See posting
	Web Application Developer, Hayneedle (Omaha) - Hayneedle's flagship store is hayneedle.com, the 4th largest home furnishings online retailer and ranked among the top 100 of all online retailers. Develops and designs web applications and websites for online stores at Hayneedle.com. Directs website content creation, enhancements and maintenance of high availability web applications as well as, creating and specifying architectural and technical parameters for new and existing web applications. See posting
	Senior Graphic Designer, Hayneedle (Omaha) - Hayneedle's flagship store is hayneedle.com, a central destination to find everything home. Hayneedle.com scored as a Hot 100 e-retailer for 2013. The Senior Graphic Designer will manage and oversee the daily and weekly graphic design tasks. They must be on the forefront of creative development, including, but not limited to: typography, color theory, web design, print design, and usability. See posting
	Financial Analyst, Hudl (Lincoln, Neb.) - Hudl provides web-based software that helps sports teams connect around the video and data they need to win. (See posting) Do you love sports? Good. Because for you, there isn’t a better accounts receivable job on the planet. We need you to apply your vast accounting knowledge to a growing finance team. See posting

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Tech

Interactive Product Manager, West (Omaha) - Our product features automated IVR applications; backend integrations and services, web based reporting to merge customer data with survey results. (See posting)

Database Administrator, The Members Group (TMG) (Des Moines) - The Members Group is a Des Moines-based company that equips FIs with the best in card processing technologies for credit, debit, ATM, prepaid & alternative payment solutions. (See posting)

.NET Developer, Centrix Solutions, Inc. (Lincoln, Neb.) - Centrix provides financial institutions with software solutions used to manage risk and increase operational efficiency. (See posting)

Web Developer with PHP/mySQL/Drupal expertise, The GNG Group (Omaha) - The GNG Group is a consulting firm that produces novel analytical solutions, data-driven results and actionaable insights for its clients. (Contact Jenny Murnane at jennym@thegnggroup.com)

Application Development Manager, TriCom Technical Services (Kansas City, Mo.) - TriCom Technical Services is a professional Information Technology consulting firm providing staff augmentation, permanent placement and outsource services. (See posting)

BI System Administrator, TriCom Technical Services (Kansas City, Mo.) - TriCom Technical Services is a professional Information Technology consulting firm providing staff augmentation, permanent placement and outsource services. (See posting)

Python Developer, DivvyHQ (Kansas City, Mo.) - DivvyHQ was built to help content producers stay organized and successfully execute demanding and complicated content marketing and social media initiatives. (See posting)

SEO Specialist, VinSolutions (Mission, Kan.) - VinSolutions is an industry-leading developer of online-based customer relations management (CRM) and Internet lead management (ILM) software for automotive brands and dealers. (See posting)

Web Application Developer, Hayneedle (Omaha) - Hayneedle's flagship store is hayneedle.com, the 4th largest home furnishings online retailer and ranked among the top 100 of all online retailers. (See posting)

Web Developer, Xuba (Omaha) - Xuba leverages the latest open source web and mobile technologies to develop niche social network platforms. (See posting)

Software QA Specialist, Xuba (Omaha) - Xuba leverages the latest open source web and mobile technologies to develop niche social network platforms. (See posting)

Mobile Application Developer, Xuba (Omaha) - Xuba leverages the latest open source web and mobile technologies to develop niche social network platforms. (See posting)

Software Engineer, Xuba (Omaha) - Xuba leverages the latest open source web and mobile technologies to develop niche social network platforms. (See posting)

Web Developer, Humansized Inc. (Kansas City, Mo.) - Humansized is a privately held software design & development consultancy located in the Crossroads district downtown Kansas City. (See posting)

AIX Administrator, Kingland Systems (Clear Lake, Iowa) - Kingland Systems Corporation (KSC) is a consulting firm providing world-class software and technology solutions. (See posting)

Senior Software Engineer-JAVA, Kingland Systems (Clear Lake, Iowa) - Kingland Systems Corporation (KSC) is a consulting firm providing world-class software and technology solutions. (See posting)

Database Developer, MindMixer (Omaha) - MindMixer sparks community through online engagement. Ideas, voices, and perspectives are shared revealing actionable insights. (See posting)

Web developer, MindMixer (Omaha) - MindMixer sparks community through online engagement. Ideas, voices, and perspectives are shared revealing actionable insights. (See posting)

C# developer, MindMixer (Omaha) - MindMixer sparks community through online engagement. Ideas, voices, and perspectives are shared revealing actionable insights. (See posting)

MongoDB developer, MindMixer (Omaha) - MindMixer sparks community through online engagement. Ideas, voices, and perspectives are shared revealing actionable insights. (See posting)

Python developer, MindMixer (Omaha) - MindMixer sparks community through online engagement. Ideas, voices, and perspectives are shared revealing actionable insights. (See posting)

Software Developer, Hudl (Lincoln, Neb.) - Hudl provides web-based software that helps sports teams connect around the video and data they need to win. (See posting)

IT Manager, Hudl (Lincoln, Neb.) - Hudl provides web-based software that helps sports teams connect around the video and data they need to win. (See posting)

Software Quality Assurance Analyst, Hudl (Lincoln, Neb.) - Hudl provides web-based software that helps sports teams connect around the video and data they need to win. (See posting)

Data Analyst, idea5, Inc. (Omaha) - idea5, Inc. is a rapidly growing Omaha, NE, based technology startup developing innovative SAAS solutions. (See posting)

Design

Web Designer, Netchemia (Prairie Village, Kan.) - Netchemia is the leading cloud based provider of talent management solutions for K-12 education institutions serving more than 1000 school districts nationwide. (See posting)

Digital Designer / Front-end Developer, McCormick Company / MC Interactive (Johnston, Iowa) - MC Interactive is the digital division of McCormick Company. McCormick is a multi-location ad agency with digital talent based out of Des Moines, Iowa. (See posting)

Product Designer, Hudl (Lincoln, Neb.) - Hudl provides web-based software that helps sports teams connect around the video and data they need to win. (See posting)

Business/exec

Head of Happiness, Sculpt, LLC (Iowa City, Iowa) - Iowa City's Social Media Agency. Obsessed with igniting and nurturing the conversation between consumer and brand. (See posting)

Operations Director, Sculpt, LLC (Iowa City, Iowa) - Iowa City's Social Media Agency. Obsessed with igniting and nurturing the conversation between consumer and brand. (See posting)

Email Marketing Specialist, Home Instead Senior Care, Inc. (Omaha) - Founded in 1994 in Omaha, Nebraska, the Home Instead Senior Care® franchise network is the world’s largest provider of non-medical, in-home care for seniors. (See posting)

Web Marketing Analyst, Home Instead Senior Care, Inc. (Omaha) - Founded in 1994 in Omaha, Nebraska, the Home Instead Senior Care® franchise network is the world’s largest provider of non-medical, in-home care for seniors. (See posting)

Project Manager, Hudl (Lincoln, Neb.) - Hudl provides web-based software that helps sports teams connect around the video and data they need to win. (See posting)

Business Development - International Sales, Hudl (Lincoln, Neb.) - Hudl provides web-based software that helps sports teams connect around the video and data they need to win. (See posting)

High Energy Sales Rep, Red Nova Labs (Westwood, Kan.) - Red Nova Labs is a fast-paced web marketing company that focuses on property management. (See posting)

Content Writer, Red Nova Labs (Westwood, Kan.) - Red Nova Labs is a fast-paced web marketing company that focuses on property management. (See posting)

Internships

Web Developer, Apex Government Solutions (Overland Park, Kan.) - IT consulting company based in Overland Park. We focus on meeting the needs of our clients by recruiting and managing top level technical professionals. (Contact Kristen Dickerson at kdickerson@apexgov.com)

Intern Programmer, Bulu Box (Lincoln, Neb.) - Bulu Box is the first vitamin and supplement nutrition sample box. (See posting)

Video & Digital Media Producer, PlanetReuse Marketplace (Kansas City, Mo.) - PlanetReuse Marketplace is a growing technology company that aims to become the "Amazon.com for reclaimed building materials." (See posting)

Social Media & Internet Marketing, PlanetReuse Marketplace (Kansas City, Mo.) - PlanetReuse Marketplace is a growing technology company that aims to become the "Amazon.com for reclaimed building materials." (See posting)

Business & Customer Experience Analyst, PlanetReuse Marketplace (Kansas City, Mo.) - PlanetReuse Marketplace is a growing technology company that aims to become the "Amazon.com for reclaimed building materials." (See posting)

Reclaimed Materials Broker, PlanetReuse Marketplace (Kansas City, Mo.) - PlanetReuse Marketplace is a growing technology company that aims to become the "Amazon.com for reclaimed building materials." (See posting)

Other

Marketing Manager, MindMixer (Kansas City, Mo.) - MindMixer sparks community through online engagement. Ideas, voices, and perspectives are shared revealing actionable insights. (See posting)

Financial Analyst, Hudl (Lincoln, Neb.) - Hudl provides web-based software that helps sports teams connect around the video and data they need to win. (See posting)

Submit a job posting

The SPN Job Board is sponsored by Hudl.

We design, build, test, sell and support the best video analysis tools. Our software bonds teams together. If you’re ready to make a difference in the sports world, apply at www.hudl.com/jobs.

Silicon Prairie Shorts are sponsored by Polsinelli. On a daily basis, Polsinelli technology attorneys work with clients creating or using innovative technology. Check out the firm's Science and Technology Law Group to learn more.

Hudl co-founder David Graff (middle) accepts an award from Walter Scott (left) and J.B. Milliken (right).

Hudl's often the software used to help high school football teams earn a trophy, but the Lincoln, Neb., company last month took home some hardware of its own. The University of Nebraska awarded Hudl its Walter Scott Entrepreneurial Business Award, which is designed to encourage businesses to create partnerships and links with the university in the area of technology.

Hudl takes top "Best Places to Work"

The award followed a month in which the now 100-plus employee company earned the top medium business spot in Lincoln's "Best Places to Work" competition, hosted by Quantum Workplace. Software investment fund Nebraska Global earned the No. 3 spot.

MindMixer is "Innovator of the Year"

Down the road in Omaha, MindMixer recently saw two pieces of recognition, as well. On Monday, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce named the online community engagement startup its "Innovator of the Year." Earlier this month, Forbes named MindMixer co-founder Nick Bowden one of its "Forbes Up and Comers," a title bestowed on our co-founder Jeff Slobotski, as well.

Hayneedle co-founder is finalist for "Entrepreneur of the Year"

Doug Nielsen, the co-founder of Omaha-based Hayneedle, also earned recognition, being named a regional finalist of Ernst & Young's "Entrepreneur of the Year" award.

Clickstop is among fastest-growing companies for fifth year

Another ecommerce company, Urbana, Iowa-based Clickstop, is in the spotlight once again as the Corridor Business Journal recognized it for the fifth year as one of the area's fastest-growing companies. This year it's No. 15 on the list, posting a growth of 85.1 percent, according to a press release.

Credits: Photo from David Graff on Twitter

Thirteen startups pitched at Startup@Kauffman Demo Day at last year's 1Week KC.

Kansas City's six-day celebration of entrepreneurship, 1Week KC, announced today it has locked down dates for its second spin. June 25-30 will feautre grassroots events, larger conferences and more, all intended to "educate, inspire, encourage and celebrate entrepreneurship," according to the press release.

"1Week KC was bigger than just a local event," said organizer Adam Coomes in a Silicon Prairie News guest post after last year's event. "It unified our city. Organizations, leaders, founders, students and the community came together to embrace the week and most of all, embrace the grand vision."

Driving the week is the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce's mission to create "America's most entrepreneurial city." It will include meetups, conferences, classrooms, networking, speakers, parties and more. A number of events are already scheduled on the site, 1weekkc.com, but more will be added as grassroots gatherings are encouraged.

Today's press release highlighted four events:

• Entrepreneur Day at the K (4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Kauffman Stadium) — 2,000 entrepreneurs gather to tailgate and watch the Royals take on the Atlanta Braves. Tickets are $15 for lower level seating (regularly a $30 value). Approximately 40 area mayors will be on the field to recognize the “2013 All-Star Entrepreneurs” from across the metro. For more information, visit royals.com/eday.
• Digital Sandbox Open House (3 p.m., Thursday, Union Station) — Meet Sandbox members and corporate partners while also learning what a proof-of-concept center really does.
• Kansas City Startup Crawl 2.0 (4 p.m., Friday, all over) — See behind the scenes at area incubators and startups. Meet and mingle with area entrepreneurs in their creative spaces.
• Maker Faire KC (Saturday–Sunday, Union Station) — Celebrate homemade creativity. The family-friendly event brings together hackers, scientists, inventors and artists for two days of inspiration.

Our event, Silicon Prairie News Trivia Night, will also return. It will be held at 7 p.m. June 26. Stay tuned for more details, including venue.

Credits: Photo by Prentiss Earl III for the Kauffman Foundation.

"We want to help entrepreneurs move through the process," Vault operations director Kris Fassler told Silicon Prairie News today. "That's the thought of the Startup School."

Beginning Friday with an aim to hold two per month, Vault is offering free workshops for individuals starting or wanting to start a business. The first session, limited to 18 registrants (the space has a classroom that seats around 40 individuals), is Design Thinking, and future workshops could cover such subjects as the lean startup and business valuations.

It's "entrepreneurs teaching entrepreneurs," Fassler (right) said, noting the long-term goal of the program is to parlay it into an accelerator in order to help the Cedar Rapids area see more companies created. The company may also begin charging an annual subscription for access to programs such as Startup School.

Vault opened in 2011 with the help of free rent for the first 18 months. That period ends in July, at which point Fassler hopes to finance the space with sponsorships on top of the coworking tenants—he recently closed his first sponsorship. The space currently has 20 members, with about 15 of them full time, Fassler said. Bandwidth Pool and RecBob are two of the space's startup tenants. Vault also hosts 1 Million Cups Cedar Rapids.

Credits: Kris Fassler photo courtesy Fassler

Silicon Prairie Shorts are sponsored by Polsinelli. On a daily basis, Polsinelli technology attorneys work with clients creating or using innovative technology. Check out the firm's Science and Technology Law Group to learn more.

Sponsor: Thanks to Mastercraft Advisors, a consortium of four service providers, for supporting Silicon Prairie News. The group will be providing posts each month throughout 2013.

About the author: Josh Weiss, CPA, is an audit partner with Lutz and Company, PC, a member firm of Mastercraft Advisors.

The value of a business is not something that you can look up or easily identify. The primary reason is that value is truly in the eye of the beholder. A business is effectively worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Not unlike many consumer goods, the market often dictates the price of a product or a business. However, pricing one product is much different than pricing all of the hard work, goodwill, blood, sweat and tears that go into the value of a business.

Business values come in many shapes and sizes. The reason for that is because valuations are needed for many different reasons or purposes. A valuation might be for the outright sale of a company, to value stock options that might be granted to employees, to obtain financing from a bank or other financing institution, or for the always exciting accounting and financial reporting requirements. Valuation shows up every day. The stock market is nothing but valuation. It is a marketplace in which market participants decide on the share price of a company. Often those prices are over or undervalued, but only priced at what the market decides. This is why Facebook has an initial offering price at one level and it may drop below or go way above that level.

So if your company is not traded on a stock exchange or in a market where transactions happen regularly, how do you determine what is it worth? You have to ask the right questions to determine how to value the company. We typically value a company at fair market value, which is a hypothetical situation between a buyer and seller. That is very different from an investment value. An investment value is a strategic value. Someone wants to buy the company or a share of the company because it will make their existing company or portfolio better. The strategic buyer can offer not only money to buy it, but also expertise to help grow the target company. That strategic buyer might be willing to pay a premium for the target because they see the long term potential and are confident that their return on the investment will grow.

Valuation is forward looking. A company is worth what it can generate in terms of economic benefit in the future. What does economic benefit mean? Economic benefit is cash flow to the investor. So if I give you $100,000, how much cash flow back to me is that investment going to generate? A private equity fund or venture capitalist is looking to help companies grow and generate returns above and beyond what the company might with traditional financing or start up funding. So the value an investment buyer places on the company is different from fair market value.

In order to create value at a fundamental level, the company must demonstrate the ability to provide the future economic benefit. A buyer of that company is taking a risk. That risk is quantified in the rate of return they expect. This is often referred to as the cost of capital, which means I am going to give you my money with the risk that it may never come back or it may come back with some expected level of benefit on top of it. Often you hear that a company is valued at a multiple. The multiple is the measure of risk. A lower multiple shows that there is more risk in investing my capital in your company rather than putting it somewhere else. A higher multiple indicates that the risk is lower and as a buyer, I am more assured that your company is going to deliver the returns I expect.

Once that multiple is applied to the future economic benefit, that is the indication of value of the company. However, it is important to use the correct future economic benefit stream. Some measure of the cash flow will likely be the stream. The one most often heard is Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA). EBITDA is a good measure because it shows what cash is truly available. However, that is only one benefit stream. For a particular company it may be net income or revenue. If you apply the same multiple to each of these benefit streams, you will arrive at three different answers.

Ultimately, every company is different and unique. The company is worth something in the eyes of someone. It depends on whom that someone might be. The motivations of the buyer and the seller are different. So take the time to understand the purpose of the valuation and take care to ask the right questions.

This blog post has been authored by our sponsor, Mastercraft Advisors. 

About the author: Josh Weiss is an audit partner with Lutz and Company, PC. He provides assurance, accounting and consulting services to privately held companies. He specializes in the construction industry. He is also a member of the Lutz business valuation team and is accredited in business valuation. Weiss has been with Lutz for more than seven years and has previous national accounting firm experience.  

About our sponsor: Mastercraft Advisors combines expertise in the critical business areas of legal, banking, accounting and IT tailored to meet the needs of startups and entrepreneurs. Four established and respected organizations—Advent IP, First National Bank, Koley Jessen and Lutz—have come together in Omaha’s Mastercraft building to bridge the gap between startups and service providers and better serve this important segment of the business community.

AdFreeq's adBoard offers users the ability to curate and share classifieds.

The newspaper industry's print model has hit a rough patch—its outdated pricing strategies continually fail to produce reliable revenue. And with local classifieds moving online, it's easy to see why some small-town papers have folded.

But Peter Meng (left) thinks he can help publishers monetize their online presence with a new-age version of the classifieds. He co-founded his solution, adFreeq, to connect sellers with niche markets.

"We're trying to personalize classified ads," he said. "We want it to be less intrusive and more and more about the presentation, so stuff finds you based on your interests."

The startup's app can live on any publisher's site as an "adPortal," which pulls in contextual data in order to serve targeted ads.

And publishers are interested.

"We've presented it to customers and they literally said 'we're salivating over this,' " Meng said. "It's encouraging that you've built the right product for your customer." Earlier this month, adFreeq classifieds began appearing (below) on the Columbia Missourian's newspaper website.

What sets adFreeq apart from traditional web-based ad providers is the hyper-local, user-generated content. So if you're reading an article about the St. Louis Cardinals' opening day roster, adFreeq might serve up local offerings from folks selling tickets.

Meng got the idea about four years ago, when Twitter launched its search feature. He was fascinated with the potential of social and location-based ads. Two years later, Meng pitched adFreeq for the Missouri School of Journalism's Reynolds Fellowship.

Missouri gave him the go-ahead to start research in Fall 2011. "We were able to prove that the market validated it, that the customers wanted and needed it," Meng said. "This wasn't an idea that we were throwing up against the wall, hoping it would work."

In Spring 2012 the startup finished its prototype, and earlier this year, adFreeq launched its first version.

The business' success hinges on three users: publishers, sellers and buyers. Meng said adFreeq benefits the lot. Publishers want in because they get a cut—70 percent—of the posting fees. AdFreeq lets sites control parameters such as pricing and topic matter through embedded adPortals. Sellers get access to a specific market, and buyers get an aggregated, personalized feed of products, along with search and filtering features that help adFreeq outshine sites like Craigslist.

AdFreeq also aims to stand out with a Pinterest-like feature called adBoards, which lets users curate and share classifieds they're interested in.

Teams in two countries are building the startup: a U.S. squad led by Meng and a China team captained by co-founders Chris Eckhardt and Ryan Tang.

The U.S. branch is funded by a $50,000 investment from Capital Innovators—a St. Louis, Mo., startup accelerator—and Meng's $80,000 fellowship. The startup last week added another $50,000 from St. Louis when it earned an Arch Grant. As a result, Meng said his company will add a sales office in the city.

In China, the government granted adFreeq $160,000, which was enhanced by an angel investor—they're hoping to launch that version by month's end.

AdFreeq plans to make that money back by taking 30 percent of each posting fee. Meng aims to get adPortals on 200 to 300 sites in the next 6 months, but noted that hooking bloggers could accelerate the process.

"If we build like we think we can and create a viral product that a lot of blogs will want to have, it's going to be significant," he said.

They're also working to grow their network of providers; Meng's goal is to have 10 million user and business ads within system by the end of the year.

Here's an adFreeq promotional video outlining how it works and why it benefits publishers.

Credits: Screenshots from adfreeq.com and columbiamissourian.com. Peter Meng photo from rjionline.org. AdFreeq video courtesy adFreeq.