1 Million Cups Norfolk

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1 Million Cups Norfolk

Caffeinating Norfolk's Startup Community every Wednesday!

A weekly community event designed to connect entrepreneurs and professionals to a supportive community.

06/12/2026

There are a lot of reasons to come to 1 Million Cups Norfolk on a Wednesday morning as a community member.

Whether you're looking to meet new people, support a local entrepreneur, get inspired by what's being built in your community, or just enjoy a good cup of coffee, there's something here for you.

Coffee and connecting starts at 8:30am with the presentation starting at 9:00am at Intersect Coworking & Incubator, 509 W Norfolk Ave. Free to attend and open to everyone.

06/11/2026

Yesterday at 1 Million Cups Norfolk, we heard from Ben and Dan Spray of Click Theory Capital, a private equity firm and venture studio that both starts its own companies and acquires established businesses, scaling them through AI integration and operational systems. They gave us a look at how they've combined multiple business units that operate separately but support each other from within. This setup allows each unit to evaluate its own ROI (return on investment) and determine whether a function is best handled in-house or outsourced to another unit under the Click Theory Capital umbrella.

06/09/2026

Last week we had Kara Kugler-Wright from the UNL School of Computing Senior Design present at 1 Million Cups Norfolk, and it was a great conversation about connecting those with the entrepreneurial mindset with technical talent.

UNL's Senior Design program pairs teams of 5-6 senior students with an industry or academic sponsor for a full year to build an actual software solution to a problem. Students put in roughly 1,500 hours across two semesters working in an agile structure with sprint cycles and milestone reviews, and the sponsor keeps 100% of the intellectual property when it's done.

This year's cohort had roughly 240 students working across 24 sponsored projects with sponsors ranging from Aulick Industries and Valmont to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska and Nelnet, covering everything from mobile apps and AI/machine learning to VR/AR, embedded systems, and web applications.

How does this connect to entrepreneurship you might ask? Students are running a startup-style engagement, identifying a problem, building under constraints, managing client relationships, and delivering a working product or minimum viable product, an MVP. Several projects this year were built for entrepreneurs and startups, including Anchovy and Penacle.

For early-stage entrepreneurs who need technical talent to validate an idea, the program's prototype and proof-of-concept project type is worth a look.

Thank you, Kara, for the great conversation and for sharing how programs like this can connect to what we're building here in Norfolk.

06/05/2026

If you've been seeing our posts and wondering what 1MC is all about, this one's for you. Swipe through to learn the story behind 1 Million Cups and why we're here in Norfolk. We meet every Wednesday at Intersect Coworking, with coffee and connecting starting at 8:30am and the presentations at 9:00am

05/28/2026

The June 1 Million Cups Norfolk presenter lineup is here and it's full. Please see below for an important note regarding the June 10th 1MC.

1MC is always free and open for anyone to attend. It's a great way to connect with entrepreneurs and Norfolk community members.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The June 10th 1MC with Dan Spray and Ben Spray will not be held at Intersect. This is due to a large number of expected attendees; 1MC will be held at PrecisionIT, 123 N 4th St, Norfolk, NE.

05/19/2026

In case you missed it, last week we welcomed Brittney Hoeft, the cottage baker behind The Bread Lady

Brittney specializes in all things sourdough: loaves in flavors like original, whole wheat, smoked cheddar jalapeño, chocolate chip, and much more, plus bagels and the occasional cinnamon rolls.

Her business started with 7 loaves sitting on her counter that her family simply couldn't finish. Rather than letting them go to waste, she started selling them, and a business was born.

When asked about competition in Norfolk, where several sourdough bakers are already at work, Brittney had a refreshing perspective. It's not a bad thing at all. Every baker brings something a little different to the table, and she encourages anyone with a business idea to go for it, even if someone else is already doing something similar. Make it your own. Take a walk down any bread aisle and you'll see just how many varieties and brands can exist side by side.

When asked what as a community we can do for her, she said spread the word! Brittney shared that word of mouth means everything to a small cottage business, so if you love her sourdough, tell someone.

05/18/2026

Our May 27 Open Coffee is now a presentation with Angela Smith from Spark. We hope to see you there!

02/27/2026

We’ve got a full lineup of speakers for March at 1 Million Cups Norfolk! Join us Wednesday mornings to support these entrepreneurs and community members. We hope to see you there!

02/18/2026

Swipe to check out the after, during, and before moments from 1 Million Cups Norfolk this morning! Yes, after first, because it’s opposite day. 😉

This morning was focused on learning how to fully lean into our strengths. We'd like to give a BIG thank you to Cara Hoehne from Northeast Community College for bringing her class and leading a conversation around CliftonStrengths and what it teaches us about how we think, work, and lead.

One of the highlights was hearing the college students share their strengths and explain how they would respond to different situations based on them. It was a great reminder that we all think differently, complete tasks, and approach challenges in our own way

This mornings key takeaways:
1. Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses
2. Teams are strongest when members bring different, unique talents
3.Everyone gets tasks done; they may just approach and complete them differently than you would

02/11/2026

Thank you to Jessi Doke from Mind Set Go Coaching for joining us at 1 Million Cups Norfolk today! ☕

Jessi shared what drove her to start her business and become an entrepreneur. She also talked about how small shifts in our mindset, and even the words we choose, can change the way we approach challenges, change, goals, and everyday tasks at work.

Address

Norfolk, NE

Website

https://www.1millioncups.com/s/community?community=norfolkne

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