Sunday - November 10, 2024

6:30 pm - 8:30 PM - VIP PARTY KICKOFF & Meet the Speakers @ THE CORNHUSKER

Must have VIP Ticket.





MONDAY - NOVEMBER 11, 2024 @ ROCOCO theatre


7:30 AM - 8:00 AM / Corporate table Set up @ EMA

8:00 am - 9:00 am / Registration & networking @ Rococo Theatre

9:00 am - 9:10 am / Brian Ardinger - Inside Outside Innovation, Director of Innovation at Nelnet & Author of Accelerated

Innovation Unfiltered

Get prepared to get the most out of IO2024. Start the day with a preview of the speakers and sessions to come, plus learn what it takes to navigate a new world of innovation.

9:10 am - 9:40 am / Alistair Croll - founder of Year One Labs AND author of Lean Analytics and Just Evil Enough

Just Evil Enough: Why subversive thinking is your most important skill

Every startup is a disagreement with the system. To win, you need to make the system behave in a way its creators didn't intend—you need to subvert it.  Alistair Croll and Emily Ross have spent the last decade understanding the tactics that underdogs use to unseat competitors and claim markets. In this keynote, Alistair explores how challengers create attention they can turn into profitable demand, what goes into a zero-day marketing exploit, and how to channel your inner evil genius without actually being evil.

9:40 am - 10:10 am / Tam Danier - managing director at Good Ideas Only

How To Spot A Good Idea: Designing Winners: Your Competitive Edge in Product Innovation

Tam Danier, an expert product and design strategist, shares the keys to discovering game-changing ideas by leveraging two innovative frameworks. With a dash of AI-infused insights, Tam will walk you through the transformative DVFU and WMBT methodologies, providing you with the tools to navigate the constantly changing world of products.

10:10 am - 10:40 am / Sean Sheppard - Managing Partner at FIFTHROW

The Fall of Consulting: Knowledge Work with Autonomous Agents

In this session, Sean Sheppard, Managing Partner of FifthRow, will discuss the shift from traditional venture building to automating innovation processes through autonomous technology. After 15 years of experience in venture building, FifthRow has developed the first Autonomous Innovation App and expanded its capabilities into an app store that offers service-as-software applications like Due Diligence and Regulatory Sensing. Sean will share practical lessons from implementing autonomous LLMs in Fortune 500 companies to enhance innovation and strategy efforts. The session will also cover the broader industry trends and future directions, providing a thoughtful perspective on how autonomous agents impact knowledge work in consulting.


10:40 am - 11:00 am / break - coffee & tea


11:00 am - 11:30 Am / Kaiser Yang - author of Crack the Code: 8 Surprising Keys to Unlock Innovation and co-founder of Platypus Labs

The 3 Core Mindsets of Innovators

We are living in unprecedented times. As many advantages of the past have become commoditized, competitive advantage has become elusive. Discover how. “The 3 Core Mindsets of Innovators” can elevate your creative confidence to solve complex challenges and seize opportunities in new and refreshing ways.

11:30 am - 12:00 pm / Megan Elliott - JOHNNY CARSON ENDOWED DIRECTOR IN EMERGING MEDIA ARTS

Emerging Media Arts: Where Tech, Science, Innovation, and Storytelling Meet

Interdisciplinary teams are the only way we will solve the world’s wicked problems and bring better futures into being.  Learn how the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts does it from the Center and the Edge.

12:00 pm - 1:30pm / lunch, tour & VR Experience - JOHNNY CARSON Center for EMERGING MEDIA ARTS

Come have lunch and celebrate the launch of a new virtual reality experience created by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln SEPA team in collaboration with the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts. MuMu: Worlds of Connections is your ticket to exploring life from many angles. Enter the Farm Lab and discover how animal, plant, and machine health are connected through shifting perspectives.

1:30 pm - 2:00 pm / Scott Wolfson - Managing Director at Valize

Subject to Change: An Augmented Innovator's Journey to (Re)Discover Rita McGrath

Buckle up for a discovery-driven odyssey with Scott Wolfson as he unveils the pivotal moments that led him from BCG to partnering with Rita McGrath, the "great-grandmother of lean startup." In this unfiltered keynote, Scott will share three powerful tools—ignorance mapping, incubation, and combinatory play—that have shaped his journey and can elevate your innovation capabilities. Learn how to navigate uncertainty, capitalize on inflection points, and create "unfair value" in a VUCA world. Whether you're a startup founder or a corporate innovator, you'll gain practical insights to drive impactful innovation and think with systems in today's complex business arenas.


2:00 pm - 2:30 pm / Sarah Plantenberg - author of Driving Outcomes AND co-founder of the IBM Garage

Amplify Innovation with Culture

If your team is not awash in brilliant ideas that are actually driving change in the market, how can you know if culture is the culprit holding you back?


2:30 pm - 3:00 pm / Morgan Keldsen - Chief International Officer at Kizik. previously at Nike, Converse, Vans, and Stussy

Technology's Impact on Legacy Industries: Hands-Free Innovation in the Footwear Space

Learn how Kizik, a global footwear company, is leveraging technology to disrupt the legacy footwear industry through hands-free shoe designs that improve accessibility and convenience.

3:00 pm - 3:30 pm / Break - drinks & Sweet SNACKS

3:30 pm - 4:00 pm / Rachel Joy Victor - co-founder of FBRC.AI - Creating AI-supported tools for the future of content production

Storytelling in our Computational Reality

Explore how emerging technologies and AI are revolutionizing the creation and consumption of stories in our digital age. Drawing from her experience developing AI-supported content production tools, Rachel Joy Victor will share insights into the future of storytelling, where computational innovation and human creativity converge to create more powerful, interactive, and accessible narratives than ever before.


4:00 pm - 4:30 pm / Mickayla Rosard - Partner at Groove Capital & Fellow at Forge North

Angels in the Ecosystem

Trends around who is participating as angel investors are shifting. This discussion will look at national trends and unpack regional findings to better understand who participates as angel investors. Understanding how these demographics are changing helps inform how to build thriving investor communities and make space for a new wave of angel investors coming online.

4:30 pm - 5:00 pm / Luke Hansen - Founder and CEO of CompanyCam

A Fireside Chat with the Founder of CompanyCam

Meet the unfiltered founder of CompanyCam and the rise of its business from the 2017 IO Summit to today.


5:00 pm - 8:30 pm / NMOTION & SPN startup week party - register at silicon prairie startup Week