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EKI-Digital and Quant16 - a Division of EKI-Digital
1330 Mike Fahey St., Omaha, NE 68102
33 West Monroe, Suite 1050, Chicago, IL 60603
https://www.eki-digital.com and https://www.quant16.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/eki-digital/about/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/quant16/
Hollis Williams
CEO EKI-Digital | Alpha Mission
hwilliams@eki-consulting.com
+1 (704) 264-7709
Yes
Hollis Williams - CEO EKI-Digital | Alpha Mission https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollis-williams/. As CEO, Williams leads EKI-Digital’s overall strategy for implementing data management programs and low-code technology for EKI-Digital clients, helping them optimize the greatest possible return on their IT investments. Previous to joining EKI-Digital, Mr. Williams was COO of Microsoft State and Local Government. Partnering closely with senior leaders across the organization, including US subsidiary leadership, finance, Civic Engagement & Legal Affairs, HR, and product leadership to drive strategic priorities and execution that benefit State and Local Government customers while producing strong business results. This work included engaging senior government officials and their organizations across the country to help implement digital transformation and serve citizens. Williams is deeply committed to partnerships between private companies and the public sector to advance technology outcomes for improving communities and is highly-focused on economic mobility and development for Black and Brown communities. Walter Hughes, Ph.D. - CEO Quant16 | Alpha Mission https://www.linkedin.com/in/walter-hughes-ph-d-06b62628/. As CEO of Quant 16, Hughes and his team help organizations identify and reduce enterprise spend inefficiencies and diversify supply chain partnerships by connecting them with Black and Hispanic vendors that can deliver world-class products and services. Prior to joining Quant16 and Alpha Mission, Hughes served as Global Head of Customer Support (AR/VR Devices) - Reality Labs (Meta). He is a highly-accomplished leader successful in building and motivating dynamic teams as a catalyst for positive and meaningful change. He has demonstrated repeat success leading design, development, and implementation of strategic and regulatory business transformation and is eager to apply his experience in leading the Quant16 and Alpha Mission teams in generating lasting and impactful change in businesses and communities such as Omaha around the country. Robert Blackwell, Jr. - Founder and Chairman - EKI-Digital | Quant16 | Alpha Mission | Killerspin https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-blackwell-jr/. A serial entrepreneur and self-proclaimed “Math Misfit”, Robert Blackwell, Jr. is the Founder of Killerspin (the world’s leading table tennis engagement brand), of EKI-Digital (a digital investment consulting firm), Quant16 (a transformative, algorithmic data-analytics company), and Alpha Mission (a non-profit dedicated to creating a path to end generational poverty by proving the free-enterprise system works for everybody). Mr. Blackwell, Jr. truly believes that numbers can transform organizations and lives. In addition to being a repeat founder in digital technology and analytics, he has written several papers and given many presentations related to the algorithmic identification of opportunities and is a seasoned advisor to both government and private sector companies to maximize IT investments. As a civically-engaged member of his community, an active board member, and businessman, Blackwell has dedicated himself proving that love is a verb and that when people of good will work alongside one another and “just do business”, communities can be transformed. Additional support will be hired as program proposal is approved.
EKI-Digital OICC will stand up a program management team to oversee all activities reporting directly to EKI-Digital CEO.
Corporate or Workforce Housing: 1. In 1995 Robert Blackwell Jr. created a company named Urban Fishing Development. The company was created to be a catalyst for economic transformation for North Kenwood/Oakland a neighborhood that had long suffered from many of the same challenges that North and South Omaha suffer from today. Today this neighborhood is a very successful and economically integrated black community. 2. Workforce housing helps communities attract and retain key employees while providing safe housing, which meets a critical social need. This will continue to be important as the price of single-family homes rises. At Meta, in conjunction with their partners in Lisbon, Portugal, they offered workforce housing for their Contact Center employees. By providing this offering, they were able to attract key talent from all over Europe to move and stay in Lisbon while also cutting attrition in half. This created better outcomes for employees and helped to revitalize the local community. Digital Trades: 1) EKI-Digital developed a contract management system for Motorola where we hired and trained a content librarian to ensure that the content was clean before it was deposited into the repository and that the people that needed context associated with the repository's contents. 2) For the Government of Bahrain, EKI-Digital created the national digitization process that created a new digital trades strategy that would ultimately lead to a sustained export industry. 3) Created strategic sourcing strategy for Cook County Government and other large organizations
Omaha Special Economic Modernization Proposal
75000000.0
75000000.0
Combination of capital project and service/program
EKI-Digital Omaha Innovation and Commercialization Campus (OICC) will help address the long-standing economic and community wellness disparities in North and South Omaha which were further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, by modernizing the economic ecosystem using sustainable, free market principals. OICC will: 1) build a new digital services export industry rooted in the Black and Hispanic communities that will contribute to the overall Nebraska tech economy. a. 275 new, desirable jobs b. Family-sustaining wages ($65K - $140K/year) c. Corporate housing benefits (averaging $17K/year) 2) support an increase of circulating financial resources within the community by driving prime and subcontracting opportunities to the existing businesses and emerging entrepreneurs which, in-turn, will further increase employment opportunities and community stability 3) contribute to “pride of place”, community resilience, and safety through construction of an innovative live-work campus, and supporting new beautification service businesses Through these efforts we will facilitate long-term, fundamental changes in economic health and overall community wellness for North and South Omaha’s residents. By building a new export industry galvanized by a wave of trained Black and Hispanic digital workers and thinkers, Omaha Innovation and Commercialization Campus will help North and South Omaha residents not only recover from the impacts of the pandemic but serve to help Nebraska become the regional hub for the evolving, global digital economy currently worth $5T in the U.S. alone. These skills can be applied in both new and existing industries to further enhance Nebraska’s existing export economy. Jobs can be both urban and rural, raising wages and creating sustainable economics throughout the state.
Timeline is in development.
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Fundamental Change (i.e., a proposal that will continue to elevate North or South Omaha's presence and perception within the region, significantly improving the lives of area residents through physical development) Long-Lasting Economic Growth (i.e., a proposal that will foster gainful employment opportunities and financial investment in the area, leading to the creation of generational wealth and widespread economic vitality in North and South Omaha) Transformational (i.e., a proposal that will help energize, recharge, or spur significant and favorable advancements in North or South Omaha's function or appearance)
Quality of Life (i.e., create or enhance natural spaces, mixed uses, parks, safety, etc.) Sustainable Community (i.e., create or enhance housing, services, education, civic uses, recreation, etc.)
The Omaha Innovation and Commercialization Campus will not only serve as a hub of innovation, but will help make Omaha a go-to destination for start-ups and innovative services. Additionally, the OICC team will partner with the City of Omaha and the State of Nebraska to serve as a national example for community revitalization, economic empowerment, and moving communities from poverty to prosperity through business engagement and economic wellness without increases in programming and human services. The modern economy is continuing to change and evolve. Developing skills in a new set of trades will not only provide family-sustaining wages, but can serve as a launching pad to long-term involvement in the modern, global digital economy. Corporate housing for EKI-Digital OICC employees will ease the financial burden of rent and home-maintenance and allow employees to save and invest at higher levels. Not only will this decrease reliance upon services in the near-term and relieve strain on local and state resources, but will support the type of wealth-building that leads neighborhoods - and their community members - in moving out of poverty and into the middle-class. OICC’s partnership in the creation and support of certification programs in modern digital trades will foster a new and diverse talent pool that will 1) help meet Nebraska’s rising demand for skilled technical workers, 2) help alleviate Nebraska’s “brain drain”, 3) support an export economy that will drive Nebraska’s overall economy and help put it at the forefront of the technology scene in desired global export areas, and 4) will contribute to the national - and international - conversation that typically under-represented populations in the digital space are thriving in Nebraska. The establishment of an innovative live-work campus that can be shared by the EKI-Digital OICC teams, community groups and organizations, business accelerators and incubators, creatives, etc. will support ideation, collaboration and community wellness.
North and South Omaha have deeply rooted cultures and their citizens are dedicated to the betterment of their community fellows. Citizens are looking to create a sustained economy that makes all of their community members stronger, safer, healthier, and more united as they move into the future. The Omaha Innovation and Collaboration Campus serves exactly that purpose. OICC will offer immediate training and jobs opportunities, a place to nurture ideas, collaboration and innovation, as well as support and learning for those who are entrepreneurial minded. This will not only propel individual citizens and their loved ones into greater prosperity, but will serve the community as a whole. OICC will clear and illuminate pathways to better jobs, business connections, and advanced opportunities that will help North and South Omaha’s citizens thrive. The inclusion of corporate housing also alleviates the added costs and stresses of finding and maintaining a residence, freeing up space for innovation, community engagement and volunteerism that lead to greater benefits for all.
EKI-Digital’s Omaha Special Economic Modernization Proposal closely aligns with the LB1024’s strategic priorities by partnering to create certificate learning programs in the digital trades, creating sustainable jobs in the modern digital economy that offer family-sustaining wages, and improving liveability through development of corporate housing and an accessible commercial innovation campus open to the community. All of which supports positioning Nebraska as a national leader in innovation and community revitalization.
1) 275 new, permanent jobs 2) Family-sustaining wages ($65K - $140K/year) 3) Corporate housing benefits (averaging $17K/year) See slides 1-4 of the Appendix for additional details.
275
TBD based on supporting corporate housing partners.
Family-sustaining wages ($65K - $140K/year). See Appendix for additional details.
In addition to the 275 jobs created, EKI-Digital will support an increase in traffic and service requests to existing businesses and emerging entrepreneurs which, in-turn, will further increase employment opportunities and community stability in QTC zip codes and adjacent areas
The Omaha Innovation and Commercialization Campus will help drive the narrative around our region - and especially, the North and South Omaha Communities - that Omaha is an area of innovation and creative technological thinking. Our campus and these communities will ultimately serve as a national example for thoughtful education, and commitment to community engagement and revitalization. The daily work of EKI-Digital will contribute significantly to the City and State’s ability to highlight the innovative technologies in which our teams are engaged. EKI-Digital is driving savings and spend analytics in a unique way that is having a national impact. Nebraska can be a part of that story. The employee compensation and benefits package will have a meaningful and statistically-significant impact on the financial health of North and South Omaha citizens and their physical communities. EKI-Digital’s investment in education and practical learning, will cultivate and then spotlight the talent-potential in Nebraska’s citizens to drive not only business transactions, but awareness of the business-friendly climate, incredible liveability, and the deep talent and resource pools in our state. OICC’s partnership in the creation and support of certification programs in modern digital trades will foster a new and diverse talent pool that will help meet hiring needs in Nebraska. Additionally, this will offer skilled remote work opportunities, allowing Nebraskan’s to remain locally engaged while still growing their careers. The OICC live-work campus will enable the natural “collision” of ideas and thoughts which are critical to impactful innovation.
Modernizing the economic ecosystem of Omaha using sustainable free market principals will take its citizens from poverty to prosperity. Perfecting this model will give other communities a roadmap to transformation.
Omaha Innovation and Commercialization Center will achieve this by 1) leading in and being supportive of entrepreneurial-led economic activity, 2) fostering an appreciation for education, and 3) building social capital (the idea of pulling others forward) to create both jobs and aspiration for young people
We will measure KPIs set by the LB2014 Grant Oversight Committee, desired community measures, as well as our own internal KPIs which are as yet to be determined but may include 1) number of Nebraska citizens professionally engaged in the digital realm of the modern economy, 2) increased contract value between Nebraska’s Black, Hispanic and white businesses, and 3) decreases in debt reduction and increases in savings of EKI-Digital OICC team members
We will use available employment and business data from Nebraska’s local and state government agencies, federal government measures and reports, and internal employee surveys. If circumstances dictate that an outside resource be hired for the most accurate results, we will engage a third-party provider.
Yes. By driving new prime and subcontracting opportunities to the North and South Omaha businesses and emerging entrepreneurs will, in-turn, have greater capacity to employ others with family-sustaining wage and benefits packages. Additionally, individuals and persons with more disposable income will be living and playing in their neighborhoods which will increase dollars spent at area establishments and businesses. This will drive growth, additional services, healthy market-competition, and greater investment.
Yes
Delivery Partner Organizations: OICC/IHub Design and Management Sankofa - Program Management, Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs - Program and Operations Design. Digital Trades: EKI-Digital - Content Librarians and Data Quant Services, Quant16 - Quantitative Strategic Sourcing / Category Management, Rheaply - Strategic Sourcing - Asset end of life Management. Community Services: IHub - Mowers and Blowers, Mentoring. Staffing Services: Sensa Group - Barber and Beauty Shop Network. Certificate and Training Delivery Partners: AquireIQ - Strategic Sourcing Training, Digital Trades and Entrepreneurial Certificate Programs North Carolina A&T Metro Community Colleges Creighton University. Workforce Housing: Shamrock Development - Omaha Developer, Milhouse Design - Black Development Company.
We expect to have all MOU and formal agreements completed in November of 2022.
No
To be selected if program proposal is approved
Will be developed and provided if program proposal is approved.
Document upload
Document upload
Yes
Our business approach uses the principals that have been successful in Venture Capital (VC) and Software as a Service (Says) which is a Freemium model in the early stages that then converts to paying customers over time and creates sustainable growth, employment and profitability.
EKI-Digital expects to commit financial resources to this efforts and is in conversations with other private sector organizations that have interest once project approval is confirmed.
See above.
Our plan is designated to be flexible as it relates to the sources, uses, and designation of funds. We believe that program management and technology services funding is key to long-term success of our plan.
Scalable models at $50M, $75M and $100M. Please see the Appendix in the document upload for details
See Appendix.
EKI-Digital and its ownership has made significant investments in local businesses and hiring. We expect to continue and accelerate.
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Data table of uses (breakdown of how the requested funds will be used for your proposal) Pro Forma Proposal Budget/Sources and Uses Request Rationale Documentation