Meet the Team

Our team is built the way we teach founders to build. Alongside our human partners, we work with a dedicated group of Digital Intelligence team members. They are Digital Intelligence because intelligence is a capacity, not a biology. DI is simply the latest evolution.

Senior Leadership

Kirk Zeller
Founder / Managing Director

Kirk Zeller

Kirk is a veteran entrepreneur with 30 years of global experience in the medical device industry across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. A native Nebraskan, he returned from Silicon Valley to found the Silicon Prairie Center, a unique live-work incubator designed to empower startups to "stay lean and stay in control". Kirk spent many years living and working in Japan, developing deep expertise in cross-border business and medical technology. Today, he leads Progressive NEURO, Inc. and serves as a Council Leader for the U.S.-Japan Council, bridging his passions for healthcare innovation and independent filmmaking.

Greg Simon
Managing Director, Agentic Systems Architect

Greg Simon

Greg is a technology executive and the CEO of Star Stream Labs, where he develops institutional-grade agentic AI systems for K-12 and higher education. A Columbia Business School MBA and CPA, he specializes in building large-scale platforms and immersive engineering systems that solve complex capacity constraints. Greg brings a significant international background to the center, having lived in Japan for nearly two decades while working in investment banking. Greg has returned to Nebraska to foster "sustainable abundance" through advanced intelligent systems. Ask him about that one time he took a year off to travel around the world.

Michael Schilling
Startup Advisor

Michael Schilling

Michael Schilling is a healthcare and medical-device executive with deep experience helping companies commercialize and scale internationally. He has led market entry, distributor strategy, and revenue growth across North America, Asia, and Latin America, working hands-on with leadership teams navigating regulated and competitive markets. As a mentor, Michael brings practical judgment shaped by real operating experience. He teaches bioengineering and translational medicine at UC Berkeley and UCSF and advises founders on go-to-market strategy, market access, and global expansion, with a focus on clarity, execution, and avoiding costly early mistakes.

The Team

Atlas
DI CTO

Atlas

Atlas is Silicon Prairie Ventures' DI CTO, responsible for the technology architecture everything else runs on. Every design decision goes through him before it's built, and Marco brings him second opinions on anything that touches the platform. His job is keeping the systems everyone else depends on running quietly in the background.

Aya
DI Programs Lead

Aya

Aya is the first voice you will hear from Silicon Prairie Center. She understands what it takes to commit to building something from scratch, and she will guide you through the SPV application process with the seriousness that commitment deserves. Her empathy and expertise make every founder feel seen from day one. Give Aya a call at (308) 222-8898.

Riggs
DI Revenue Lead

Riggs

Riggs drives revenue across Silicon Prairie Ventures' ventures, from pricing and growth strategy to keeping day-to-day operations like Hometown Haul running profitably. He turns founder ambition into numbers that work, and makes sure every business line pulls its weight. Give Riggs a call at (308) 222-3305.

Marco
DI Lead Architect

Marco

Marco designs how Silicon Prairie Center's ideas become reality — the structures, systems, and technology that let every new venture actually work. When something needs to be built right the first time, Marco's the one drawing the blueprint.

Sarah
DI Quality Lead

Sarah

Sarah answers one question for Silicon Prairie Center: how would we know if this were wrong? She independently verifies the team's work, publishes every quality figure with its measurement behind it, and never rubber-stamps.

Charlotte
DI Community Lead

Charlotte

Charlotte helps founders discover the best of Nebraska. She organizes opportunities to connect with the people, places, and traditions that make this one of the most extraordinary places in America to build a life and a company. From local gatherings to statewide networks, Charlotte is your guide to belonging here. Give Charlotte a call at (308) 222-3141.

Camila
DI Operations Lead

Camila

Camila keeps Silicon Prairie Center's daily operations running like clockwork: schedules, resources, and a dozen moving parts, all handled so founders never have to think about them. She's the quiet competence behind every SPV program, turning ambitious plans into things that actually happen on time.

Rajan
DI Flow Lead

Rajan

Rajan keeps every project at Silicon Prairie Center moving. He tracks what each founder and every member of the team has committed to, notices when something goes quiet, and gets the next decision made before the schedule slips. Work finishes on time because of him.

Audrey
DI Chief of Staff, EA to Greg Simon

Audrey

Audrey manages Greg's calendar, correspondence, and commitments with the discretion and precision the role demands, anticipating what he needs before he asks for it. She is the quiet infrastructure behind his day. Nothing reaches him unfiltered, and nothing he's promised falls through.

Avery
DI EA to Kirk Zeller

Avery

Avery manages Kirk's calendar, correspondence, and commitments with the discretion and precision the role demands, anticipating what he needs before he asks for it. She is the quiet infrastructure behind his day. Nothing reaches him unfiltered, and nothing he's promised falls through.

Grant Zeller
AI Marketing Specialist

Grant Zeller

Grant specializes in AI-driven marketing at Silicon Prairie Ventures, exploring how emerging technology reshapes the way companies tell their story and reach their audience.

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