In the News
Press coverage, awards, podcast appearances, and community highlights from Bill Udell and Don’t Panic Labs.
Building a Really Snappy Offline-First Flow with TanStack Query
Chad Michel explores implementing an offline-first architecture using TanStack Query, where the local cache serves as the UI's source of truth rather than the backend. Combines optimistic updates with a mutation queue in IndexedDB for instant, seamless interactions regardless of network conditions.
Don't Panic Labs Blog · Chad MichelHow to Spot Bad Code (Even If You Don’t Write Any)
Chad Michel, DPL’s CTO, shares a practical field guide for spotting problematic code without writing any — thirteen common code smells anyone can catch.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogNot Another AI Talk — Brian Zimmer at Nebraska.Code() 2026
Brian Zimmer explores the leadership and human decisions that will determine whether AI creates a future of greater meaning—or simply accelerates what’s already broken. Presented at Nebraska’s premier software development conference, Nebraska.Code() 2026.
Don’t Panic Labs / Nebraska.Code() 2026Signal vs. Noise: Optimizing Human Communication for High-Performance Teams
Anne Ruskamp and Andrew Rush explore how effective communication and collaboration — not coding syntax — differentiate high-performing software teams in an AI-driven world.
Nebraska.Code() 2026 · July 23, 2026The Framework That Stuck: Turning Military Resistance Into Systematic Innovation
Lindsey Hruby-Yardley on driving transformation in change-resistant organizations — lessons from military settings that apply to corporate and startup teams.
Nebraska.Code() 2026 · July 23, 2026Deploying Containers to Azure App Services
Chad Michel, CTO at Don’t Panic Labs, shares how to run a full-stack app on Azure App Services using Docker, Caddy, NestJS, and Angular in a single image—with zero-downtime deployments via GitHub Actions and Azure Container Registry.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogPolicies Don’t Lead
Bill Udell on why AI adoption stalls when organizations lead with policy instead of leadership. After a year of helping clients — and DPL itself — figure out what AI means for their business, one pattern is clear: policies protect, but they don’t lead. People do.
Don’t Panic Labs Blog (Bill Udell)It’s Just Config
Chad Michel on the most dangerous phrase in software: “it’s just config.” A one-line change merged at 4:58 on a Friday quadruple-charged 3,800 customers — and why configuration deserves the same engineering rigor as code.
Don’t Panic Labs Blog (Chad Michel)Don’t Panic Labs Hosts Lincoln AI Meetup on Designing UI for an Agentic World
Silicon Prairie News spotlights the Lincoln AI meetup at Don’t Panic Labs on July 14, featuring the talk “The Interface Is Dissolving: Designing UI for an Agentic World” — bringing DPL’s recent thinking on agentic UI to an in-person community conversation.
Silicon Prairie News — July 8, 2026The Interface Is Dissolving
Chad Michel on how AI agents are ending twenty years of point-and-click software design. When software can understand what you want and act on its own to get there, the interface stops being the product — and the way we build changes with it.
Don’t Panic Labs Blog (Chad Michel)Quality Isn’t Tested In, It’s Layered In
Chad Michel on why quality can’t be bolted on at the end. A project DPL shipped in six weeks then spent another six weeks stabilizing taught a lasting lesson: quality is layered in from the start, not tested in at the finish.
Don’t Panic Labs Blog (Chad Michel)Building with the GitHub Copilot SDK, Part 8: Sketch-First UI Design
In Part 8 of his GitHub Copilot SDK series, DPL CTO Chad Michel adds a sketch-first UI option that uses Bootstrap to test layouts fast, letting you validate a design before committing to a full framework.
Don't Panic Labs BlogGitHub Squad: Your AI Dev Team Living Inside the Repo
DPL CTO Chad Michel walks through GitHub Squad, a tool that spins up a small team of specialized AI coding agents — lead, frontend, backend, and tester — directly inside your repository using the GitHub Copilot CLI, with the whole team version-controlled in a .squad/ directory.
Don't Panic Labs BlogTokens Are the Unit
Now in the CTO seat, Chad Michel breaks down why “What’s this going to cost per month?” has become a first-order engineering question — and how token economics now drive staffing, budgeting, and architecture decisions for AI-powered software.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogBuilding with the GitHub Copilot SDK, Part 7: A UX Design Tool That Actually Keeps Up
Chad Michel's seventh installment in the Copilot SDK series closes the gap between an idea for a layout and a running prototype, building a UX design tool that turns plain-language prompts into working UI without waiting on a backend.
Don't Panic Labs BlogFour New Pathways Graduates
Dominic, Jim, Valerie, and Cooper completed Don't Panic Labs' latest Pathways Program cohort, each finishing the months-long program as software engineers. Sponsored by the City of Lincoln, Mutual of Omaha, and Anchovy.
Don't Panic Labs Blog (Chad Michel)Zero Gravity Prototyping with Google Antigravity
Chad Michel explains how to keep frontend development moving before the backend is ready, using Google Antigravity's browser-aware AI agent to prototype against mock data.
Don't Panic Labs BlogBuilding with the GitHub Copilot SDK, Part 6 – Styling with CSS Design Tokens and Themes
Chad Michel's sixth installment in the Copilot SDK series tackles making the app look as polished as it works, walking through CSS design tokens and theming across the desktop application.
Don't Panic Labs BlogDon’t Panic Labs Announces Ninth Annual Towel Drive for People’s City Mission
DPL is collecting towels for People’s City Mission May 11–25 in its ninth annual Towel Day drive, inspired by Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Don’t Panic Labs · May 11, 2026Nobody Wants to Do Maintenance
Chad Michel on the technical debt gap nobody talks about: AI coding assistants make building faster, but they don’t make maintenance easier. If we ship code we don’t understand, we own the future cleanup.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogDon’t Panic Labs Coaches UNL Startup Studio Students
Don’t Panic Labs Chief Product Officer Brian Zimmer is featured for his coaching of UNL Startup Studio team Creevo, helping students “open doors” and discover new career pathways while building real products.
Silicon Prairie NewsRespirAI Showcases COPD Wearable Algorithm at Idea Pub: Morning Edition
DPL portfolio company RespirAI Medical joined a slate of early-stage Nebraska startups in Omaha, where Managing Director of U.S. Operations Jonell Tempero presented the company’s wearable-device algorithm that can predict COPD flare-ups hours or even days before they begin.
UNeMed — May 1, 2026DPL’s Brian Zimmer Recognized by Creevo Team After Year of Coaching
UNL student-led startups share progress following a year of work and $100K investment. DPL Chief Product Officer Brian Zimmer is recognized by the Creevo team for his coaching throughout Startup Studio.
Silicon Prairie NewsThe Five Stages of Developer Grief
Chad Michel reframes developer pushback against AI coding tools as grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance — arguing the foundations of software engineering (decomposition, design tradeoffs, systems thinking) matter more now, not less. Don't panic, adapt.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogBrian Zimmer Wins 2026 Startup Executive Award
Don’t Panic Labs Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Product Officer Brian Zimmer received the Startup Executive Award at the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship’s 2026 Entrepreneur Awards in Lincoln.
Silicon Prairie NewsFrom Journey to Intention: The New UX Shift in the Age of AI
Bob Whitmer reflects on the parallels between the 1989 desktop publishing shift and today's AI transformation, exploring how UX is evolving from designing interfaces to designing outcomes — framing problems, designing systems (not just screens), and balancing speed with intention.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogBuilding with the GitHub Copilot SDK, Part 5 – Pulling Calendar Data from Outlook
Chad Michel continues the series, showing how to integrate Outlook calendar data using Microsoft Graph to surface real-time insights on schedule and focus time.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogLincoln's Family-Friendly Workplace Program Triples to 39 Employers
The Lincoln Family-Friendly Workplace Certification Program, which named Don't Panic Labs among its inaugural 13 employers in December 2025, has grown to 39 certified employers — recognizing companies that adopt practices like paid parental leave, hybrid options, and caregiver resources.
KLIN News/Talk 1400Generating Better Test Plans with AI Starts with Better Documentation
Don't Panic Labs explores how AI can help QA teams move faster — but only when documentation provides the right context for generating meaningful, risk-aware test plans.
Don't Panic Labs BlogThe Talent Pipeline Flush
Don't Panic Labs examines why tech companies reporting record profits are simultaneously laying off thousands — and why the real story is workforce transformation, not reduction.
Don't Panic Labs BlogDon’t Panic Labs Joins “What? Like It’s Hard?” Conversation Series for Women
DPL Innovation Consultant Lindsey Hruby-Yardley co-presents “Any Cosmo Girl Would Have Known” — the first of three honest morning conversations with women on resilience, strategy, and the connections that actually move the needle. The Nook at Escape Lincoln, May 27.
Don’t Panic LabsThe Village We Build at Work
Lindsey Hruby-Yardley explores how supporting new mothers in the workplace strengthens teams and drives innovation, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity and understanding.
Don't Panic Labs BlogThe LLM Is the New Runtime
Don’t Panic Labs explores a fundamental shift in AI tool design: moving away from bundled LLMs toward tools that leverage users’ existing model subscriptions via open standards like MCP — the same pattern that transformed SaaS database architecture fifteen years ago.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogDon’t Panic Labs Partners with Nebraska Tech Collaborative on State Tech Workforce Dashboard
After partnering last summer with the Nebraska Tech Collaborative on a software engineering skills assessment, DPL co-founder Doug Durham helped guide NTC’s next step — a new Lightcast-powered dashboard giving Nebraska policymakers and educators clearer data on the state’s tech workforce.
Silicon Prairie News — March 31, 2026Building with the GitHub Copilot SDK, Part 4 – Building Mermaid.js Diagrams
Don’t Panic Labs demonstrates building Mermaid.js diagram generation with the GitHub Copilot SDK — describe a diagram in plain language and the SDK generates accurate, hallucination-free visuals from your actual codebase.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogDon’t Panic Labs at the 2026 Nebraska Women in Tech Summit
Don’t Panic Labs participated in the 2026 Nebraska Women in Tech Summit (March 6 at Kiewit La Vista), supporting the Nebraska Tech Collaborative’s mission to celebrate and empower women in technology across the state.
Nebraska Tech Collaborative / Silicon Prairie NewsDon't Panic Labs Speaking at Nebraska.Code() 2026
DPL's Anne Ruskamp and Brian Zimmer will lead "Diverge, Then Converge" on July 22 — an interactive workshop exploring product lifecycle techniques and ideation methods DPL has refined over 15 years to help teams unlock novel solutions.
Don't Panic LabsDon’t Panic, Adapt
Worried AI is coming for your job? Don’t Panic Labs explores the real impact of AI on white-collar roles, emphasizing augmentation over automation and how to adapt effectively.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogDon’t Panic Labs at YP Summit 2026: AI, Data, and the Future of Work
DPL Chief Product Officer Brian Zimmer joined a panel discussion on how young professionals can stay ahead in the AI era at YP Summit 2026, the country’s largest young professionals’ conference, hosted at the CHI Health Center in Omaha.
Don’t Panic LabsBuilding with the GitHub Copilot SDK, Part 3 – Tracking Project Progress
In Part 3 of this series, Chad Michel shows how to leverage the GitHub Copilot SDK to manage project designs and track progress with Earned Value charts.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogAI Replacing Software Developers? What the Latest Research Actually Shows
Don’t Panic Labs examines the data: smarter AI-augmented workflows, new developer roles, and a profession that adapts rather than disappears.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogBuilding with the GitHub Copilot SDK, Part 2 – Wiring Up an Electron + Angular Desktop App
Part 2 of the GitHub Copilot SDK series covers integrating the SDK into an Electron and Angular app with a secure, streaming-capable architecture.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogSpecialized Models Beat General LLMs (Sometimes)
Don’t Panic Labs explores why domain-specific models for JavaScript and TypeScript—trained on curated data—can outperform larger general-purpose LLMs while using fewer resources.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogPrairie Portraits: Jonell Tempero, RespirAI Medical
Silicon Prairie News profiles Jonell Tempero, Managing Director of U.S. Operations at DPL partner RespirAI Medical, on building an AI-powered wearable for COPD patients and growing a health-tech startup in Nebraska.
Silicon Prairie NewsPulling Data from Microsoft Access to CSV: What I Built and Why
A Don’t Panic Labs engineer shares a practical solution for extracting Microsoft Access database tables to CSV files on Mac, tackling a real-world client data migration challenge with a custom-built toolchain.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogPutting a UI on My Access-to-CSV Converter
A Don’t Panic Labs engineer transforms a command-line Access-to-CSV tool into a clean web app using Flask and Bootstrap — a practical demonstration of how a small UI investment dramatically improves a developer utility’s real-world usability.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogAgent Chat using LangChain, Part 2 – Token Streaming with WebSockets
Don’t Panic Labs demonstrates how to build real-time AI agent interactions using LangChain and WebSockets for live token streaming in a NestJS backend application.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogCombat Agents: Automating Volatility-Based Decomposition
Chad Michel walks through a team of four LangChain agents that infer code volatility from real repository signals — churn, commit patterns, complexity, and dependencies — then reconcile their findings to guide architectural decomposition.
Don’t Panic Labs BlogNebraska Women in Tech Summit Returns at Kiewit La Vista
The 2026 Nebraska Women in Tech Summit brought together hundreds of innovators, leaders, and changemakers at Kiewit La Vista for networking, panels, and the Nebraska Women in Tech Awards honoring achievements in tech innovation, mentorship, diversity, and emerging talent.
Aksarben Foundation · Nebraska Tech CollaborativeGrazeStat Selected for 2026 LaunchLNK Grant Program
Don't Panic Labs partner GrazeStat selected as one of six high-growth startups for the 2026 LaunchLNK grant program, receiving $50,000 in grants plus business support services from LPED.
1011 NOW / LPEDBuilding with the GitHub Copilot SDK: Getting Started
Don't Panic Labs published the first in a series on building with GitHub's Copilot SDK, exploring how teams can integrate AI-powered coding assistance directly into their development workflows and custom tooling.
Don't Panic Labs BlogKIMTO Selected for 2026 LaunchLNK Grant Program
Don't Panic Labs partner KIMTO selected as one of six high-growth startups for the 2026 LaunchLNK grant program, receiving $50,000 in grants plus business support services from LPED.
1011 NOW / LPEDDoomsun Selected for 2026 LaunchLNK Grant Program
Doomsun, a resident of Don't Panic Labs' coworking space, selected as one of six high-growth startups for the 2026 LaunchLNK grant program, receiving $50,000 in grants plus business support services from LPED.
1011 NOW / LPEDNebraska Business Innovation Act Receives Funding Boost
Gov. Pillen announced increased appropriation for BIA programs from $2M to $5M beginning in FY 2026–2027, strengthening support for Nebraska startups and business innovation.
Office of Governor Jim PillenLincoln Chamber Cornerstone Award
Don't Panic Labs named recipient of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce 2025 Cornerstone Award at the Celebrate Business ceremony.
Lincoln Chamber of CommerceNebraska Chamber Partners with CareerPathway.com to Boost Workforce Development
Don't Panic Labs partner CareerPathway.com, founded by Bo Jones, announces a strategic partnership with the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce to strengthen the state's workforce pipeline. Now active in 48 states with nearly 400 Nebraska businesses engaged.
Nebraska Chamber of CommerceBulu Acquired by The Avid Group, Expanding Lincoln Operations
Don't Panic Labs partner Bulu acquired by The Avid Group, retaining its Lincoln headquarters and leadership. The deal adds 50,000 sq ft of warehouse space and over 100 jobs to the Lincoln economy.
Silicon Prairie NewsLincoln Family-Friendly Workplace Certification
Don't Panic Labs certified as a Lincoln Family-Friendly Workplace by Lincoln Littles and LPED, one of only 13 employers recognized for supporting working families.
Lincoln Partnership for Economic DevelopmentBill Udell Elevated to Managing Partner at Don't Panic Labs
Co-founder Doug Durham transitions from day-to-day operations as Bill Udell steps into the managing partner role alongside his COO duties. Brian Zimmer, Lori McCarthy, and Chad Michel also receive major leadership promotions, reflecting the company's deep bench and continued growth.
Silicon Prairie NewsRespirAI Named 2025 Startup of the Year at UNeMed Innovation Awards
DPL partner RespirAI Medical was named 2025 Startup of the Year at the UNeMed Innovation Awards, recognizing their AI-powered wearable for early detection of COPD exacerbations. The company has secured over $1.5M in funding and is raising a $4M Series A for FDA clinical trials.
UNMC NewsroomFinding Joy in the Work and in What Comes Next
Don't Panic Labs co-founder Doug Durham reflects on 15 years of building the company — the relationships, the meaningful work, and the fulfillment that comes from helping build Nebraska's innovation ecosystem — as he transitions from daily operations with gratitude and no regrets.
Don't Panic Labs BlogTen Hour Challenge x JumpStart Challenge
Don't Panic Labs hosts the combined Ten Hour Challenge and JumpStart Challenge hackathon, bringing together innovators, designers, and developers.
Silicon Prairie NewsDon't Panic Labs Hosts Nebraska Women of Color in Tech Meetup
In honor of International Women's Day, Don't Panic Labs partnered with the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce to host a meetup celebrating the leadership, resilience, and impact of women of color in Nebraska's tech industry, featuring panels on career pivots, mentorship, and inclusive spaces.
Nebraska Women of Color in Tech Meetup GroupCorralTech Secures $1.38M to Scale Virtual Fencing for Ranchers
Don't Panic Labs partner CorralTech, a Nebraska agtech company developing virtual fencing solutions for ranchers, secured $1.38M in funding led by Chicago-based M25 with participation from Grit Road Partners and Invest Nebraska.
Silicon Prairie NewsRespirAI Medical Awarded Phase II Academic R&D Grant by Nebraska
DPL partner RespirAI Medical receives a Phase II Academic R&D Grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, advancing their AI-powered wearable platform for remote monitoring of chronic respiratory patients.
RespirAI MedicalNebraska's Unlikely Tech Hub
Design News features Lincoln's emergence as a tech hub, with Bill Udell quoted on why Lincoln's environment is uniquely conducive to startup innovation.
Design NewsHow Lincoln, Nebraska, Quietly Built One of the Midwest’s Most Surprising Tech Hubs
Grit Daily profiles Lincoln’s tech ecosystem with Bill Udell on Don’t Panic Labs’ role launching Nebraska Global, sparking 200+ software products and startups including Ocuvera and EliteForm.
Grit Daily NewsNasdaq TradeTalks: Lincoln's Startup Ecosystem
Bill Udell joins Jason Ball and Kathy Andersen on Nasdaq TradeTalks to spotlight Lincoln's thriving tech and startup community on national television.
Nasdaq / Lincoln ChamberPrairie Portraits: Bill Udell
Featured in Silicon Prairie News' Prairie Portraits series on building systems that do real good and the mission of Don't Panic Labs.
Silicon Prairie News / Bio NebraskaKCDC 2025 Speaker
Bill Udell and Brian Zimmer present "From Ideas to Action: A Hands-On Innovation Workshop" at the Kansas City Developer Conference.
May 2025Don't Panic Labs Celebrates 15 Years
Marking 15 years of providing technical expertise to founders, having worked with over 200 companies across 20+ states.
Silicon Prairie NewsRespirAI Expands Clinical Trials with Mayo Clinic for AI-Powered COPD Monitoring
DPL partner RespirAI Medical expanded clinical trials in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, evaluating their AI-powered wearable platform for remote monitoring of COPD patients.
Jewish Business NewsRespirAI and Right at Home Secure BIRD Foundation Grant for Home Health Innovation
DPL partner RespirAI Medical, in collaboration with Omaha-based Right at Home, secured a grant from the Israel-U.S. BIRD Foundation to advance their AI-powered home monitoring platform for chronic pulmonary conditions.
Right at HomemySalesman Expands Into Deck, Roof, and Pressure Washing Markets
Don't Panic Labs partner mySalesman, the Lincoln-based contractor estimating platform, expands its services beyond fencing into deck, roof, and pressure washing businesses.
Strictly Business MagazineLincoln Chamber Podcast
Bill Udell discusses Don't Panic Labs' approach to software product innovation and supporting Nebraska's entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Lincoln Chamber of CommerceDon't Panic Labs Moves to Telegraph District
Relocating to Lincoln's Telegraph District to improve partner collaboration and host more community events.
Don't Panic LabsBest Places to Work in Lincoln
Recognized as one of Lincoln's Best Places to Work in the Medium-Sized Company category for the third consecutive year.
Lincoln Journal StarVirtual Incision Receives FDA Authorization for World's First Miniaturized Surgical Robot
Don't Panic Labs partner Virtual Incision receives FDA marketing authorization for the MIRA Surgical System, the world's first miniaturized robotic-assisted surgery device. The Lincoln-based company holds over 200 patents.
Virtual Incision / MedTech DiveLincoln Leaders: Bill and Tina Udell
Lincoln Journal Star profiles Bill and Tina Udell in their Lincoln Leaders series.
Lincoln Journal StarStep Up Award
Don't Panic Labs honored with the Step Up Award for community contribution.
Lincoln Journal StarHealthy Under Pressure: Don't Panic Under Pressure
Bill Udell on the Healthy Under Pressure podcast discussing building cool things, running for mental agility, and leading by example.
Healthy Under PressureMyLNK: Technology for Families in Need
Don't Panic Labs partners with Leadership Lincoln to create the MyLNK app, connecting families to human services resources. Now used by 10,000+ people.
Silicon Prairie News