Monday, October 10, 2011

bizperc Coworking Space Buzzes on First Friday: Networking, a Visit from the Mayors and Entrepreneur Corner


The Crossroads Arts District is always buzzing come the first Friday of every month.  After all, the district opens many of its art galleries, businesses and restaurants to the public for First Fridays and attracts hundreds of Kansas City residents and visitors to the artsy and eclectic area.  But add in a big-time networking breakfast, an extremely collaborative afternoon, a meeting with the mayors of Kansas City and an evening of entrepreneurial networking, and it's easy to see why so many people are joining in on the buzz.

We're talking about what bizperc went through on Friday, October 7th.  Sure, it was the First Friday of the month, so many of the bizperc tenants knew that it would be a busy, energetic and collaborative day.  But last Friday seemed to be so much more than that. 

bizperc, the modern Kansas City coworking space for entrepreneurs and startups, opened a little over a year ago in the heart of the Crossroads Arts District.  Surrounded by quaint pizza parlors, thriving small businesses and an artsy atmosphere, bizperc became not only a coworking space, but a place for people to meet, get educated, and have fun.

It all started on Friday morning when I attended the Social Media Club of Kansas City's networking breakfast at the Kansas City Cafe; a hop, skip and a jump away from bizperc.  About 80 entrepreneurs, social media gurus and marketing experts networked, enjoyed a breakfast buffet and listened to insight from the founder of Water.org.  During the event, I of course had to promote the upcoming Entrepreneur Bootcamp, the Gigabit Challenge and Entrepreneur Corner -- all initiatives of Think Big Partners and bizperc.  During my short talk, I saw many faces light up.


In the afternoon, as I was working in bizperc, I couldn't help but notice the outstanding collaboration that was happening within the space.  Entrepreneurs were working with other entrepreneurs, conference calls were taking place in conference rooms and drop-ins were coming by to take a quick tour of the space.

Around 4:00 PM, bizperc was lucky enough to have both the Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri mayors stop by for a quick tour and meeting with Think Big Partners.  The honorable Sly James and the honorable Joe Reardon as well as many other political figures in Kansas City came to see what the bizperc and TBP buzz was all about.

 

Finally, the busy First Friday finished up with Entrepreneur Corner that took place in bizperc's parking lot right off of 18th and Baltimore.  Life Equals, a Kansas City startup that provides specialty supplements and daily essential vitamins (and donates a percentage of every purchase to the Vitamin Angels) brought in a fun photo booth.  Other entrepreneurs and startup companies from Kansas City exhibited their own products and services, complete with company pamphlets, prize drawings and free beer!


Whew.  What a day it was at the bizperc coworking space.  But the truth of the matter is, the busier we are, the more Kansas City will benefit.  After all, startups, small business and a strengthened economy have to come from somewhere- and we believe that one of those places could be bizperc.

Written by Allison Way
@AllisonThinkBig

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