10 Midwest Startups Selected for Think Big Showcase in Silicon Valley

Last week, Think Big Partners revealed the 10 startup companies that will participate in the Think Big Showcase, a highly-intensive, multi-day pitchfest for entrepreneurs who live in the Midwest and want to get in front of investors from startup hubs such as Silicon Valley, Boston and New York.


This Spring, Think Big Partners has invited 10 startups to travel to Silicon Valley to participate in the Silicon Valley Bank Showcase and the Think Big Showcase at the end of March.  The startups include:


Audio Anywhere (Bixy): Audio Anywhere aims to increase ad revenues for online media platforms by a factor of 10.  Ads are created through Bixy, the company’s self-service ad platform. Bixy is like Google AdWords for personalized interactive ads. Businesses utilize the Bixy toolkit to create their own ads in less than 5 minutes for as little as $50.


Eyeverify: Eveverify brings to market a software authentication module that will leverage the onboard cameras on mobile devices to take images of the blood vessels in the whites of the eyes to use as a unique biometric identifier, ultimately answering the question: who is holding the phone?


Klink: KlinkMobile enables the transfer of cellular airtime minutes and currency via a proprietary, cloud-based financial transaction platform.


LockerDome: Backed by Square co-founder, Jim McKelvey, LockerDome is one of the hottest sports startups in the country. LockerDome aims to be a person’s sports identity. The bet we've made is that people have 3 big personas in their life: social, professional, and recreational. Facebook covers social. LinkedIn covers professional. LockerDome wants to cover sports/recreational - an area that we believe people are more passionate about than any of the others and the only one of the three areas that completely transcends international borders.


LiveOn: LiveOn aims to be the brand that consumers and businesses trust to preserve their digital legacy.


ABPathfinder: ABPathfinder brings technology to Autism therapy by providing tools for therapists to use in their everyday assessments.

InvenQuery: InvenQuery is a technology platform with mobile application that seamlessly integrates inventory management and point-of-sale, with the ability to administer and publish an e-commerce website. IQ software is agile, scalable and easy to use while maintaining sophisticated reporting mechanisms managers depend on to measure success.

RollSale: RollSale has created a technology that will disrupt the traditional ways in which automotive dealers conduct their wholesale trade. RollSale is a communications platform where dealers are able to connect with other dealers in an environment that mimics the function and usability of common social networks.

SEIN Analytics: SEIN is bringing to market an open cloud application and database for analyzing asset-backed securities (ABS). SEIN is leveraging its proprietary web scraping and data mining technology to rapidly standardize data across all ABS categories. With $2.7 trillion in ABS outstanding, SEIN is directly addressing the pain points of this large market, while taking advantage of new regulatory proposals for increased transparency.

Kauzu: Kauzu is a company that seeks to innovate and empower the U.S. employment industry by providing a dynamic, online environment with unique tools to create meaningful, timely connections. Kauzu is like eHarmony.com meets eBay for the employment industry, which will make job search and hiring timely, active, and satisfying.


Gremln: Gremln.com makes it easy for businesses to easily and effectively market themselves and their products on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn. Gremln provides comprehensive messages management, success analytics and social media ROI analysis for businesses of every size. Engage, learn, and monitor return with Gremln.com. 

Best of luck to the Think Big Showcase startups! 

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005 Think Big Radio: Pitch Camp

An inside look at Think Big Partners' Pitch Camp, a multi-day event designed to take a startup's pitch to the next level.  Pitch Camp is preparation for the Flyover Field Trip; a highly-intensive, multi-day pitchfest for entrepreneurs who live in the Midwest and want to get in front of investors from tech and startup hubs in Silicon Valley, Boston and New York.  Tune in and hear from several different companies as they remark on what they have learned at Pitch Camp.

005 Think Big Radio: Pitch Camp

Listen on iTunes.  Rate Think Big Radio and leave a comment in iTunes here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/think-big-radio/id504864659

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Pitch Camp Grooms Midwest Startups for Think Big's Flyover Field Trip

Imagine receiving one-one-one pitch mentoring, collaborating with other entrepreneurs and participating mock question-and-answer sessions just 3 weeks before one of the most important moments in your entrepreneurial career: your pitch to investors.

Going through this process would probably make your pitch more clear, concise and compelling to those investors, wouldn't it?

That's why Think Big Partners held its first Pitch Camp this week; to prepare those Midwest startups selected to participate in the Flyover Field Trip for the scrutiny of Bay-area investors, the excruciating business plan questions and the nerves that many of them would face while pitching.

The Flyover Field Trip is a highly-intensive, multi-day pitchfest for entrepreneurs who live in the Midwest and want to get in front of investors from startup hubs such as Silicon Valley, Boston and New York.  At the end of March, those selected startups will join Think Big Partners and travel to Silicon Valley for the Silicon Valley Showcase and the Think Big Showcase in California, where they will have the chance to get in front of Bay-area investors to make their final pitch.

Pitch Camp, held this week at bizperc, prepped those entrepreneurs participating in Flyover Field Trip by incorporating a number of different coaching and mentoring sessions.  Because when you only have one shot to get in front of investors, you have to make it count.

Check out what the Flyover Field Trip entrepreneurs experienced this week at Think Big's Pitch Camp:


Day 1: The Deck

Entrepreneurs brought their "finished form" decks for review, discussion and refinement.  Think Big mentors made sure that all essential components were included in the deck and that the startups were presenting information in a clear and compelling manner.


Day 2: Turning the Deck into Presentation Knowledge

Entrepreneurs began the day by presenting segments of their pitch in group environments which helped them realize things about their presentations that they may not have realized before.  In this phase, startups underwent intense mock question-and-answer sessions and were evaluated on their ability to present information relative to their overall goal.


Day 3:  The Pitch

Practice makes perfect!  In this phase, each startup practiced their pitch over and over again until perfection.  Startups practiced their elevator pitches as well as their 7-8 minute presentations until they were clear, concise and compelling.

A few photos from Pitch Camp this week:

Startups were split up into groups to present their pitches.

A Pitch Camp group on the 6th floor of bizperc.

Willow of InvenQuery discusses her pitch strategy.

Herb Sih of Think Big Partners welcomes the Pitch Camp group.

Entrepreneurs' pitches were video taped to emulate a high-pressure experience.

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Think Big Partners Takes Midwest Startups on Flyover Field Trip to Silicon Valley

Think Big Partners has invited a number of Midwest startup companies to participate in what has become known as the Flyover Field Trip.  The Flyover Field Trip is a Think Big initiative that connects entrepreneurs to investors from tech and startup hubs such as Silicon Valley, Boston and New York.  The event is a highly-intensive, three-day pitchfest for Midwest startups hoping to get their businesses on the map. 

“In this highly-connected digital global economy, the Flyover Field Trip will bridge the gap between good ideas and funding sources,” said co-founder of Think Big Partners, Herb Sih.  “Instead of launching a startup company and hoping investors show up on Demo Day, we are taking a Midwestern-based, common sense approach to the situation.” 

In order to prepare the selected startups for the Flyover Field Trip, Think Big Partners is hosting a three-day Pitch Camp this week at its coworking space, bizperc.  Through peer dynamics, the PRISM process, question-and-answer sessions and intense pitch coaching, Pitch Camp will groom and perfect eight to ten different decks and pitches for the Flyover Field Trip at the end of March.   

“Why should only good ideas from Silicon Valley, Boston and New York get the funding attention?” asked co-founder of Think Big Partners, Tyler Prochnow.  “Great ideas come from every part of the country, including the flyover states.” 

“The Midwest offers some great things that are very important to entrepreneurs,” said Sih.  “We have a great quality of life, reasonable living costs, a collaborative mindset, combined with Midwestern sensibility.  Not to mention, we have strong work ethic.” 

Think Big Partners’ first Flyover Field Trip will take place March 21-23, 2012 in Menlo Park, San Francisco, Mountain View and Palo Alto, California.  On the Flyover Field Trip, a group of Midwest startups selected by Think Big Partners and Silicon Valley Bank will attend the Silicon Valley Seed Showcase, a briefing on WebFWD and Mozilla Ignite programs, the Think Big Showcase and much more.  To learn more about the Flyover Field Trip, please visit http://www.thinkbigpartners.com/events/flyover-fieldtrip.html.