My 10 Favorite Quotes from the KC Chamber Innovation Conference

Yesterday’s Innovation Conference hosted by the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce was full of ideation and collaboration. The speakers gave their professional insight into entrepreneurship and innovation here in the Midwest and beyond.  A lot was shared, and I tried to absorb it all.  It was difficult to choose just ten, but I have put together a list of quotes from the day that really stood out.

1. “Collaboration is the key to our success.  It always has been.”  -- Jim Heeter, President & CEO of the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce

2. “The US economy is the world’s largest hedge fund.” – Dennis Bushnell, Chief Scientist of NASA Langley Research Center

3. “In the current IT age, wealth is created by inventing things.” – Dennis Bushnel

4. “The birthplace for an idea is observation.” – Herb Sih, Managing Partner of Think Big Partners

5. “Most investors will invest quicker in the A team with the B idea, than the B team with the A idea.” – Jeff Pfaff of MTB Mobile

6. “Fail fast, fail cheap.” (from Herb Sih) – Greg Kratofil of Polsinelli Shughart

7. “An angel investor is not a guardian angel.  They are doing things for the same reason that you are—to make money.” – Tyler Prochnow of Think Big Partners

8. “When you bring in investors, you bring more discipline into your company.  Then you’ll begin to feel more like a company.” – Joel Wiggins of Mid America Angels

9. “You don’t have to be the smartest person in the world to create a business, or an industry for that matter.” – Tom Bloch of H&R Bloch 

10. “If you are in business for yourself, forget the bottom line. You are here to help people.” – Henry Bloch of H&R Bloch

Written by Laura Goede.

@LauraGThinkBIG

Innovation: Sparking the Flame in Kansas City

Inside of every entrepreneur, there is a flame.  But it’s up to them to decide what they do with it. 

But one of the hardest parts of entrepreneurship is igniting the flame—taking a leap of faith, getting started, discovering a big idea.  But now, Kansas City entrepreneurs have a chance to spark that flame.  And it all starts at the Chamber’s 2011 Innovation Conference, Innovation: Sparking the Flame.

On Thursday, July 14^th, The Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is hosting The 2011 Innovation Conference at H&R Block World Headquarters in Kansas City.  The full-day conference is said to be a high-energy, interactive get-together for executives, innovative companies, and entrepreneurs to come together to discuss effective business strategies, inspire creative change, and apply the latest techniques to new business.

But there’s more to the conference than just that.  After all, it’s an innovation conference...so of course it’s going to be a little out of the ordinary.

• Join the Kansas City chamber as it welcomes Dennis Bushnell, chief scientist for NASA’s Langley Research Center and conference keynote speaker.
• Engage in a variety of breakout sessions that cover the culture of innovation, the ins-and-outs of entrepreneurship, angel investing and public policy, and the profiles of emerging local entrepreneurs in different stages of business.  Panelists will include Herb Sih and Tyler Prochnow of Think Big Partners, Jeff Pfaff of mtb Mobile, J. Larry Sanders of SFP and Gail Lozoff of SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza.
• Learn about the “History of Kansas City Innovation” from Tom and Henry Bloch themselves.
• Dive into “Innovation 20/20”, where three local entrepreneurs will share their stories of innovation in a fast-paced format. 

The flame is there—it’s just up to you to decide what you’re going to do with it.  Start igniting your own entrepreneurial flame and attend The Chamber’s 2011 Innovation Conference, Innovation: Sparking the Flame. 

Register now. 

Written by Allison Way.

@AllisonThinkBig.