Angel Capital Group in Full Swing after Kansas City Launch

Since its launch in Kansas City in late January of this year, Angel Capital Group, a network of investors and entrepreneurs, has been expanding its reach and has branched out to a number of investors within the Midwest. Because of its nationwide expansion, Angel Capital Group has partnered with Think Big Partners, a mentorship-based startup accelerator and business incubator and has added a new face to its team.

The Angel Capital Group offers a variety of services both to the angel investor and the entrepreneur. Most importantly, Angel Capital Group has established a network where entrepreneurs can reach out to angel investors to find the seed capital they need in order to grow their businesses. Simultaneously, Angel Capital Group helps investors build diverse portfolios of meaningful private investments. The biggest benefit of utilizing the Angel Capital Group is its initiative to allow accredited investors to join its network for free for one year or until that investor makes his or her first investment.

With the launch of its Kansas City chapter, Angel Capital Group partnered with Think Big Partners, a collaborative network and workspace for entrepreneurs, investors, founders and visionaries. By combining Angel Capital Group’s funding platform with TBP’s national conference for entrepreneurs, investors and startups (Think Big Kansas City on May 24, 2011), this partnership effectively helps entrepreneurs locate capital, assists investors with finding more businesses worth funding, and places more ideas in the right home anywhere in the country.

“We have learned that once you fund a company, that company needs help,” said Rachael Qualls, founder of Angel Capital Group. “They need to be connected with other entrepreneurs; they need resources. That’s why we’re so excited to work with Think Big Partners, because they provide all of the services that we don’t, which makes for a great partnership.”

Since its launch in Kansas City, Angel Capital’s growth has been tremendous. In order to assist those interested in getting involved in the Angel Capital Group network in Kansas City, the organization has added Ryan Weber to its team as a Director for Angel Capital Group. Weber’s extensive consulting and fundraising backgrounds make him a perfect addition for the Angel Capital Group. As an entrepreneur at heart, co-founding KC Hub, a nonprofit organization created to enhance Kansas City’s ecosystem of innovation, Weber hopes to connect entrepreneurs to the funding that they desperately need in Kansas City.

“My goal is to collaborate with organizations and individuals in Kansas City that provide resources for startups so that the ecosystem is vibrant,” said Weber. “I want to look back in a few years and be proud of the opportunities we have created for both entrepreneurs and angel investors in Kansas City.”

Weber’s first initiative to jumpstart the Angel Capital Group Kansas City branch is to host its first investor meeting. This meeting, which invites angel investors from in and around the Kansas City metro area to take a look at worthwhile entrepreneurial ventures, is set for June 2, 2011 in the downtown Kansas City area. During this investor meeting, angel investors are invited to come and learn more about the Angel Capital Group’s mission and to see two opportunities that they may be interested in funding.

“We are excited to increase the level of angel investing in Kansas City by bringing the best deals from the region and the country to potential angels,” said Weber.

Angel Capital Group’s first investor meeting in Kansas City will take place on June 2, 2011 from 5:30-7:30 PM at bizperc (1800 Baltimore, Kansas City, MO). To register for the event, please sign up for a membership on the Angel Capital Group site. To learn more about Angel Capital Group and its Kansas City mission, please visit www.theangelcapitalgroup.com or call Ryan Weber at 816-804-3461.

Written by Allison Way.

@AllisonThinkBig

11 Reasons Why KC Innovation is Exploding in 2011

Wow.  What a year it's been for Kansas City innovation and entrepreneurship.  And the good news?  It's only May.  We are not even half way through the year and Kansas City has seen an explosion of innovation, startups, and entrepreneurial growth in 2011.

KCHub summarized it perfectly in their post, The Inertia of Innovation:

• Google Fiber announces its launch in KCK
• Think Big Partners opens bizperc accelerator
• Angel Capital Group creates partnership with Think Big - a nationwide funding network ready for KC startups
• Silicon Prairie News launches KC coverage
• KCITP surpasses 5,000 members
• KC Startup Weekend has a record turnout - startup rival those coming from NYC and other tech hubs
• KCNext grows IT events and rebrands the region
• Zaarly launches amid rave reviews at SXSW
• Kauffman Labs attracts entrepreneurs from around the globe to its KC headquarters
• K-State Olathe Innovation Campus opens; JoCo Research Triangle takes another step forward
• KU Med NCI bid - let's put it this way, you don't say "perfect game" during the 7th inning
• Etc., etc.

Look at what Kansas City has gone through in the past 5 months.  Pretty incredible, right?  We cannot wait to see what's in store for the city until December and for many innovative years to come.

Written by Allison Way.

@AllisonThinkBig

InvestMidwest: Bringing Silicon Valley Expectations to the Midwest

Silicon Prairie News.  Think Big Partners.  KCHub.  The Chamber of Commerce. 

All of these organizations are doing their part to improve entrepreneurship and increase the number of startups and small businesses in the Midwest.  In the effort to bring a Silicon Valley-atmosphere to Kansas City, Omaha and all midwestern cities in between, we have seen a vast number of entrepreneurial initatives.  But among the many informative blogs, business events, educational seminars, ribbon cuttings, and entrepreneurial competitions, one event may stand out more than the rest. 

InvestMidwest.

What is InvestMidwest?  In short, it's the opportunity that all entrepreneurs dream of. 

The 2011 InvestMidwest will showcase 45 companies representing 9 states from the Midwest.  The conference will have three company tracks presenting concurrently: life sciences, technology and alternative energy/cleantech.  With 300+ attendees including investors from the top venture capital firms in the Midwest, the conference has helped to generate over $400 million in investments in 11 years!

With an opening reception, a breakfast program, company presentations, and forum luncheon, InvestMidwest is a day jam-packed with energy.  Taking place on March 31st at the Overland Park Convention Center (Ballroom B), InvestMidwest will also feature its honorary speakers, Henry W. Bloch and Ken Conklin. 

Learn more about InvestMidwest and get involved today!

Thanks to everyone involved in InvestMidwest for getting out there and thinking big! 

Written by Allison Way.  Allison is a writer for Think Big Partners, Kansas City's early-stage business incubator and startup accelerator.  To read more of Allison's work, check out the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner as well as her articles on Helium, BrooWaha and eZine.  Follow Allison! @AllisonThinkBig

KC Hub Plans to Place Kansas & Missouri in Top 10 Most Innovative Regions in the World

In a 2009 study, the Kauffman Foundation found that both Kansas and Missouri fall well below the national average in entrepreneurship/business rates per capita. But when Kansas City has quality universities, excellent medical schools, several great school districts, internationally recognized institutions, a number of capital firms and groups, highly successful companies, law firms that specialize in intellectual property, and a handful of mega-successful entrepreneurs, how can this be so?

Ryan Weber and Aaron Sloup set out to answer this question in the fall of 2009. When the two of them put their heads together, Weber (with experience in intellectual property at Kansas State) and Sloup (with a vast perspective on Kansas City and experience with Cerner) found that it wasn’t the amount of Kansas City assets that was the issue—it was the lack of overall collaboration.

That’s why about a year and a half ago, Weber and Sloup established a new non-profit organization called KC Hub. The two visionaries formed a web-based portal that provides exposure to innovation and entrepreneurialism in Kansas City. The site combines the efforts of innovators, entrepreneurs, leaders, investors, and mentors in Kansas City with one cohesive website featuring a calendar of events, startup news, and much more. In December of 2011, the KC Hub team will feature its Innovative Networking Site Version 2.0 which will be even more interactive, more collaborative, and more personalized for innovators and their targeted needs. Meanwhile, KC Hub is also developing within the entrepreneurial community with face-to-face opportunities and collaboration with various companies.

KC Hub wants Kansas City to be recognized as one of the 10 most innovative regions in the world—a region in which entrepreneurs, scholars and visionaries will flock to work collaboratively in coworking environments with like-minded individuals, intuitions and companies.

Aaron Sloup, President of the organization, keeps his five year plan in mind, but is striving for this overarching goal. “Our ten year vision is for Kansas City to be nationally recognized by people as a place for innovation.”

His partner, Ryan Weber, agrees. “Kansas City has a viable ecosystem for innovators to build sustainable companies and give people opportunities to make the startup process easy,” he says. “We want Kansas City to become a highly-rated base for entrepreneurial activity."

Both founders believe that the reason KC Hub started was because of something that we are all too familiar with: thinking big.

“KC Hub is thinking as big as you can get,” says Weber. “It all started with big thinking, and now we are stepping back and starting from step one.”

“Think Big defines our organization,” adds Sloup. “There are organizations out there who take on very focused pieces of the overall puzzle—we are thinking bigger than this. We are thinking bigger than anyone else and we’re excited to see how far we can get.”

Both founders agree that thinking big requires more than just imagination and innovation.  And it's that entrepreneurial initiative that seems to matter most.  "It's important to get to a point where you feel comfortable to take that [startup] leap," says Sloup.  "It's amazing how many people will come out of the woodwork to help you."

And help you they will--just look at KCSourceLink, a resource that helps small businesses grow and prosper by providing business owners easy access to needed services.  This is a well-established entrepreneurial resource that not only strengthens the nonprofit network by collaborating with various Kansas City small business providers, but it also enhances the effectiveness of these businesses which helps the community's economic growth and impact.  Be sure to check out the highly-regarded KCSourceLink for more startup help too! 

Written by Allison Way.  Allison is a writer and videographer for Think Big Partners and bizperc, two of Kansas City's newest entrepreneurial resources.  To read more of Allison's work, visit the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner.