Join Us for a Google Glass Meetup at Entrepreneur Corner

On August 2, during First Fridays in Kansas City, Think Big is proud to host an Entrepreneur Corner event unlike any other.  This time...it’s going to be glassy. 

The parking lot of our coworking space at 18^th & Baltimore will be the location of Entrepreneur Corner.  The space will be filled with entrepreneurs networking and celebrating Kansas City’s entrepreneurial spirit during First Fridays. The theme of this Entrepreneur Corner is Google Glass, Google’s breakthrough wearable technology.

Members from Google Glass Kansas City will be in attendance demoing their Google Glasses and showing how they have used it in their everyday lives since acquiring the revolutionary technology. Of the Glass holders will be Think Big Partners’ very own Chris Shaw, who will be fresh off of filming his Google Glass-inspired documentary, The Tech Trek. 

Join us for First Fridays in the Crossroads on August 2 from 5:30-8:30pm for drinks and demonstrations of Google’s revolutionary wearable technology Glass. See you on the corner!

To learn more about Entrepreneur Corner, visit us on Facebook!

Google Glass Tech Trek Sets Off July 11

Back in April, we were thrilled to announce the creation of Tech Trek--a Google Glass-enabled documentary that explores a number of different startup hubs, technologies and innovations throughout the country.  After finally receiving the Glass hardware, Think Big’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence Chris Shaw is ready to set off on his innovative journey. 

The Trek will explore five of the most innovative tech hubs: Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Boulder and Kansas City.  Along the way, Chris and his team will document the journey--from the startups they meet to the dare-devilish activities they complete...all through the frames of Google Glass.

Tech Trek has officially announced its dates as July 11-18, 2013.  The 8-day journey will follow the adventure of Chris Shaw (Think Big Partners), Blake Miller (Think Big Partners), Jason Grill (JGrill Media), Hampton Stevens (The Atlantic), Spencer Walsh (Piscator Media), Rigo Neri (CEO of Instin), Erik Wullschleger (Manager of Consumer Product Marketing at Sprint Nextel) and a representative from Hallmark. 

Stay tuned here as well as the Tech Trek blog for more updates from Chris and the Trekkers.  More announcements and updates soon to come...

Google Glass Documentary Tech Trek will be Presented by Hallmark and Sprint

Two of Kansas City’s largest local companies, Hallmark Cards and Sprint, have teamed up with a group of area entrepreneurs to tell the story of America’s most innovative technology companies on a cross-country road trip using Google Glass.

Google Glass is a head-mounted display unit that connects with the user’s mobile phone to allow for seamless communication over the web. Glass also has a video camera that allows for pictures and video to be streamed over the web.  Only 8,000 individuals worldwide were selected to test the Google Glass hardware in the Glass Explorers program.   One of these Explorers is Chris Shaw, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Think Big Partners and organizer of Tech Trek. 

Tech Trek is a Google Glass-enabled interactive documentary that will tell the story of innovative, early-stage technology companies being built in some of America’s most successful startup hubs.

Chris Shaw, a serial entrepreneur who founded LexSpot and has advised over a dozen technology startups, said he wanted to use Glass to give back to the community that enabled his success.

"Glass is a truly innovative way to tell stories and share experiences," says Shaw. "While I intend to use for Glass for developing mobile applications in the healthcare space, my colleagues and I wanted to test the media capabilities of Glass in a unique way."

Two former Kansas City startup successes Hallmark and Sprint were happy to support Kansas City entrepreneur, Google Glass Explorer and head of the Tech Trek project, Chris Shaw, and help him tell this story. 

“As a Kansas City native, I am thrilled to work with Hallmark and Sprint to tell this story. The idea that the area companies I grew up admiring reached out and funded us on Kickstarter is a testament to how amazing the business community in Kansas City is,” said Shaw.

Hallmark
Hallmark’s roots as a Kansas City startup go back to 1910, when J.C. Hall arrived in Kansas City with two shoeboxes of postcards under his arm and the American dream in his heart.  He had a passion for quality and was driven by a simple belief that first-class products meeting a genuine need would bring business success.

Hall’s entrepreneurial spirit and passion took him from a one-person startup to a 12,000+ strong company that has generated billions of smiles worldwide. 

“Hallmark is constantly seeking ways to collaborate with the world’s best innovators,” said Rob Bensman, Hallmark vice president of strategic alliances. “We’re looking forward to traveling with Tech Trek and interacting with promising startups across the country.”

“Hallmark also is interested in learning how technology impacts the ways in which people connect with one another,” Bensman continued. “Tech Trek provides a unique opportunity for us to observe firsthand how Google Glass will influence communication in the future.”

Sprint
Sprint’s entrepreneurial roots date back more than 100 years as well. Sprint’s founder, Cleyson Brown, successfully took on the Bell monopoly in 1899 from Abilene, Kansas by challenging the status quo through innovation and a commitment to community the Midwest is known for. Since then, Sprint has been developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies across wireline and wireless industries. Sprint recognizes an obvious benefit working closely with startups and entrepreneurs. Much like Cleyson Brown, high-growth entrepreneurs have a unique perspective on technology innovation, move quickly and have little fear of failure.

“At Sprint we believe that helping to nurture the ideas of entrepreneurs and technologists and being present in the creation of new businesses and services is critical to the evolution of our culture and business,” said Kevin McGinnis, vice president of product platforms and services at Sprint.  “We are excited to be participating in the Tech Trek Kickstarter campaign and look forward to seeing what it brings.” 

To learn more about Tech Trek, visit www.techtrek.co.  
Follow Tech Trek! @TheTechTrek 

Think Big Partners Launches Kickstarter Campaign to Fund Google Glass Documentary, Tech Trek

Yesterday, we announced that our Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Chris Shaw, was one of the 8,000 people in the world to be selected to beta test the new Google Glass hardware.  We also revealed that he plans to use Glass to explore how wearable technology can impact health as well as use it to document life experiences and travels.  

But Chris is looking to do much more than that.  He wants to use Glass to give back to the entrepreneurial community as well.  

“Glass is a truly innovative way to tell stories and share experiences,” says Shaw. “While our primary use for Glass will be for developing mobile applications in spaces like healthcare and enterprise, we wanted to test the media capabilities of Glass in a unique way.”

As a result of this thought, Think Big Partners co-founder Herb Sih encouraged Chris to create Tech Trek, a Glass-enabled documentary that explores the different startup hubs, technologies and innovations throughout the country.

“When Chris said he wanted to give folks a birds-eye view into what it’s like to be an entrepreneur, we were enthusiastic to support Tech Trek,” says Sih. “Think Big has started dozens of companies either directly or indirectly and we feel like we have an obligation to give back to the community.”   

Tech Trek is using Kickstarter to raise funds for the ambitious project to tell the story of technology entrepreneurship in the tech hubs of Silicon Valley, Ca., Los Angeles, Ca., Las Vegas, Nv., Boulder, Co., and Kansas City, Mo.

In addition, Shaw explains that some of the funds from the Kickstarter campaign will be used to sponsor entrepreneurs to attend Tech Trek who cannot afford to visit the cities and companies that Tech Trek will feature at incubators like Y Combinator, 500 Startups, Science and TechStars.

“Our goal with Tech Trek is to show people what we do and how technology and entrepreneurship are building the future of our world,” says Shaw.  

Spencer Walsh is an independent film producer, director and owner of Piscator Media who will be filming and producing Tech Trek.

"Google Glass provides a very unique opportunity for documentary work. I'm already excited to capture the effect this new technology has on the people interacting with it physically and virtually,” explains Walsh. “Also, most of my productions are for startups so I know how creative entrepreneurs are. In my opinion, the possibilities of Glass will really begin to reveal themselves as Chris interacts with these established and growing communities. This might be selfish, but I feel like I'll be getting a glimpse into the near future."

To learn more about Tech Trek, please visit www.techtrek.co.  To become a part of the Tech Trek Kickstarter campaign, please visit http://kck.st/10OBm3R.

And be sure to follow Chris on his Tech Trek journey with Glass:  @MOChrisShaw