Kansas City Mompreneur Changes The Way We Say "Thank You"

There just wasn't enough time to book a face-to-face interview with Amy Marin Carlson, founder of Kansas City startup Growing Gratitude.  However, I was lucky enough to snag 15 minutes or so on the phone with the passionate mompreneur during her kids' nap time.  But between the shouts and laughter from her kids in the background, the deadlines Amy was hoping to hit for her startup's new Indiegogo campaign and the need to get dinner on the table, it wasn't necessary for me to meet Amy in person.  I could tell just from chatting for a few minutes that she was a busy, successful mompreneur, proving that some entrepreneurs can really do it all--with a little patience, of course.

What is Growing Gratitude?  
Growing Gratitude is an iOS and Android app for sending personalized, authentic and creative thank-you videos in a fun digital format.  "I want to change the way we say thanks to one another," says Amy Marin Carlson, founder of Kansas City startup Growing Gratitude.  The startup, which launched its Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign just a few weeks ago, hopes to raise $42,000 by November 19, 2012.

Great Ideas Come From Strange Places
As many entrepreneurs know, great ideas come from strange places.  Who would have thought that the idea for a mobile app would come out of a 2 year old's birthday party?  While throwing her son's party, Amy realized how difficult it would be for her son to thank everyone for the gifts (without having her write the thank-you cards herself).  Now, children of all ages can thank party-goers and gift-givers with a simple recording on Growing Gratitude.

But Growing Gratitude isn't just for children. The app could be used professionally, for instance, thanking someone for a job interview.  It could be used by nonprofits, newlyweds, graduates.  The possibilities are truly endless.

Advice for Mompreneurs 
It's hard enough being an entrepreneur.  But it's even more challenging to be a mompreneur. So how does Amy do it?  How can someone juggle 2 kids, a husband, at-home responsibilities and a growing startup without getting stressed out?  According to Amy, the key is dividing up her time.

"I thought multitasking would be key," says Amy.  "But in reality, this is all crazymaking!  Now that I've been doing this full-time for 6 months, I have learned to divide my time wisely.  I work during naptime and I work late at night after the kids have gone to sleep."

Why Mompreneurship?
Why did Amy decide to become an entrepreneur?  As a previous public school teacher and vice principal, leaving a secure job was risky.  But Amy knew it had to be done.

"I saw my idea realized," says Amy.  "And I know I can do it better than anyone else.  As soon as the idea was under my skin, I had no choice but to move forward with it.  I know I'll do it the right way.  I love this project."

Mompreneurs in Kansas City
There's no doubt about it--Kansas City provides the perfect fusion for a mompreneur like Amy.  Not only is Kansas City a great place to raise a family, but its entrepreneurial and startup scene is growing faster than any other region of the country.

"I just started networking and the people are so great," says Amy.  "I am so grateful for Kansas City's low cost of living and the opportunity to try something new with a smaller risk. The local press in Kansas City wants to see entrepreneurs succeed--there's a lot of local pride here.  Not to mention, a lot of great startup resources."

Interested in contributing to Growing Gratitude's Indiegogo platform?  Visit Growing Gratitude's page and give as little as $5 or as much as $5,000--every little bit helps.   

Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig

Kansas City Startup AudioAnywhere Launches Indiegogo Crowdfunding Initiative with $10,000 Goal

After successful beta testing in early 2012, AudioAnywhere, a Kansas City-based startup that simplifies the streaming music experience, has launched a crowdfunding campaign through one of the world’s largest global funding platforms, Indiegogo.

AudioAnywhere, a client of Kansas City-based technology startup accelerator Think Big Partners, is working to prove that listeners can enjoy a free music streaming experience while artists get adequately compensated through advertising-based royalties. Despite the popularity of sites like Pandora and Spotify, monetization of streaming music has been underwhelming. Streaming services are losing money and record labels are dissatisfied with meager royalty payments.

Kyle Johnson, Scott Johnson and Ryan Luckie have developed this innovative music platform and the revenue engine behind the scenes known as Bixy. By combining the two products, the team expects to revive the online music industry. AudioAnywhere plans to pay artists five times more than what they earn today through revenues generated by Bixy’s more effective audio and banner ads. Bixy will prove that streaming music can be a win-win-win for listeners, artists and advertisers.

 

“AudioAnywhere has a real opportunity to solve a big problem for the entire music industry, and ultimately the listening consumer,” said Herb Sih, co-founder of Think Big Partners. “By combining an easy-to-use, streaming music platform in a social environment with the ability to give consumers highly relevant advertising offers that make sense, AudioAnywhere may crack the code on making online music viable for everyone. Without figuring out how to pay artists and labels in a way that doesn’t hurt the consumer, eventually free online music may die and then everyone loses.” 

Increasingly, crowdfunding is becoming a mainstream method for financing and marketing a variety of new ventures. Confident in the crowdfunding trend, AudioAnywhere is excited to engage the Indiegogo community and hopes to raise $10,000 by October 6, 2012. With these funds, AudioAnywhere plans to first offer a radio feature that uses social data to decide what type of music a listener likes.  With the remainder of the $10,000 raise, AudioAnywhere will implement the system that automatically pays artists when people listen to their music.

“We felt that Indiegogo would be an excellent launch vehicle for AudioAnywhere,” said Kyle Johnson, CEO of AudioAnywhere. “We’re able to tell our story to an audience interested in music and technology and we’ll raise some money too.”

To express its gratitude to early supporters, AudioAnywhere is granting donors access to its streaming music platform before the general public. To view AudioAnywhere’s Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign and to donate to the startup’s $10,000 goal, please visit www.indiegogo.com/audioanywhere.  To learn more about AudioAnywhere, please visit www.audioanywhere.com.

Follow AudioAnywhere! @AudioAnywhere
Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig

Tiki Toss 3D Mobile App and bizperc Graduate Announces New Crowdfunding Initiative

After experiencing exponential growth within the past year, Mellow Militia, a Santa Barbara-based (formerly Kansas City-based) app development company, has announced its decision to launch a crowdfunding campaign through the major global funding platform Indiegogo to meet increased demand for the new physical version of its popular mobile app game, Tiki Toss 3D.

Already a favorite among casual gamers, the Tiki Toss 3D app allows iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad users to play and compete against other players in a digital version of thetraditional, island-themed ring toss game. Following the success of Tiki Toss 3D, Mellow Militia decided to create a hard board version of the game, which has since been picked up and sold by nearly 200 retailers in less than a year.

“Our initial thought was that the physical game would make a nice complement to the Tiki Toss 3Dmobile app,” said Mellow Militia co-founder Chris Puglisi.  “But little did we know that Tiki Toss would take on a life of its own after we debuted the physical product,” he added.

Previously, Mellow Militia had been piecing together orders in small batches, but with constant re-orders, new accounts and direct retail sales, the company experienced a need for added support to keep up with its explosive growth. Mellow Militia says the main goal for its Idiegogo campaign is to raise the needed capital for funding the first large-scale production run of Tiki Toss.

“A year ago, this was a night and weekend project for Chris, myself and my wife Amy,” said Mellow Militia co-founder Kyle McGetrick. “But today it’s a full-time job, and we need to keep the shelves of our existing accounts stocked and the inventory to supply the new accounts that are approaching us every day,” he continued.

Increasingly, crowdfunding is becoming a mainstream method for financing a variety of ventures. Confident in the crowdfunding trend, Mellow Militia is excited to engage the Indiegogo community as it takes its next steps financially and socially.

To express its gratitude for campaign supporters, Mellow Militia is offering a limited edition, 2012 Indiegogo version of its Tiki Toss game, as well as some great, customized packages.

“We could not have come this far without the amazing support of our community,” said McGetrick.“ Friends and family have pitched in to help build, package and ship more than 10,000Tiki Toss games across the country. We’re ready to take it to the next level,” he added.

To view Mellow Militia’s Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, please visit www.indiegogo.com/tikitoss.  Then, you can help out by doing the following:

1. Visit www.indiegogo.com/tikitoss.
2. Hit the Facebook "Like" button under the video and the Google+ button as well.  If you have a Twitter account, you can tweet about it, too!
3. Leave a comment using the "comments" tab at the top of the video.
4. Buy something! Even if it's $3.00--the amount doesn't matter right now.  Indiegogo is basing everything off of interactions.  Don't feel pressure to buy--but if you see something you like, purchase away!
5. Pass this along to your friends, colleagues, etc.  Tap into your network to help Mellow Militia get this thing rollin'!

Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig

8 Things to Take Away From iKC; How to Get Funded

Entrepreneurial growth has steadily been on the rise in recent years since the economy took a turn for the worse in 2008. But this surge in entrepreneurship means growth of businesses and more new jobs. Many startups have great ideas that aim to make our lives better. However, every entrepreneur faces a huge obstacle that can plague a business: funding. Some have it; many don’t. Even for those that do get funding face headaches and problems.

Plus, entrepreneurs have to ask themselves many questions in the funding sphere.  Do you go for crowdfunding or look for local investment? Do you try to find an angel investor or seek out a venture capital group? The questions are endless and the answers will vary depending on the business model. The following is valuable insight into the world of funding gathered during iKC panel, Geocashing Players from Pawns: Finding the Power Players to Invest in your Company. 

• Put your own skin in the game: Starting a business is a major risk.  By not investing your own money, you’re sending a message of doubt to potential funders. If you think, “Hey, I’m investing my time. That’s got to be worth something,” you’re still not investing enough. Your time is the measure of your effort. Your money is a measure of your passion.  As panelist Kelly Pruneau of Women's Capital Connection put it, “If you don’t put your own skin in the game, what makes you think I will?”
• Ask people you know: Friends & family—we all have them. When you have an idea that you’re passionate about and you know could be big, don’t be afraid to ask. Whether it’s a well-off uncle or a friend from college, the worst that could happen is that they say no. These people may also have wisdom in that field that will allow them to help in other ways
• Look to the crowd for answers: The great new trend for startups is to get crowdfunding. Sites like Kickstarter, Fundable and Gust all allow you to pitch your idea to millions of people who, in turn, can become potential investors. However, according to Rachel Qualls of Angel Capital Group, it’s important to “gather credible local investors first before looking to crowdfunding”. She also suggests, if possible, to accumulate 90% of your projected needed capital. This way, you’re dealing with people you know. You’re more likely to hear from the person who gave $5 rather than one who gave $5,000. She went on to say that due to the popularity of these sites, it is becoming increasingly harder to “rise above the noise”. Giving insight into the mind of potential angel investors that view funding portals, she says, “Don’t pay for extra listing fees that promise to increase visibility. Investors don’t care for it.  Instead, they look for what has already be raised and how quickly it can become liquid.”
• Know the rules before you get into the game: The recent popularity of crowdfunding has brought about the good folks of the Security Exchange Commission. On May 7th, 2012 they issued guidance to prospective crowdfunding intermediaries under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act (H.R. 3606). This measure was taken because the current crowdfunding space looks a lot like that of the stock market prior to the major crash in 1929. A full list of SEC guidelines for crowdfunding is available here.

Let’s say crowdfunding isn’t your cup of tea, mainly because you don’t like a bunch of random peoples’ hands in your tea.  That’s where angel Investors and venture capitalist firms come into play. Much like an elusive white-browed shortwing, these groups can easily be turned off by your actions so it is imperative to know how to deal with them.

• Know everything:  Investors understand that you are passionate about your business.  Don’t spend 14 minutes of your of 15-minute pitch only talking about how cool your business idea is. The investors aren’t really investing in the business. They’re in vesting in you. They want to know if you can do what you say you will. Have you done a reasonable financial forecast? Have you researched the market and potential competitors? What role do you expect from them? These are some of the questions that investors want to know the answer to.
•  Don’t just look for a check: You want to find a sophisticated investor, someone who has already had success. Nine times out of ten, their wisdom is more valuable than their money.
• Don’t be afraid to Think Big: There are many obstacles you may encounter along the way, but that shouldn’t get you down. When you have the opportunity to pitch to angel investors, be optimistic and fearless.

Getting funded is a major undertaking.  You may hear the word “no” 100 times but one “yes”. That “yes” is all it takes to make your idea a reality. Whether you ask friends and family, seek out angel investors, or look to crowdfunding, there is one thing that is universal: people invest in you.

Welcome to SoKap. Welcome to Crowdfunding 2.0.

Most great startup companies start with the same question: "Why doesn't the world have _____?"

The most important piece to this question, however, is that blank space.

Why doesn't the world have an online music purchasing device?  Apple answered that question.

Why doesn't the world have a way to connect with friends and family through the Internet? Facebook answered that question.

Why doesn't the world have a platform that connects marketers and funders with projects?  SoKap is answering that question.

Welcome to SoKap. Welcome to crowdfunding 2.0.

David Geertz, Founder and CEO of SoKap.

SoKap is a crowdfunding and project distribution platform that allows marketers and funders to connect with project owners.  SoKap allows project owners to raise funds, build markets and distribute goods and services across the world.

But like all great startup ideas, SoKap didn't intend to go in that direction.  SoKap was originally built by founder and CEO David Geertz to aid in the distribution of films.  Geertz noticed that many contracts in the film industry were just too big.  So, he decided to allow people anywhere to buy distribution levels at a much smaller price.  In other words, with SoKap, everyone could have a slice of the movie pie.

While testing the platform, Geertz and his SoKap team realized that the main beta testers were entrepreneurs.  That's when the company decided to expand beyond the film industry.  Now, SoKap is open to any project-based entrepreneur (no matter what industry they're in) looking for crowdfunding opportunities.  According to the Financial Post (Canada), "Crowdfunding, which started out mainly as a way for writers, film makers, artists and musicians to raise money, is shaping up to be the next big financing model for entrepreneurs — and the model is rapidly evolving."  SoKap has taken advice from its entrepreneurial beta testers and has implemented much of their feedback into the company's founding principles.

"Our biggest focus is to lower the barriers to entry," says Geertz of the SoKap venture.  "We want to have the mark to dictate whether a product should be made or not.  Not everyone will succeed, but we need to let the market speak to that."

Although SoKap has only been in the works for about 30 months now, the company already has a few success stories under its belt to boast about.  In fact, the company was recently featured on the front cover of the Financial Post in Canada and was recognized as a game-changer in the film industry at film finance conferences.

So why is SoKap standing out so much?  For one, the company is beginning to revolutionize an industry.  But the platform is also revolutionizing the way that crowdfunding works as well.  SoKap is one of the only crowdfunding platforms that does not require a sale of equity.

"We need to prepare for a fight moving forward," says Geertz of this business decision. "We provide a solution that doesn't require equity.  Sure, we are fans of the JOBS Act, but we also know that it's not for every business.  We don't require a sale of equity and that's rare in this type of business.  But, we are staying true to our project.  We believe in it and will stay the course.  That's true, gritty entrepreneurship."

How does David Geertz Think Big? “I come from a problem-solving world.  I come at things from solving solutions and take a 10,000 feet view and remove all clutter and intermediaries.  I ask how we can balance and value our work.  If we can do that, we eliminate the two main rules of failure: fear and greed.  I always ask how I can eliminate that.”

Follow SoKap! @SoKap1

peerbackers: A New Small Business Helps Entrepreneurs Raise Capital and Achieve the American Dream

Andrew Rachmell's life has been an adventure.  And with an ambitious lifestyle that is all about trying something new, finding inspiration in life experiences, and of course, thinking big, it’s no wonder Rachmell wound up as a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of startup company, peerbackers.




peerbackers is an online funding platform that helps entrepreneurs
achieve that sought-after American Dream.



When Rachmell met Sally Outlaw, a partner from their previous production company in the mid 90's,the two found that their experience with producing television shows transformed into an obsession with entrepreneurship.  The two went on to create other businesses only to find themselves back together recently when they each realized a need to support the entrepreneurial community in light of the economic climate.   Only a year ago, Rachmell was involved in discussions with Florida Atlantic University’s Adam Center for Entrepreneurship for the production of a TV and web series profiling successful entrepreneurs.  At the same time, Outlaw had found that the process of raising capital from angel investors or venture capitalists tend to consume precious time that could be better spent on building a businesses.  After discussing the growth of startup companies and new small businesses, Rachmell and Outlaw put their heads together and created a business to help entrepreneurs raise money through a crowdfunding model by utilizing social networking.  peerbackers was born with the goal of saving entrepreneurs significant time and reducing the awkwardness associated in asking for money from family, friends, and even angel investors. 

  
peerbackers is an online funding platform that allows business owners and entrepreneurs to raise capital from their “peers” in small increments in exchange for tangible rewards for those who contribute.   peerbackers can save entrepreneurs significant time in raising growth or startup capital, not to mention the awkwardness that is, at times, associated in asking for money from family, friends and one’s professional circle of contacts.   For many entrepreneurs, the amount of money being sought after does not even meet the minimum level that angel investors or VCs require.  Most entrepreneurs start their business with $25,000 or less, making peerbackers a more viable solution for this type of startup company.

   

Within peerbacker’s first week of business, every entrepreneur featured on the site had obtained at least one “backer”, and most had anywhere from two to four.  With the smart utilization of social media marketing, peerbackers hopes to help thousands of entrepreneurs on a yearly basis reach their own dreams of owning a business by successfully reaching their fund raising goals.  In order to prove peerbacker’s future success, the company actually utilized its crowdfunding initiative utilizing a "mock up" information site in order to raise money for the launch of the peerbackers’ website.  The company raised several thousand dollars to build the current site and became one of twelve finalists in the Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge.

 

As a serial entrepreneur with companies such as NetViews Inc. and peerbackers under his belt, Andrew Rachmell attributes much of his startup success to the passion he has for adventure and exploration.  His many life-changing experiences, such as biking across the country at the age of 20 and hiking up Mt. Whitney through a snow storm, have led him to think “if I can do that, I can do anything.”  This is exactly how the mind of an entrepreneur works.  According to Rachmell, an entrepreneur must maintain a vision for the business, continue to accomplish one small goal after another, and be passionate, persistent and patient.  All of these attributes are instilled into peerbackers as well as Rachmell’s own entrepreneurial life.  Congratulations to Andrew Rachmell and the launch of peerbackers – an entrepreneur and a company that are here to help others Think Big!

Allison Way 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, please visit the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner.