Entrepreneurs Converge and Create in 7th Annual Kansas City Startup Weekend

This past weekend was the 7^th annual Kansas City Startup Weekend and what a whirlwind it was! For those unfamiliar with the event, it is one of many global Startup Weekend events aimed at empowering entrepreneurs and creating viable, ready-to-launch companies…all within a 48 hour timeframe! Here’s the basic framework:

-          Speakers, mentors and entrepreneurs converge in a shared space

-          The entrepreneurs pitch their ideas

-          The best ideas organically arise via popular consensus

-          Teams are formed around the ideas

-          The next two days are a mad frenzy to create the next big thing!

According the Startup Weekend site, the 11 teams created this year were:

• Gitalytics: Github Analytics
• Pluginy: Specializes in dynamic content optimization and helping non-technical and IT professionals make changes to website content as efficiently as possible.
• Antler Atlas: The first website that allows hunters to upload pictures of their big game trophies and tag them geographically, without giving up the location of their honey-hole!
• Aqualife: Pairs your water bottle to your iPhone to ensure you don't get dehydrated.
• Shopily: Simplifies the retail experience for consumers and provides rich insight into behavior for marketers.
• LittleHootz: The digital scrapbooking app that makes it easy to create, archive and share all the unexpected and hilarious things your kids do and say. 
• Mingle: A digital networking application that makes making the connections you need fast, easy and efficient.
• Open Gardens: Open Gardens connects growers and communities to nurture collaboration and  promote sustainable living.
• All Dogs: Dog breed matching web and mobile app.
• Code Your Own: Website to build your own customized code learning experience. 
• Vidspective: The First-Person Video Marketplace.

Of the 11 teams that participated, the overall winner was LittleHootz. The idea, created and pitched by team leader Lacey Ellis, struck a chord in its potential uses for parents, teachers and other scrapbooking enthusiasts.

Second place went to Aqualife (whose website was down at the time of writing), an app that monitors how much water you’re drinking by syncing with your water bottle. Third place went to Vidspective, an application which will monetize behind-the-scene access.

Code Your Own was awarded crowd favorite, it also striking a chord with its ability to empower novice and professional coders alike by providing a clean, easy-to-use platform that only utilizes what you need.

We celebrate the speed, drive and passion of these entrepreneurs. They are adding to the growing startup economy, and we look forward to seeing what they will do with their newfound notoriety.

In Case You Missed It…Recap of Big Kansas City 2013 Entrepreneur Conference

Yesterday concluded the first ever Big Kansas City conference, held by Silicon Prairie News. Over the course of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, entrepreneurs, investors, startups and creative folks of all kinds gathered in the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport Museum (National Airline History Museum). Discussion topics varied from speaker to speaker, but each brought their own unique blend of humor, insight, wisdom and knowledge.

Wednesday’s speaker schedule started off with Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. During his speech, he highlighted Sprint’s commitment to innovation as well as Kansas City’s growing technology startup community. During his speech, he singled out recent SXSWi Accelerator winner Phone2Action, a member of the Think Big Accelerator program, as evidence of Kansas City startup ingenuity.

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse is excited about Kansas City Startups (photo by Kenny Johnson)

After Dan, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian gave a casual, engaging and intellectually provocative speech about starting Reddit, Internet freedom and the Midwestern entrepreneur boom.

Other highlights from Wednesday included charity:water founder and CEO Scott Harrison, whose riveting images and global insight left many in the audience speechless and reaching for Kleenex; Adam Wilson of Sphero, who explained how their team got President Obama to use their product; Vayable CEO Jamie Wong, who presented an engaging lecture about the most important things to remember as an entrepreneur (#1: Build the world you want to live in.); Dan Martell of clarity.fm, who instead of talking about anything having to do with his business (an interesting decision), gave a lengthy speech about his brother’s entrepreneurial struggles and eventual triumph.

charity:water CEO Scott Harrison's presentation captivated and deeply moved the audience (photo by Kenny Johnson)

A special edition of 1 Million Cups was conducted during lunch, with speeches from the Leap2 search team and the founder of Startup Genome. Both companies focus on search: Leap2 is redefining search to be more interactive, responsive, and answer-driven; Startup Genome is creating a crowdsourced/perpetually evolving startup directory for the entire nation.

Jamie Wong: "Build the world you want to live in" (photo by Kenny Johnson)

The rest of the afternoon was equally engaging, with talks from Dhani Jones of BowTie Cause and Ryan Jones of Proxibid, an extended Q&A panel and a party in the evening.

Some highlights from day two of Big Kansas City include:

·         Kauffman Foundation VP of Entrepreneurship Thom Ruhe giving a riveting speech about his interactions and involvement with Sohael Chowdhury, creator of YELL Bangladesh.

·         Science Inc. co-founder Mike Macadaan speaking about his passion and companies innovations (plus he gave away cord tacos).

·         Code for America Chief of Staff Abhi Nemani gave a potent lecture about civic platforms, the wide-open market for government IT infrastructure (did you know it’s a $140 billion/year industry?), and the coming wave of open-source coding.

·         Citizen Made CEO Rachel Brooks, whose speech about the maker movement was inspiring and thought-provoking.

·         Graphic.ly CEO Micah Baldwin, whose potently honest and raw insight into the importance of taking care of oneself in the hurricane of entrepreneurialism left the room unsettled in a very good way.

·         Yahoo! Mobile Project Manager Bart Stein, whose contrarian tips for entrepreneurs ruffled a few feathers in the audience, shifted thinking for others and proved a great way to end the event.

The event was catered (and when we say catered, we mean catered!): Table after table of artisan sandwiches, salads, breakfast snacks, drinks, Roasterie coffee, juice, afternoon snacks, barbecue, and Boulevard beer at the end of the event. If you didn’t feel like getting up to get any snacks, you needn’t worry: a bag of snacks was taped to the underside of every chair. All the food was delicious and provided a great setting for casual networking and conversation.

Beyond the food, attendees were engaged throughout the conference, interacting with each other and the speakers. It was a very approachable and relaxed environment, which was perfectly conducive to collaboration.

The event was a very slick operation, with livestreaming and a schedule which was honored throughout the day. Silicon Prairie News and the affiliate sponsors obviously put a lot of thought, time, effort and money into Big Kansas City 2013, and it showed in each and every detail (including the live DJ). If this first year is any indication, then Silicon Prairie has a hit on its hands.

Think Big’s SXSW & GCUC Experience (A Q&A with SXSW Rookie Sarah Snyder)

SXSW is an enormous opportunity for startups, entrepreneurs, investors and technology enthusiasts. Sarah Snyder, meeting planner at Think Big Partners and bizperc, attended GCUC for the second year in a row as well as SXSW for the first time this past week with dozens of other local startups representing Midwestern innovation, traveling by bus together to Austin. It was a fast-paced, engaging and exciting time. We sat down with Sarah to hear more.

TBP: What was your involvement with SXSW?

Sarah: I went to a coworking conference Tuesday and Wednesday and then I went to SXSW. The first conference was called Global Coworking Unconference Conference, or GCUC (pronounced “juicy”). 250 of the coworking space owners and managers from all around the world gather to share best practices, talk about the industry: trends, movements, patterns that we see. We talk about our own spaces and what different people are doing. We talked about how we’re influencing urban development and job creation, as well as startup support and government relations. It was a two day conference and a lot of valuable conversations and ideas came out of that first day.

TBP: What did you do on the second day?

Sarah: The second day was the “unconference” portion of GCUC, and the audience decided the topic. Then we voted on which sessions we’d like to go to and then the most popular sessions and common themes were combined. We chose an organic moderator, and the whole unconference was very organic and engaging. All the discussions were interactive and it was truly a discussion. It was not like one person talking to the rest of the group, everyone was contributing. By the end of the sessions you wanted to get everyone’s business cards because everyone was so interesting. It was a really great way to connect, and I learned a lot about different tools to implement in our space.

TBP: And you also went to SXSW?

Sarah: Yes. SXSW started Friday. The first meeting I had with all the Kansas City, MO folks was really exciting. We met with Senator Jerry Moran at the Facebook Austin office. First of all, I’ve never been in a Facebook office, and second of all, having an intimate conversation with Jerry Moran was awesome.

TBP: For those who don’t know, tell us a little about Jerry Moran.

Sarah: He is known as the person who helped shut down the SOPA/PIPA proposal. His big proposal was Startup Act 2.0, and at this year’s SXSW he was promoting Startup Act 3.0. He’s a big startup proponent. He was so real with us. Even though he’s from the Kansas side and the SXSW group is from the Missouri side – St. Louis, Kansas City – he said he thinks Kansas City can be the most entrepreneurial city. He talked about Washington and his drive for support and all the work he’s doing. It was really interesting that he gave us the time of day.  We even went around the room talking about what each of us does.

TBP: He sounds very supportive.

Sarah: He was really there to listen, and he was engaged and interested in everything that’s going on. And Jerry Moran was using Kansas City startup Phone2Action to promote jobs for Startup Act 3.0, and I got a picture of Phone2Action co-founder Jeb Ory showing Jerry Moran how the application works. [shown below]

TBP: It sounds like Kansas City was very well represented at SXSW.

Sarah: Everyone from Kansas City brought the party down to Austin. We had a blast. As we went around, even though we weren’t always together, at least once a day we all met up. I think people were really impressed with the camaraderie of the Missouri startups. We were all working together supporting each other. We brought down 30 to 40 startups, and so people were very impressed with our Midwestern representation.

It was a great time for all involved, but perhaps especially for Phone2Action, Think Big Partners Accelerator company, who beat out seven other startups to win the SXSW Accelerator challenge in the New Technologies category. Along with bragging rights and a jump-start toward growth, Phone2Action won $4,000, free tickets to next year’s SXSW, free web hosting for a year and Apple TV. This is an exciting development for the young company, and if past winners are any indicator, the win means that there are even bigger things ahead.

Want more info from Sarah herself? Follow her on Twitter @SarahThinkBIG. 

Entrepreneurs, Startups, Innovators – Converge! Big Kansas City is almost here!

Big Kansas City, one of the region’s most highly-anticipated entrepreneurial conference, is set to begin on Tuesday, March 26. Big Kansas City is the kickoff of the Big Series, with Big Omaha following in May and Big Des Moines wrapping up in October.

What is Big Kansas City?

The conference will span three days in Hangar 9 (also known as the National Airline History Museum) at Kansas City’s Charles Wheeler Downtown Airport, ending on Thursday, March 28. Hosted by Silicon Prairie News, the event provides a space for everyday people to converge with entrepreneurs, inventors, innovators, investors and to hear talks from special guests.

Who will be at Big Kansas City?

Special guests include:

• Scott Harrison: founder and CEO of charity:water, a nonprofit providing more than a million people with clean water
•  Alexis Ohanian: co-founder of social news site/taste-making powerhouse Reddit
• Dan Martell: founder and CEO of Clarity, a 7,000+ community of entrepreneurs offering phone mentorships to entrepreneurs around the world;
• Michael Baldwin: CEO and chief community caretaker of Graphic.ly, a digital comics marketplace
• Bo Fishback: founder and CEO of Zaarly, a proximity based, real-time buyer powered market (built right here in Kansas City)
• And many, many others!

Why should I go?

Dusty Davidson, co-founder and CEO of Silicon Prairie News, said of the event,

“We think that the importance of Big Kansas City lies in bringing the entrepreneurs and the investors and these creative folks that we’ve met in and around Kansas City and the region for two days of high energy and exciting talks, interactions, mingling, and all the things that come out of Big events that we’ve done in the past.”

This is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and startups enthusiasts alike – a chance to hear some of the nation’s most innovative leaders, to network with other entrepreneurs, and to support the Kansas City startup community.

Jeff Slobotski, co-founder and Chief Community Builder of Silicon Prairie News, says,

“I think Big Kansas City is important because of the fact that it brings together so many players in the space. So you have the entrepreneurs interacting and talking with the investors, who are learning from the mentors or other serial entrepreneurs that are there.”

The event is open to the public, but tickets must be purchased for entry. Tickets may be purchased through the conference’s Eventbrite page, and a variety of purchase options are available.  To interact with Big Kansas City, follow @BigKansasCity.  

Put on Your “Thinc”ing Caps! Thinc Iowa 2012 Returns to Des Moines Next Week

The organization that has brought the Midwest knockout events such as Big Omaha and the Silicon Prairie News Awards is back and bigger than ever in the city of Des Moines, Iowa.  The team at Silicon Prairie News is returning to the humble city of Des Moines from October 9-11, 2012 to bring the entrepreneurial community its second annual Thinc Iowa conference.

This year it’s bigger.  It’s better.  And more importantly, it’s longer.

“Last year, I think the conference went by too fast!” said Brittany Mascio, event coordinator for Silicon Prairie News.  “This year, we are extending Thinc Iowa to 2 days in order to put people together, longer.  We want to enhance the conference and leave a lasting impression on these entrepreneurs.”

This year, the Thinc Iowa event will feature 15 speakers (including Steve Case, CEO of AOL), three can’t-miss parties and two full days of startup inspiration, entrepreneurial presentations and introductions to new, innovative concepts.

“Our focus is on entrepreneurship and innovation,” says Geoff Wood, COO of Silicon Prairie News.  “But we will be featuring both old companies and new startups.  I’m excited to listen to Gentry Underwood of Orchestra because I’ve heard him speak online before.  I can’t wait to see him live.  I’m also excited for Neal Sales-Griffin of The Starter League.  But I think I am most excited for the things that we don’t plan for during conferences like this—they are always the most interesting.”

Thinc Iowa is expecting around 350 attendees this year, a slight increase from last year’s 300.  Thinc Iowa will take place for the second year in a row at the Temple for Performing Arts.  Parties will take place at Wooly’s, Exile Brewing Company, Americana and West End Architectural Salvage.  All events will be taking place in Des Moines, Iowa.

“All three cities that we focus on—Omaha, Des Moines and Kansas City—we want to see grow,” says Wood.  “A big part of this conference is for people to come in from outside and see what’s here.  We have attendees from 20 different cities.  We want them to become our ambassadors.”

“Des Moines is a place that was very open to the idea of the conference,” agrees Mascio.  “We believe it is a great area to highlight.  We really want to bring the demand of Big Omaha to the city of Des Moines.”

Thinc Iowa will take place from October 9-11, 2012.  To purchase tickets for Thinc Iowa, visit http://2012thinciowatickets.eventbrite.com/.  

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It's All About iKC

iKC, the premier conference on innovation and entrepreneurship, was born out of a merger between two successful events - the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce's Innovation Conference and Think Big Partners' Think Big Kansas City Conference. This year, the two organizations have teamed up to bring Kansas City one of the country's biggest and best innovation and entrepreneurship conferences.

iKC 2012 will take place on June 20 at the H&R Block World Headquarters in downtown Kansas City. It is a day-long event that will feature exhibits, breakout sessions, expert speakers, Fire Up pitches, Inspire Talks, networking opportunities, and an after-party at the Kansas City Power & Light District.

The Chamber and Think Big Partners invite budding entrepreneurs, startups, students, mid-size businesses, or large corporations who are looking to spark innovation, generate ideas, foster creativity, and make new connections to attend this year's conference.

"As we've moved forward toward The Chamber's Big 5 goal of making Kansas City 'America's most entrepreneurial city,' we've realized we need to foster an ecosystem and a culture that supports our local entrepreneurs," said Jim Heeter, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. "We do that by providing events and resources like iKC. By joining forces with Think Big Partners, we're taking the conversation on innovation to a whole new level."

"We look forward to co-hosting iKC in order to blur the line between innovation and entrepreneurship and to spark the conversations that lead to taking action," said Herb Sih, managing partner of Think Big Partners. "Ultimately, we hope this conference will further reinforce Kansas City as a place where entrepreneurs and innovators can collaborate, launch successful ventures, and create sustainable jobs for the future."

The keynote address will feature Dr. Michael E Raynor who will present, "The Innovator's Manifesto: Deliberate Disruption for Breakthrough Growth." The keynote address will prove that a strategic approach to innovation is systematically more successful. As a director with Deloitte Consulting LLP, Raynor works with leading companies from a range of industries around the world. Additionally, Raynor has written three books on innovation and his most recent, The Innovator's Manifesto, demonstrates that Raynor's unique take on innovation can actually improve the ability to predict accurately which innovations will be successful.

The conference will also feature a number of breakout sessions hosted by various local experts and entrepreneurs on topics such as creating strategic partnerships, how to create the perfect pitch, the communication secrets of Steve Jobs, the power of crowd-based marketing, and more. Visit www.sparkinginnovation.org/agenda to view a complete schedule of breakout sessions.

A unique feature of iKC will be Kansas City's first Fearless Innovators' and Ruthless Entrepreneurs' Unconventional Pitch - "Fire Up" for short. With only fifteen seconds per presentation slide, Fire Up presentations will put entrepreneurs in a hot seat and will force them to be concise, to think on their feet and to spark the interest of the crowd. Watch an example of a Fire Up pitch here. To participate in a Fire Up pitch, visit the Fire Up page.

This year, iKC is offering two types of exhibit booths for those interested in showing off a company, event, or idea. To learn more about the exhibition opportunities, download the exhibit packet.

Early bird tickets for iKC are on sale now and range from $60 - $109. After May 23, ticket prices increase to $75 - $189.

iKC is one of the many events happening during One Week KC on June 18-26, 2012. One Week KC is a consolidation of the region's large and grassroots events that help educate, inspire, encourage, and celebrate entrepreneurship in Kansas City's quest to become "America's most entrepreneurial city." One Week events include tech meetups, classrooms, conferences, networking, speakers, parties, and more. Learn more at www.oneweekkc.com.

iKC is sponsored by Master Your Card Missouri, H&R Block, Inboun, the Kansas City Business Journal, KC Business Magazine, Hovey Williams, and The Aladdin Holiday Inn Hotel. 

For more information on iKC, event updates, and tickets, visit the event site www.sparkinginnovation.org, or contact Katie Daily at             (816) 374-5472      .

iKC Announces Keynote Speaker, Michael E. Raynor

iKC, Kansas City’s innovation and entrepreneurship conference on June 20, 2012, will feature keynote speaker Dr. Michael E. Raynor, author of the The Innovator’s Solution and director at Deloitte Consulting LLP.

Dr. Raynor is the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling and award-winning author of The Innovator’s Solution, The Strategy Paradox, and The Innovator’s Manifesto. He is one of the world’s foremost authorities on innovation and overcoming the challenges of turning new ideas into successful new businesses.

Raynor’s research forms the foundation of his consulting work a Deloitte Consulting LLP, where he is a Director. He consults with senior executives in the world’s leading corporations across a wide range of industries. Dr. Raynor will share his insights into innovation – what to do, what not to do, and how to do it – at iKC, the upcoming innovation and entrepreneurship event in Kansas City. iKC, formerly known as The Chamber’s Innovation Conference and Think Big Partners’ Think Big Kansas City, is a day-long conference that will be hosted by H&R Block. The mission of the conference is to foster innovation and creativity in Kansas City, help build the “City of Entrepreneurs” and provide innovation and startup opportunities for corporations, KC businesses and entrepreneurs.

“We are excited to have a world class speaker like Michael Raynor give the keynote speech at our innovation and entrepreneurship conference, iKC,” said Herb Sih, co-founder of Think Big Partners. “There has never been a more important time in our city’s history to bring innovation and entrepreneurship together and encourage collaboration that will benefit the city for years to come.”

iKC takes place on June 20, 2012 at the H&R Block World Headquarters. Early-bird tickets are on sale now through May 23, 2012. The conference is currently seeking sponsors and speakers. iKC is hosted by Think Big Partners, LLC and The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. To learn more, visit http://www.sparkinginnovation.orgor call             (816) 842-5244      . 

Follow iKC! @ikc_2012

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Innovation & Entrepreneurship Conference Naming Contest Comes to Close Tomorrow!

KC2012. We know you can do better than that, entrepreneurs. 

Think Big Partners and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce are excited to host this year's innovation + entrepreneur conference in Kansas City.  And although the two organizations are fully prepared for a jam-packed, all-day conference, they are turning to innovators, entrepreneurs and creative thinkers to name the big event. 

So, creative minds, it's time to think big.  We're asking you to do what you do best: dig deep, get inspired and put a name tag on this conference's chest.  After all, it belongs to you. 

Submit your name ideas for this innovation and entrepreneur conference, which is to take place on June 20th at H&R Block World Headquarters.  If your idea wins, you will win a free ticket to the conference plus some other cool prizes.  Submissions for the naming contest are due tomorrow at 11:59pm.  

Help us build America’s most entrepreneurial city.  Follow the link to submit your conference name idea and to learn more: www.kc2012.com.


*Winner will be announced March 7, 2012! 


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KC Chamber and Think Big: A Conference Without a Name is an Innovator's Opportunity

The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and Think Big Partners are hosting a Kansas City innovation and entrepreneur conference on June 20, 2012...but they need your help in picking out a conference name. 


WRITTEN BY ALLISON WAY, SENIOR COPYWRITER AND CHIEF EDITOR

The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and Think Big Partners are teaming up with H&R Block to host an innovation and entrepreneurship conference and are seeking the community’s help in naming the conference.

The all-day conference, formerly known as the Chamber’s Innovation Conference and Think Big Kansas City will be hosted by H&R Block and will take place on June 20th, 2012, at the H&R Block corporate headquarters building in downtown Kansas City. The mission of the conference is to help build the city of entrepreneurs, to provide startup inspiration for area entrepreneurs and to help foster innovation and creativity in Kansas City.

“There has never been a better time to host an innovation conference in Kansas City,” said Kristi Wyatt, Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Programs for the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. “With the implementation of Google Fiber, the efforts from the Kauffman Foundation, the presence of the UMKC Bloch School, the Big 5 initiatives and now this conference, we are truly fostering America’s most entrepreneurial city.”

This premiere conference for innovators and entrepreneurs allows for creative minds to come together under one roof to celebrate innovation and entrepreneurship, build the Kansas City startup scene, and find motivation and inspiration to turn ideas into something big.

“This innovation conference is just the first step toward making Kansas City a part of the Think Big Nation,” said Herb Sih, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Think Big Partners. “We believe that by collaborating with other entrepreneurial organizations, seizing local, regional and national opportunities and serving more Midwestern entrepreneurs, we can identify more great ideas, grow more profitable companies and create more jobs in Kansas City.”

In order to foster community involvement, the Kansas City Chamber and Think Big Partners are asking innovators, entrepreneurs and creative minds to submit name ideas for the innovation and entrepreneur conference. To participate, names should be submitted via the KC2012 website by March 2, 2012. The official name will be selected by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and Think Big Partners. The winner of the naming contest will receive a free ticket for the life of the conference as well as other prizes.

Kansas City’s newest innovation conference is also looking for other leaders in the Kansas City business community to get involved through sponsorship or speaker opportunities. To learn more about getting involved, please visit http://www.kc2012.com or call 816.842.5244.


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