Entrepreneur Corner Brings Out the Inner All-Star in All of Us

It may have been over 100 degrees outside during last week’s First Fridays, but that didn’t stop Think Big from throwing a killer party! Last Friday, Think Big Partners held their first-ever All-Star baseball inspired Entrepreneur Corner as part of First Fridays. There was pitching (baseball-style and entrepreneur-style!), music, popcorn, pictures, chalk and of course, ice cold beer (we had to cool off somehow!).   

First Base: The Life Equals photo booth was the beginning of the Entrepreneur Corner journey. There was a wide array of baseball props—from a Royals jersey to a baseball mitt. You could even write snarky messages on hand-held chalkboards.  Pictures from Life Equals will be posted on Facebook soon—stay tuned!

Second Base: Time to pitch! We gave each attendee just three attempts to throw their fastest pitch.  A radar gun read the exact speed of each pitch. Even Tyler Prochnow, one of Think Big’s cofounders, was spotted trying his fast pitch (and pitched 72mph!).

Third Base: After pitching (literally), attendees moseyed over to a different type of pitching experience. A camera was set up to record people pitching brilliant, wacky even outrageous ideas—ideas for business, ways of life, or even reasons why they should be the next president! Topics were written on tiny baseballs for those that couldn’t think of anything to pitch.  Stay tuned—winners of this pitching portion will be announced soon and will win tickets to Royals and T-Bones games!

Home Plate: Finally, it’s beer time! Think Big was serving free beer (3 kegs worth!), courtesy of Boulevard Brewing Company. It was such a hit there was always a line. In case you got hungry, popcorn was served—free of course! All this was going on while Bobby Miller (DJ BMJ) was laying down the tracks!

Hopefully, you made it to Think Big’s Entrepreneur Corner this month and enjoyed all the activities. If not, we’ll be here next month with more fun things in store for you!  Stay tuned on our blog for more pictures and an announcement of our pitching winners! 

Hai Chen and Tyler Prochnow of Think Big getting refreshments.

Alysa Tarantino of Think Big serving up ice cold Boulevard Wheat!

View of the crowd from the bizperc roof.

DJ BMJ spins some beats.

How Fast can you throw? We tested everyone's pitch speed!

A great crowd at Think Big's July Entrepreneur Corner!

VIP party on the roof.

Ready...aim...fire!

The pitching leaders.  Not too shabby! 

Think Big's Laura Goede gives it her best shot.     

Free beer, free popcorn, awesome networking!

Think Big employees enjoying the beautiful night.

The Think Big Team after successful entrepreneur corner! 
Thanks to everyone who came out! 

Congratulations to Winners of "Pitch There" at Entrepreneur Corner!

During First Fridays, we celebrated entrepreneurship and baseball with an All-Star themed Entrepreneur Corner.  During the event, we had a Pitch Here, Pitch There competition.  On one side of the parking lot, we hosted Pitch Here, where attendees could step up and see just how fast their baseball pitches were.  On the other side, we hosted Pitch There, an outdoor studio that recorded attendees pitching their ideas.

Some ideas were small; what are all of the possibilities of how to use a yellow paperclip?

Others were a big larger; if you created an app, what would it be and what would it do?

From the large number of attendees that participated, we narrowed down 2 awesome winners.

Grand Prize: Mary Ericson

(winner of 4 free Royals tickets)

Runner Up: Austin Brown

(winner of T-Bones tickets)

Congratulations winners!  We hope you had a blast at Entrepreneur Corner...and that you carry your enthusiasm to the baseball diamonds this summer!

Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig

Mobile App intevli Knocks One Out of the Park During First Fridays

This past Friday July 6^th was First Friday, Kansas City’s way to showcase its love affair with art, business, food and entrepreneurship. This First Friday carried a unique feel to it, due in part because KC is hosting Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game. It also was unique because the event-centric app intevli held its official launch party during Entrepreneur Corner at 1800 Baltimore. Created by Van Osdol and Mcgruder Attorney Chris Brown and Adcuda’s Vice President of Technology Tom Jenkins, intevli was built to help attendees of large events filter what they want to and do not want to explore. Available for free on iPhone, or web-based on Android, one of the goals of the app is to stop the aimless wondering that often occurs during First Fridays. intevli helps attendees of large events find exactly what they want to see, when they want to see it. 

The impact of intevli could be felt instantly during its launch on Friday.  Novice First Friday-goers who stopped by the launch party got the chance to take advantage of the app.

“This is perfect” was just one of the phrases heard among the crowd.

First Fridays rookie Shannon Richards of Overland Park was one of the biggest fans of the new app: “My husband and I have never been down to a First Friday before. It’s been overwhelming how much is going on!  We’ve been having a fantastic time exploring like toddlers, but stumbling upon intevli has been awesome.  We’re starving and now we can decide where to go!”

We are well aware that there are thousands of apps out there created to serve a specific purpose.  But the best apps tend to make our lives easier.  intevli does just that. When something comes along that is able to save you time, there’s value there. Tack on the fact that it’s completely free, and you’ve got an All-Star app. 

To learn more about intevli, visit www.intev.li.  intevli is currently looking for businesses, artists and restaurants interested in featuring their First Fridays activities.  To submit your First Friday event, please click here.   

Get Your Pitching Arm Ready! All-Star Entrepreneur Corner is Friday!

Are you ready for a night of pitching, posing and partying?

In honor of the 2012 MLB All-Star Game in Kansas City, we’re throwing the ultimate Entrepreneur Corner party (with a baseball twist)! Think Big Partners’ All-Star inspired Entrepreneur Corner event is this Friday, July 6, from 5-9pm. Part of Kansas City’s First Fridays, this event is the place to be this Friday night! So warm up your throwing arm, practice your pitch and put on your dancing shoes—it’s almost time to come on over to 1800 Baltimore for a night of fun!

Pitch Here, Pitch There Contest

Have you ever wondered just how fast you can throw? Ever thought you could give the Royals a run for their money? Now you can find out! We have a machine that reads how fast your pitch is. Pitch Here and finally find out how much of an all-star you really are! The fastest pitch gets a prize at the end of the night!

Next, walk a few steps to Pitch There. You will be able to pitch any creative, wacky or just plain genius idea that you may have. Some of our favorite ideas will win prizes (even Royals tickets!). Having a hard time thinking of anything? We’ll have ready-made ideas for you to pitch your own way. See how creative you really are!

intevli Launch: First Friday app

Have you ever been wandering KC during First Fridays and wondered which place had the best activities, prizes or food? Well intevli solves that problem. This app tells you everything you need to know about all things First Friday (including parking)! We’re unveiling the intevli app during Entrepreneur Corner, so check it out and give us your feedback during the launch party from 6-9pm this Friday.

Life Equals Photo Booth

Remember our All-Star inspired Entrepreneur Corner forever! Stop by the Life Equals photo booth to take some pictures with baseball themed props!

Local DJs Dishing the Tunes

As if there weren’t enough to do, we’ll be blaring the tunes! We have 2 local DJs (which happen to be Think Big employees), Bobby Miller and Max Gall, spinning the tracks all night long! Don’t be shy; dance the night away!

Ballpark Munchies

We didn’t forget about the food! We’ll be serving baseball inspired snacks, for free! And we have beer—3 kegs, compliments of Boulevard Brewing Company.

So come on out (and bring your friends!) to 1800 Baltimore for our first All-Star inspired Entrepreneur Corner from 5-9 pm this Friday! You’ll be sure to have a great time pitching (literally!), dancing and taking tons of pictures! 

intevli App Launches During Kansas City Crossroads’ July First Fridays

intevli, a free interactive event mapping app created for Kansas City’s First Fridays, will hold its official launch party on Friday, July 6, 2012 at Think Big Partners’ parking lot located at 1800 Baltimore in the Crossroads Arts District.

Created by Van Osdol and Magruder attorney Chris Brown and Adcuda’s vice president of technology Tom Jenkins, intevli has been built to help attendees of large events filter what they do and don’t want to explore.  The launch of the app will focus solely on Kansas City’s First Fridays, an event that takes place every first Friday of the month to celebrate the Crossroads Arts Districts’ art scene, businesses, restaurants and entrepreneurs.

“I think people have confusion about First Fridays,” says Brown. “They don’t know where to go or what to do.  We hope that intevli will draw people in not only from downtown, but from the suburbs too.”

The free app will allow users to explore and filter through events to find what they care about most.  With intevli, attendees of First Fridays will now be able to find out about art events, shopping deals, restaurants, entrepreneurial meetups and even parking availability when they install the app on their iPhones or Android smartphones.

“We need more people, especially from the suburbs, to participate in First Fridays,” says Brown.  “That’s our goal.  We also want to get more people involved in the entrepreneurial community.”

In the future, the intevli co-founders hope to expand its reach beyond First Fridays and become an app for large events such as music festivals, art fairs, barbecue competitions, concerts and more.  Crossroads Arts District businesses are invited to sign up for intevli today to for free event promotion during First Fridays.  Events can be posted at http://intev.li/venue/.

The intevli launch party will start at 6:00pm on Friday, July 6, 2012 (during First Fridays) at Think Big Partners’ parking lot on the corner of 18^th and Baltimore.  First Fridays attendees are invited to come learn more about the app, download it to their smartphones and provide feedback to the intevli team.  The intevli launch party will be a part of Think Big Partners’ Entrepreneur Corner event, which takes place each First Fridays at 1800 Baltimore.  This First Fridays, Entrepreneur Corner will be All-Star themed and will not only feature the new intevli app, but will bring in a baseball pitch speed reader, an opportunity to pitch an idea to camera (Pitch Here, Pitch There), a grand slam photo booth from Life Equals and much, much more!  Learn more here.  

To learn more about intevli, please visit http://www.intev.li.  The app will be downloadable on July 6, 2012. 

Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig

Batter Up! It's an All-Star Inspired Entrepreneur Corner on July 6

Just because most of the people we hang out with tend to geek out on techy, startup stuff doesn't mean that we don't have an athletic side to us!  In fact, we're going to prove to you just how jock-y we are during next First Fridays.  Introducing: Entrepreneur Corner...All-Star style!

We are counting down the days to the 2012 MLB All-Star Game in Kansas City...and we know you are too!  So, to help the countdown go down a bit faster, we decided to throw a baseball-inspired Entrepreneur Corner event during First Fridays.  Everything you see at Entrepreneur Corner on July 6 will be baseball themed...with a startup twist!

Pitch Here, Pitch There
We are excited to throw (literally!) our first ever Pitch Here, Pitch There event at Entrepreneur Corner.  On one side of our parking lot at 1800 Baltimore, we will have a machine that reads just how fast your baseball pitch is.  Go ahead--give us your best throw!  The fastest pitch will win a prize at the end of the night!

But that's only the Pitch Here portion.  We can't forget about Pitch There, too.  On the other side of the parking lot, you will have the opportunity to pitch a wacky, crazy, cool or brilliant idea to our video camera.  A few of our favorite recorded pitches will win awesome prizes (including Royals tickets!).  Can't come up with an idea? We'll have ideas already made for you...go ahead and try to pitch 'em!  Don't be shy...we want you to pitch both ways!

A Grand Slam App: intevli
During the All-Star Entrepreneur Corner, we are going to spotlight a brand new First Friday-focused app, intevli. intevli is a free interactive event mapping app created specifically for Kansas City's First Fridays.  The app will help you explore what art events, shopping deals, restaurants and entrepreneurial meetups are going on during First Friday (not to mention, where to park!).  Help us launch intevli right, check out the app and give your feedback during the launch party from 6:00-9:00pm on July 6.

Put Me in, Coach!
Be sure to swing by Entrepreneur Corner not just to pitch, but to capture a First Fridays memory!  Life Equals (as always!) will bring their baseball-inspired photo booth and will be snapping pictures all night long.


Jam Out!
A baseball game wouldn't be complete with pump-up music blaring while the batters approach home plate.  That's why we're featuring two (possibly three!) great DJs from the Kansas City area (and guess what? They're Think Big employees!).  Be sure to request a song from DJs Bobby Miller and Max Gall (especially if it's Hey Now, You're an All Star by Smash Mouth.  That's a given.).  

Ballpark Munchies
And if that's not enough, Think Big will also provide great ballpark munchies absolutely free!  With three kegs to tap courtesy of Boulevard Brewing Company, we promise that your Entrepreneur Corner experience will be a delicious one--you'll feel like you're in the ballpark!

We can't wait to see you during our All-Star Entrepreneur Corner event! The event will take place at 1800 Baltimore in Kansas City from 5:00-9:00pm. To learn more, visit our Entrepreneur Corner Facebook page or give us a call at 816-842-5244.


Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig