Why Kansas City Needs High Collision Density (And How We Can Get It)

It’s no secret that certain cities across the United States are “the place to be,” especially for entrepreneurs. We all hear about the startup successes in Silicon Valley, Boulder, Austin and Silicon Alley. But have you ever wondered why these cities are experiencing a startup boom? According to recent research, it probably has something to do with a little thing called “collision density”. 

What is Collision Density?

Collision density can be defined as the level of collisions made between entrepreneurs, investors and connectors in a single area. The higher an area’s collision density is, the more quickly and efficiently innovative development can occur. Therefore, the more collision density a city has, the better.

Collision Density in Kansas City

While entrepreneurship hotbeds like Silicon Valley, Silicon Alley, Boulder, and Austin have high rates of collision density, Kansas City’s is rather low. One of America’s most famous entrepreneurs, Philip Rosedale, has even noted that “collision density is 20 times less likely to occur in Kansas City than it is in San Francisco”. In our opinion, that is 20 times too many.

Kansas City’s lack of collision density doesn’t just hurt our local entrepreneurs. It can also negatively affect the KC economy. Without collision density, innovation is stopped in its tracks. Without collision density, people can’t meet and ideas can’t be acted upon. Without collision density, communities–and society, for that matter–can’t progress.

We aren’t the only ones bothered by KC’s lack of collision density. Some of Kansas City’s entrepreneurial leaders are also concerned. In a recent Silicon Prairie News article, leaders like Jo Anne Gabbert, president of JAG Portfolio services and Maria Meyers, CEO of U.S. SourceLink and KCSourceLink, bring awareness to the collision density problem.

In the article, Gabbert said, “What we think the future looks like is making sure [Kansas City’s assets like funding and community support] are all connected and interconnected in that ecosystem so it's very easy for an entrepreneur to navigate the Kansas City ecosystem. Yet somehow they're a bit fragmented or dysfunctional at times."

Myers adds that “One of the things that Kansas City's looking at is not so much that dearth of funding, but better organizing what's here."

But the future isn’t hopeless. According to Rosedale “it seems likely that [Omaha, Kansas City, and Des Moines] actually could have a vibrant/growing startup community, if only it could establish this high level of communication and proximity between a good number of its tech people.”

Increasing Kansas City’s Collision Density

So what can we do about Kansas City’s low collision density? We can start getting the entrepreneurs, innovators and investors together under one roof. Think Big Partners and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce hopes to bring these like-minded individuals together for iKC: the Unconference this October.

This unconference is like a regular conference, only better. It lacks a formalized structure so ideas and information can flow freely between innovators, entrepreneurs and investors. In this way, all of the great thinkers in Kansas City and the surrounding area are together, realizing they should be together more often. Thus, an increase in Kansas City’s collision density.

This year’s iKC will be held on October 3, 2013 at the H&R Block World Headquarters. Until then, you can submit ideas, apply for the 1-on-1 program and buy tickets to help us increase Kansas City’s collision density.


Want to improve Kansas City’s collision density before @iKC2013? Contact Think Big Partners to get started!

Top 11 Kansas City Startup Resources In 2013

A long time ago (and we mean a long time ago) we developed a top 10 list of some of the best online and offline resources for entrepreneurs and startups in Kansas City.  Now that almost three years have passed, it’s about time we update this list with some of the newest and best entrepreneur and startup resources in the Kansas City area.  You may notice three years ago, we had a list of just 10 resources.  This year, we are publishing 11—and you’ll also notice how different these lists are from one another.  A lot of things have changed in the past three years—especially when it comes to the progression and creation of new startup resources in the Kansas City area.

All of the following resources have been created to help entrepreneurs launch successful startups and businesses.  So if you’re a serious KC entrepreneur looking for some small business help, check out one (or all) of these resources to determine which one is right for you (don’t feel like reading? Listen to our podcast episode instead!): 

LISTEN NOW:

042 Think Big Radio: Top 11 Startup Resources in Kansas City (2013)

1. The Kauffman Foundation

www.kauffman.org

Back in 2010, The Kauffman Foundation was one of our top picks as a KC startup resource—and the organization has remained on top to this day.  The well-known and successful track record of the Kauffman Foundation is famous throughout the world.  The organization provides education and training (i.e. the FastTrac program) for entrepreneurs.  In addition, Kauffman promotes entrepreneurship-friendly policies to better facilitate the commercialization of new technologies.  In recent years, the Kauffman Foundation has boosted its involvement in startups even further by sponsoring Startup Weekend as well as 1 Million Cups.

2. Kansas and Missouri Universities and Colleges

Three years ago, we also made sure to add various Kansas and Missouri universities and colleges into our list of KC startup resources.  Today, we continue to add them to the top of our list because of their growing number of diverse programs for entrepreneurs and startups.  Below are just a few of the schools that provide strong entrepreneurship programs:

• Kansas City Kansas Community College, Entrepreneurship Program 
• Johnson County Community College, Entrepreneurship Program 
• University of Missouri Entrepreneurship Alliance  
• KU Entrepreneurship Program  
• UMKC Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation  
• William Jewell Entrepreneurship Program (recently received $500K from Kauffman to support the program) 

3. Think Big Partners

www.thinkbigpartners.com

We don’t mean to toot our own horns (or do we?) but Think Big Partners has seen exponential growth throughout the past 3 years not just in Kansas City, but across the nation.  Think Big Partners has gone from being known as a “business incubator/startup accelerator” to more of an “idea factory”—providing essential tools for local and nationwide startups.  With services and resources such as the Think Big Coworking (the company’s coworking space), entrepreneur-focused events (i.e. Hackovate Health, The Gigabit Challenge and iKC 2012 and 2013—coming soon), the Think Big Accelerator program, Think Big Ventures and many other initiatives, Think Big is continuing to build Kansas City into a hub for startups, tech and innovation.

4. Kansas City Coworking Spaces

Entrepreneurs can collaborate, mentor one another and meet other area-entrepreneurs at any of Kansas City’s many coworking spaces.  It seems as if coworking spaces are popping up all over town—and for good reason.  Kansas City needs a place for the growing number of entrepreneurs to go.  Some of these Kansas City coworking spaces include:

• Think Big Coworking
• OfficePort
• Innovation Café 
• Cowork Waldo

5. Startup Village

www.kcstartupvillage.org

Perhaps Kansas City’s newest “startup resource” is Startup Village, an entrepreneur-led, organic, grassroots initiative helping to bolster the Kansas City entrepreneur and startup community.  The mission of Startup Village is to create a concentrated and collaborative area of startup centered around the Google Fiber “fiberhoods”.   Currently, KC startups such as Leap2, FormZapper, Pipeline, CaddyX, EyeVerify, Handprint, SquareOffs and many others office in Startup Village.

Homes For Hackers is another startup that currently “offices” in Startup Village (and could be considered an entrepreneur resource in itself!).  Homes for Hackers provides 3 months of rent-free, Google Fiber-connected startup space to area entrepreneurs. 

6. Civic Leadership

There are many civic organizations and non-profits supported by the City of KCMO to help entrepreneurs.  Some of these organizations include:

• The Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City (EDC): Collaborates with the City of KCMO and other organizations to project a local identity and ensure a competitive, vibrant and self-sustaining economy. 
• The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce: The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce gives entrepreneurs the voice and resources they need to operate successful businesses within the region.  For small business owners in particular, the Chamber provides research and forecasts, networking events, global trade resources and leadership opportunities.
• Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC): A private, non-profit organization that represents the economic interests in the 18-county region of Kansas City.  Under the KCADC umbrella is KCNext, the Technology Council of Greater Kansas City, which focuses on growing the existing base of technology firms, recruiting and attracting technology companies and aggregating and promoting regional IT assets. 
• KCBizCare: KCBizCare is the City of Kansas City’s business customer service center.  KCBizCare provides entrepreneurs with information and assistance in understanding and complying with city, state and federal requirements of operating a business.  The entrepreneur-focused part of KCBizCare is LaunchKC, a strategic initiative designed to attract and develop IT entrepreneurs and professionals to the thriving information technology community throughout Kansas City. 

7. Ennovation Center

www.ennovationcenter.com

In our previous list, the Ennovation Center rounded out at #10.  But we hear more and more about the Ennovation Center every single day.  Located in Independence, Missouri, Ennovation Center focuses on three core areas for the development of new business: bio-tech, kitchen and business & technology.  Ennovation Center provides professional facilities, administrative services, business & financing assistance as well as a vast list of resources.  We recommend the Ennovation Center for any food entrepreneurs out there!

8. KCSourceLink

www.kcsourcelink.com

If you’re a budding entrepreneur, be sure to visit KCSourceLink before you get started.  This online (and offline) resource’s mission is to help small businesses in the 18-county Kansas City region grow and succeed.  With 170+ nonprofit resource organizations that provide business-building services, KCSourceLink truly facilitates the linking of resource organizations to one another and to established, emerging and startup small businesses throughout the region.

9. The Enterprise Center of Johnson County

www.ecjc.com

The Enterprise Center of Johnson County (also known as ECJC) has the goal of stimulating business creation and employment in the region by providing resources and services to early-stage, high-return, high-growth companies.  Currently, ECJC boasts 31 current client and affiliate companies and has helped to create 904 new jobs in the KC metro area.

10. OneKC for Women

www.onekcforwomen.com

Kansas City boasts some very powerful women-focused entrepreneurial resources such as OneKC for Women (made up of the Women’s Business Center, the Women’s Employment Network and Women’s Capital Connection).  OneKC is made up of powerful advocates for women and are committed to assisting women on their quest for personal, professional and financial self-sufficiency.

11. Silicon Prairie News

www.siliconprairienews.com

Perhaps you’re not ready to make the entrepreneurial dive—but you do want to read up on area startup news and attend entrepreneurial events to dip your toe in.  That’s exactly where Silicon Prairie News comes into play.  This online resource provides the top news stories for what’s going on in entrepreneurship in the “Silicon Prairie” region (primarily Kansas City, Omaha and Des Moines).  Read up on startup news and attend any Silicon Prairie event to learn more about what KC-area entrepreneurs are up to. 

We would like to thank all of the above Kansas City resources for Thinking Big and providing help for all of our entrepreneurs.  Here’s to three more years of success in Kansas City! 

* Think Big Partners created this list to the best of our knowledge.  If you think a Kansas City startup resource is missing on this list, please add your thoughts to the comments section below. 

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.

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/.  

Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig

Silicon Prairie News Awards 3 KC Startups with Golden Analog

Throw together 400+ entrepreneurial enthusiasts, 48 incredible startup nominees and one giant golden prairie dog and what do you get?  The Silicon Prairie Awards.

Last night, the first annual Silicon Prairie Awards honored those startups and Silicon Prairie members who have greatly impacted our Midwest community in a positive way.  With awards ranging from Mobile App of the Year, Startup Service Provider of the Year and the greatly-anticipated Startup of the Year, 12 lucky and talented nominees from Omaha, Kansas City and Des Moines walked away with a golden analog, appropriately shaped as SPN's mascot, a prairie dog.

I was lucky enough to trek across the heartland with two partners from Think Big to partake in the Silicon Prairie Awards.  And after we climbed the stairs of the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, glided across the orange carpet, got "paparazzied" by a SPN photographer and interviewed with the "Joan Rivers" of the event (Michael Stacy), we finally arrived at the Silicon Prairie Awards.

One thing is for sure--there was a lot of entrepreneurial energy in the room.  Lawyers were chatting with startups, sponsors were clinking glasses with executives and even David Cohen, CEO of TechStars, was making his way through the crowd.  It took everything in SPN's power to actually stop people from networking to sit down for the awards ceremony--obviously, we have a lot to talk about!

The awards ceremony was equally as impressive.  It was all smooth sailing for the SPN team as awards were given to startups, entrepreneurs and service providers from across the Silicon Prairie (namely Kansas City, Omaha and Des Moines).  Kansas City alone had 17 nominees, three of which went home with a golden analog.  Those teams and individuals awarded were Front Flip (Mobile App of the Year), Jake Johnson of Divshot (Startup Designer of the Year) and Greg Kratofil (Startup Service Provider of the Year).  The cities of Omaha and Lincoln seemed to walk away with the most analogs, five in total, and Des Moines claimed four (three of which were awarded to Dwolla!).  Don't worry Silicon Prairie, we love a little healthy competition!

After the awards ceremony, guests were invited to an after party in the Joslyn lobby which was sponsored by Lincoln startup Hudl.  Guests had the chance to walk down Startup Alley, a showcase of nine Silicon Prairie startups including eCreamery, MindMixer, Goodsmiths, Vestn, RAZ Mobile, Stackify, RareWire, Obsessive Software and Bulu Box.

Think Big would like to congratulate all winners and nominees at the 2012 Silicon Prairie Awards.  And another big congratulations to Silicon Prairie News for pulling off an event for anyone passionate about startups in the Midwest area!

Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig

Silicon Prairie News Announces 48 Finalists for Awards Program (17 From KC and OP!)

Yesterday, Silicon Prairie News announced the top 48 finalists for the Silicon Prairie Awards, which will take place on August 30th at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.  The Awards honor those individuals and companies for outstanding products, strong leadership and noteworthy contributions to the community over the last year.

The Silicon Prairie Awards is made up of 12 different categories.  Some of the most notable include Startup of the Year, Startup Executive of the Year, Silicon Prairie Ambassador and Silicon Prairie Community Champion.

We are excited to announce that 17 different individuals and companies from Kansas City and Overland Park have been nominated in the Silicon Prairie Awards!  A huge congratulations to our great neighbors:

• RareWire (Startup of the Year and B2B Startup of the Year nominee)
• Klink Mobile (New Startup of the Year nominee...and bizperc tenant!)
• Sporting Innovations (New Startup of the Year nominee)
• LockPath (B2B Startup of the Year nominee)
• Front Flip (Mobile App of the Year nominee)
• Leap2 (Mobile App of the Year nominee)
• myHomework (Mobile App of the Year nominee)
• Chris Caldwell, LockPath co-founder and CEO (Startup Executive of the Year nominee)
• Naithan Jones, AgLocal co-founder and CEO (Startup Executive of the Year nominee)
• Matt Angell, RareWire co-founder and CEO (Startup Technologist of the Year nominee)
• Rodrigo Neri, Instin co-founder, iOS and web developer (Startup Technologist of the Year nominee)
• Jake Johnson, Divshot co-founder (Startup Designer of the Year nominee)
• OpenAir Equity Partners (Startup Investor of the Year nominee)
• Greg Kratofil, Polsinelli Shughart PC (Startup Service Provider of the Year nominee)
• Thad Langford, Open Air Equity entrepreneur in residence (Silicon Prairie Community Champion nominee)
• Joni Cobb, Pipeline founding president and CEO (Silicon Prairie Community Champion)
• Nick Seguin, former Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation manager of entrepreneurship (Silicon Prairie Ambassador) 

You can become a part of the Silicon Prairie News Awards too!  A 21-day public voting period began yesterday where you can play a part in selecting the winners.  And be sure to purchase your Silicon Prairie Awards ticket today!

Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig

Vote in the Silicon Prairie Awards

Don't make him disappointed in you - vote now!

Calling all startup fans! It’s time to nominate your favorites (startups and their investors alike) in this year’s Silicon Prairie Awards! If you know companies or entrepreneurs who did outstanding work from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 and are located in the Silicon Prairie area, it’s time to nominate them here on SPN’s website, now through July 25.

Award Categories:

• Startup of the Year
• New Startup of the Year
• Consumer Startup of the Year
• B2B Startup of the Year
• Mobile App of the Year
• Startup Executive of the Year
• Startup Technologist of the Year
• Startup Designer of the Year
• Startup Investor of the Year
• Startup Service Provider of the Year
• Silicon Prairie Superhero
• Silicon Prairie Ambassador

After nominations are collected, voting will begin August 2 and run until August 22.  The winners will be announced Tuesday, August 30 at an awards ceremony at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. Vote in as many or as few categories you want, but make sure to exercise your one civilian duty and vote—or else P. Diddy will be very angry. 

Flyover 50: Five Elms Capital Lists Fastest Growing Companies in the Midwest

This week, Five Elms Capital announced the winners of the Flyover 50, a list of the fastest-growing companies that originated in the flyover states.  Of the 50 companies, 11 reign from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska (a part of the country that is becoming known as Silicon Prairie).  

The Flyover 50 highlights companies in the middle of the country for potential employees and customers, according to Fred Coulson, managing partner of the private equity firm, Five Elms Capital.  These companies applied or were nominated to be considered for the Flyover 50.  The nominees were then ranked based on percentage of revenue growth.  

A big congratulations to the following Flyover 50 companies from Think Big Partners (list from Silicon Prairie News):

1. Appcore – Des Moines
2. Motivity Solutions – Denver, Colo.
3. Brightbox – Houston
4. InQuicker – Nashville, Tenn.
5. VeteranCorps – O'Fallon, Ill.
6. Mill Haven Foods – New Lisbon, Wis.
7. Kutenda – Denver
8. Twentyseven Global – Overland Park, Kan.
9. Dancin' Dogg Golf – Traverse City, Mich.
10. C&J Energy Services – Houston
11. Onsite Occupational Health & Safety – Princeton, Ind.
12. Marketplace Homes – Livonia, Mich.
13. BidPal – Indianapolis, Ind.
14. MentorMate – Minneapolis
15. ebQuickstart – Austin, Texas
16. TEKPROS – Plano, Texas
17. Catapult International – Lenexa, Kan.
18. Tarsus CFO Services – Kansas City, Mo.
19. Gorilla Commerce – Chicago
20. Abstrakt Marketing Group – St. Louis
21. Rise Interactive – Chicago
22. Great Northern Building Products – Louisville, Ky.
23. Red Arrow Labs – Milwaukee
24. Sun King Brewing Company – Indianapolis
25. Aspen Contracting – Lee’s Summit, Mo.
26. Justin's – Boulder, Colo.
27. LeanDog – Cleveland, Ohio
28. Viverae – Dallas
29. Eating Recovery Center – Denver
30. Enviro Clean Products & Services – Yukon, Okla.
31. The Grand River – Ann Arbor, Mich.
32. AXYS Industrial Solutions – Houston
33. Velociti – Kansas City, Kan.
34. The Whitestone Group – Columbus, Ohio
35. Bill Bartmann Enterprises – Tulsa, Okla.
36. The Nerdery – Minneapolis
37. MobileDemand – Hiawatha, Iowa
38. Structura – Austin, Texas
39. MMY Consulting – Indianapolis
40. FTS International – Fort Worth, Texas
41. mPay Gateway – Minneapolis
42. Sonic Equipment Company – Iola, Kan.
43. ITWC – Malcom, IA
44. Innovative-IDM – Carrollton, Texas
45. Pallas Partners – Louisville, Ky.
46. Genova Technologies – Cedar Rapids, Iowa
47. Kinnser Software – Austin, Texas
48. Proforma Promotionally Yours – Kansas City, Kan.
49. Search Influence – New Orleans
50. Sightline Health – Bellaire, Texas

What's next for the Flyover 50?  Each will be recognized at an awards ceremony at the Association for Corporate Growth's Mid-America Corporate Growth Conference today in Kansas City.  Congratulations, Flyover 50!

To learn more about the Flyover 50, please read the recent press release.

Big Omaha 2012: Let's Be Honest

Admist the hype, interactive photo booths, artistic arena and sold-out seating, Big Omaha 2012 stood for something that many attendees tend to forget: good, old fashioned Midwestern passion.  

According to Blake Miller, partner at Think Big Partners and Big Omaha attendee, the conference was one of the most honest, down-to-earth, comfortable events he had ever attended.  Why?  From the casual networking atmosphere to late night beers in the hotel lobby, Blake was able to reach out to other Big Omaha attendees at ease throughout the entire weekend. 

If you snagged a ticket to Big Omaha, consider yourself lucky.  The event doesn't print too many tickets, but for good reason.  The always sold-out conference gives off an intimate, cozy feeling that entrepreneurs cannot help but love.  This intimacy was one of Blake's favorite aspects of the entire conference.  Sometimes, the bigger the conference, the less you get out of it.  Big Omaha was the Goldilocks of entrepreneurial conferences--not too big, not to small, but just right.  The intimacy of Big Omaha allowed for attendees like Blake to communicate openly, honestly and comfortably.  Even when he had the chance to speak with Yael Cohen of F Cancer, Blake felt completely at ease and ended up engaging in a collaborative, interesting conversation.  Not bad for connecting with one of the most popular speakers at the conference!

Yael is a testament to the caliber of speakers that Big Omaha 2012 brought in.  Although the line-up may not have been as "impressive" as previous years, it clearly worked to Big Omaha's advantage.

"Although I didn't recognize a few of the speaker's names at first, I still got a ton out of every talk," said Blake Miller.  "In fact, it may have been even more valuable because I could sincerely relate to everyone who spoke. Sometimes it's tough to relate to those billionaire entrepreneurs who are one in a million." 

But Blake's favorite part of Big Omaha 2012 wasn't listening to the speakers, the professional networking or popping in on some photo booth pictures.  Blake's favorite memory happened to take place after-hours at Big Omaha's nightly casual, unplanned get-togethers.  According to Blake, some of the coolest people from the conference would clink beer glasses and chat after the day's sessions--and this provided some of the best insight.  After all, people with a touch of alcohol in them give off just a bit more honesty!

"I felt like I knew everybody at Big Omaha," said Blake.  "There were no strangers.  I felt like I could connect with every single person and have real, meaningful conversations with them."

Congratulations on a big success, Big Omaha!  Until next year...

Follow Big Omaha! @BigOmaha

Follow Silicon Prairie News! @SiliconPrairie

Follow Blake! @BlakeMiller32

Big Omaha: The Summer Camp You Never Want To End

Most of us have been there.  Whether it was summer camp, horse back riding camp, sports camp or (for the geeks at heart) science camp, almost all of us have experienced the great outdoors, youth camaraderie and bad hygiene during camp.

And along with the arts and crafts, kayaking adventures and capture-the-flag games, we have also all experienced anxiety before camp begins and sadness after we have to say goodbye to our new friends and counselors.

Silicon Prairie News event coordinator Brittany Mascio believes that Big Omaha gives off these same emotions; anxiousness, excitement and sad goodbyes.

What is Big Omaha exactly?  It's an annual entrepreneurship and innovation conference that aims to share stories and connect the Omaha community with the rest of the country.  But if you ask any member of Silicon Prairie News (the organizers of the event) or any past attendee of Big Omaha, they will be sure to tell you that it's so much more than that.

This year, Big Omaha will take place May 9-11 at KANEKO, located in the Old Market.  The conference will feature 14 keynote speakers, a dynamite MC, plenty of food to go around and the opportunity to check out the Omaha startup scene...not to mention tons of networking and interactive fun.

"Big Omaha is a good place for entrepreneurs and others looking for inspiration to collaborate with one another," said Mascio.  "Big Omaha is at the forefront of what's going on in the tech center."

Big Omaha 2012 will follow the same structure as the 2011 conference, but with a few cool additions.  Although the Silicon Prairie News team wouldn't give all of the secrets away, they did inform us that this year, Big Omaha is adding artists into the mix.  The SPN team hopes that this addition will help the conference promote its theme of inner-connectivity.

So when Big Omaha closes and it's time to head home (tear!), what will you walk away with?  Mascio gave us the inside scoop:

1.  Advice. 
After Big Omaha, you will have a plethora of stories to reflect upon.  All of Big Omaha's 14 keynote speakers will tell founder stories and give an inside look at how to become a successful entrepreneur.

2.  Connections. 
You will leave Big Omaha with more than just a notebook full of entrepreneurial scribble.  You'll also leave with stacks of business cards, informational handouts, major swag and a completely full contact list.  Big Omaha is all about energizing people to connect with other attendees.

3.  Memories.
Just like summer camp, Big Omaha provides unforgettable memories and nonstop fun.  It's a conference that helps many startups out there realize that entrepreneurship can be fun.  It truly is that summer camp you don't want to end.

Unfortunately for you, Big Omaha is completely sold out!  The good news? Silicon Prairie is creating a waiting list for those entrepreneurs who are dying to get a foot in the KANEKO door.  To learn more, be sure to visit http://www.bigomaha.com/.

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