AgLocal: Bringing Power to the Meat Lover and Innovation to the Midwest

Take a drive through the Midwest and you'll see a lot of a little.  You'll see cornfields.  You'll see flat farmland.  And you will certainly see grazing cows.  And although many people joke about the snoozefest that is endured while driving through the Midwest, it's that uneventful, flat farmland that has helped to jumpstart one of the coolest startups at SXSW.

Don't believe me?  Take a look at AgLocal, a startup based out of Overland Park, Kansas, picked to pitch at this year's SXSW Accelerator.

Co-founded by Naithan Jones and Jacob McDaniel, AgLocal is a marketplace that connects independent farmers and producers with the demand of local businesses and consumers.  AgLocal is made up of a mobile app as well as a website that aim to provide producers with better local options for cheaper, higher-quality meat.  In other words, AgLocal brings "power to the meat lover."

"I am really looking forward to the energy, the creativity and the people at South by Southwest," said Naithan Jones of his anticipated venture.  "South by Southwest is a hub of ideas.  I cannot wait to spread the word about AgLocal there."  

AgLocal is one of 48 contestants (chosen from a pool of 670!) to participate in SXSW's Accelerator on March 12-13 in Austin, Texas.  The Kansas-based startup will compete in the Innovative Web Technologies portion of the Accelerator against Trapit, OneID, Scrible, Prism Skylabs, Viztu Technologies, BrandYourself.com and ZeroDesktop (a majority of which reign from California).

According to Jones, AgLocal is extremely unique to the other competitors in the Innovative Web Technologies category.

"We are not a tech company, we are a people company that uses technology," he explains. "We stand out and have the ability to be very unique because we have much more to educate people on.  We are also one of the only companies in the Midwest featured at SXSW.  This is a great opportunity to talk about innovation coming out of the Midwest. None of this would have been possible without the support we've gotten from Kansas City."

In addition to being honored as a contestant in the Accelerator at SXSW, AgLocal is also a featured startup for the Startup America portion of SXSW, which is to take place on March 12th in Startup Village.

But what's next for AgLocal after SXSW?  Because the Midwest startup will be experiencing so much exposure down in Austin, the startup is preparing for big things during the remainder of 2012.  According to Jones, AgLocal will continue to build by running hackathons, hiring new interns, collaborating with developers in San Francisco, finalizing products and closing major deals.

Best of luck to Naithan Jones and then entire AgLocal team during SXSW!  We will be rooting for you from Kansas City!

How does Naithan Jones Think Big?

"I always ask myself what I can do that's bigger than myself.  I want to work with people who understand a problem and have a desperate need to help solve it.  That's my take on startups in general.  I also believe it's important to take life seriously, but not yourself seriously."

-- Naithan Jones, AgLocal

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Building the Silicon Prairie: Startup Kansas and Startup Missouri Launch Jan. 31

WRITTEN BY ALLISON WAY, SENIOR COPYWRITER & CHIEF EDITOR

A little less than a year ago, the Startup America Partnership was formed.  The nationwide initiative strives to grow entrepreneurship and startup companies in every state.  The partnership was founded with three main goals:  1) to provide valuable resources and connections to help young companies grow, 2) to support regional startup ecosystems throughout the country, and 3) to recognize startups as the drivers of our economy and their founders as American heroes.

This is all good and well, but what actions are participants making to actually make the Startup America goals a reality?  We can talk the talk all we want...but will this organization walk the walk?

Kansas and Missouri have both taken the first step to make Startup America a reality.  Both states have organized their own partnership networks known as Startup Kansas and Startup Missouri.  Both networks hope to create hubs that combine existing entrepreneurs, investors, officials and coalitions into a central space to help boost entrepreneurship as a whole.

So we know what these two organizations are doing...but how are they going to do it?

It all starts on January 31, 2012, when Startup Kansas and Startup Missouri launch.

Startup Kansas
Winston/Meriwether of Topeka is launching Startup Kansas at the Topeka and Shawnee Country Public Library from 1:00 to 2:00pm.  With a welcome from Matthew Gassen, President of Winston/Meriwether, a video from Magic Johnson, and speeches from Cameron Cushman and Riley Scott, Startup Kansas hopes to bring in some of Kansas' most passionate entrepreneurs, investors and startups.

Startup Missouri
Missouri is hoping to transform from the "Show Me State" into the "Grow Me State" during its Startup Missouri launch on January 31.  The event will go from 11:00am-4:00pm at the Railway Exchange Building in St. Louis.

Will Startup Kansas and Startup Missouri help grow Kansas City into the most entrepreneurial city on earth?

Hey! That's cool! Startup Weekend and Tech Cocktail are going head-to-head to see who can recruit the most startups and become a member of Startup America.  Learn more here.  

Follow Startup Kansas! @StartupKS
Follow Startup Missouri! @StartupMO
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Identify, Highlight and Encourage Midwestern Entrepreneurship: Startup Kansas Launches Jan. 31, 2012

WRITTEN BY ALLISON WAY, SENIOR COPYWRITER & CHIEF EDITOR

Back in 2011, Scott Case, CEO of the Startup America Partnership, challenged the Midwest.  The challenge is for Silicon Prairie (Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa) to register more startups with the Startup American Partnership than those that are registered in California.  The challenge has been set to identify, highlight and encourage the entrepreneurs and startups that are building high-growth companies from the ground up right here in the Midwest.  The standings right now?  Silicon Prairie: 57.  California: 247. 

And now, on January 31, 2012 from 1:15-2:00PM, Startup Kansas will officially launch in order to strengthen the Startup Silicon Prairie initiative.  The event takes place at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library and invites entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, small businesses and startup companies to sit in and learn more about the Startup Kansas initiative in the Midwest.  Startup Kansas is also holding its firstplanning meeting on January 11 from 6:00-9:00PM.  At the meeting, the group will discuss the creation of a Topeka coworking space as well.

Initiated by the White House but operated as an independent, private-sector entity, the Startup America Partnership is dedicated to growing more resources for entrepreneurs in the areas of expertise, support services, talent, customers and capital.  The initiative has started with the creation of the Startup Growth Kit, full of tools from Microsoft, American Express and Dell, connections with other entrepreneurs and free marketing and social media services. 

The focus of Startup America is to bring together the private sector to maximize the success of America’s startups and small businesses and to maximize America’s competiveness in an increasingly global world.  With an impressive list of founding board members including Steve Case, Scott Case, Carl J. Schramm, Michael Dell, Tory Burch, Reid Hoffman and Frederick W. Smith, The Startup America Partnership proudly aims to highlight entrepreneurship in and around America. 

“This is the start of a new chapter to promote small business and entrepreneurship in Kansas,” says Matt Gassen, coordinator of the Startup Kansas launch and contestant in the Startup America MasterChallenge*.  “Given the challenges of the economy nationally and locally, anything we can do to keep the positive momentum going is all for the better.” 

To join Startup Kansas, attend the launch event on January 31, 2012 at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library from 1:15 until 2:00PM.  Enjoy networking and a number of influential speakers as Kansas and Silicon Prairie accelerate their entrepreneurial drives. 

*The Startup America Master Challenge recognizes leaders who are committed to helping recruit young companies across the nation to join the Startup America Partnership.  To apply for Startup America Partnership and help Matt Gassen become a top influencer, use this unique URL: http://ar.gy/mastermg01. 

Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig