Hackovate Health Extends Submission Deadline and Announces Extreme Screen Location

Hackovate Health, the health-focused innovation competition powered by H&R Block and Think Big Partners has made some exciting announcements this week.

Deadline Extension
Hackovate has extended the submission deadline to Monday, February 4, 2013 (original deadline was Thursday, January 31, 2013).  This extension will allow applicants to make any changes within the iStart platform, fully complete their submission and ask any last-minute Hackovate questions.

Extreme Screen Location 
The Hackovate Health Finale on February 26, 2013 will now be one of the first events to take place in Union Station's Extreme Screen.  The Extreme Screen is Kansas City’s largest movie theater with a 60-foot wide silver screen equipped to display presentations, documentaries, commercial entertainment and even enable high-tech teleconferencing. The Extreme Screen, along with theater-style seating for 440 audience members, is located in Union Station in downtown Kansas City. The screen is accompanied by a 1100 square foot performance stage as well as high-tech projectors and speakers. The Extreme Screen officially opened on February 1, 2013.  To register to attend the free finale event, please visit http://hackovate.eventbrite.com.  

To learn more about Hackovate Health and stay updated, visit www.hackovate.com.  

Follow Hackovate! @Hackovate

Congratulations to Kansas City Startup Weekend Winners TutHopper, Keyzio & Grüple!

After 12 pitch presentations, hundreds of cups of coffee and less than 2 hours of sleep, Startup Weekend Kansas City came to a close yesterday at the Union Station Board Room.  And although many of the presenters (and even organizers) may have been delirious on Sunday night due to lack of sleep and an abundance of caffeine, there was an energy in the Startup Weekend air when the winners were finally announced.


3RD PLACE:  Congratulations to Grüple, who snagged the 3rd place prize at Startup Weekend Kansas City.  Gruple.co creates a grüp, invites grüpies, notifies grüpies, and provides grüpies with a simple and quick way to reimburse others for tickets (through debit, credit and e-check). 


2ND PLACE:  Another congratulations goes out to Keyzio, winner of the 2nd place prize.  Keyzio finds your location, allows you to verify your dream home address and then sends a postcard to inform the homeowner of your interest. 

1ST PLACE:  And finally, a BIG congratulations to TutHopper, winner of Kansas City Startup Weekend!  TutHopper is a web-based company that teaches programming and system architecture through games.  Featuring a Code Dojo and fun game-play environment, TutHopper will help kids learn coding concepts through games. Learn more at @TutHopper.  


Startup Weekend KC didn't announce the winners via press release or live blog post.  Instead, the tech-savvy event blasted out the winners via Twitter the moment they were announced at the yesterday's live finale event.

Congratulations to all participants, organizers, volunteers and sponsors of Kansas City Startup Weekend.  Another successful 54 hours are in the bag!  

Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig

Follow Startup Weekend KC! @KCSW

5 Things You'll Gain at Startup Weekend KC

The smell of a new car, the crispness of a new dollar bill, the softness of a new pillow.  We can't deny it: we love newness.  After all, having something new makes us feel like we're creating a fresh start.  So why not surround yourself with complete newness on April 13th?  


We're talking about Startup Weekend Kansas City; the opportunity for you to start fresh on a new business idea!  


Startup Weekend is a global network of passionate leaders and entrepreneurs on a mission to inspire, educate and empower individuals, teams and communities.  With this goal in mind, Startup Weekend puts together 54-hour events that focus on building a web or mobile application over the course of just one weekend.  And it's back this year for a fifth time in Kansas City on April 13, 2012. 


Join Think Big for Startup Weekend at Union Station in Kansas City...and gain all the newness you want: 


1.  New partners and connections: Entrepreneurs.  Developers.  Designers.  Marketers.  Product managers.  Startup enthusiasts.  Tech guys.  They’re all at Startup Weekend and they’re all anxious to meet you!  Startup Weekend not only provides you with the opportunity to make your startup dream come true, but it also gives you the networking opportunity that you need in order to grow your rolodex of experts and learn what others have to offer. 


2.  New ideas: You may be a hard worker, but you don't have quite the right ideas to launch a business of your own.  That's what Startup Weekend is for!  Startup Weekend will open your mind to new ideas out in the world and put you on the cutting-edge of entrepreneurship in Kansas City 


3.  New strategies: Startup Weekend is more than just a chance to launch a business—it’s a chance to expand your mind!  Startup Weekends are all about learning through the act of creating.  This event allows you to step outside of your comfort zone and work on a new platform, learn a new program, or just try something different.


4.  New perspectives: Local tech and startup leaders participate in Startup Weekends as mentors and judges. Get some one-on-one time and gain new, high-level perspectives with the movers and shakers in Kansas City at this event!


5.  A new startup! After just 54 hours, you will have built and launched a new startup in Kansas City. How cool is that?


Register for Startup Weekend today.  Stop sitting and start doing!!   You never know what can happen when you Think Big at SUW. 


Follow Startup Weekend! @StartupWeekend
Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig

KC Biz Live Allows Entrepreneurs to Network, Showcase their Businesses, and Explore Kansas City Innovation

On Thursday, the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is hosting KC Biz Live, an annual Kansas City business event that attracts more than 1,000 movers and shakers in the area—including local entrepreneurs and small business owners.

 

Kansas City entrepreneurs, innovators, and small business owners are invited to tour tabletop exhibits of more than 100 Chamber member businesses from a wide variety of industries, shop for products and services for their own companies, meet Kansas City entrepreneurs and innovators who are facing today’s business challenges, and of course, visit with new potential customers, vendors, and strategic partners.   In addition, this Kansas City business event is featuring “Be the VC” in which attendees can vote for the most innovative emerging company in Kansas City.

KC Biz Live will also allow the public a sneak peak at the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s new home, located inside of Union Station.  Attendees will even have the chance to see floor plans and renderings for the new event room, the Board Room.

Kansas City Chamber members have the ability to showcase their companies at a tabletop exhibit.  Tables can be reserved for $200 (for a business) and $150 (for a nonprofit organization).  Be sure to reserve a table ahead of time for a premier location and extra visibility.  Showcased companies will not only promote Kansas City innovation and ingenuity at this business event, but the companies will also be able to give off a professional image with a draped cocktail table, table signage, complimentary parking, pre-printed nametags, two drink tickets, a company name listed on the website, and  an invitation to the informational exhibitor seminar.

KC Biz Live will take place on Thursday, October 7, 2010 from 3:00pm-6:00pm at the North Hall of Union Station, 30 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, Missouri.  This Kansas City business event is open to the public and absolutely free.  It is the perfect opportunity to take away new business relationships and network with a fresh, exciting prospective on new and innovative Kansas City businesses!  Think Big—attend KC Biz Live! 

Written by Allison Way.  Allison is a writer and videographer for Think Big Partners and bizperc, two of Kansas City's newest entrepreneurial resources.  For more of Allison's work, check out the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner.