A Match.com for startups, PitchCastr seeks to connect investors with entrepreneurs

WRITTEN BY TIM SAMPSON, NEWSCASTIC 

Rejection is hard enough in the business world. But do you really need to fly across the country just to be told “no?”

The folks at ThinkBigPartners.com don’t think so, and they’re poised to soft launch a new service at South By Southwest this year aimed at cutting out the time startups waste courting the wrong investors while making it easier to connect with the right ones.

“It’s a frustrating process,” said Herb Sih, co-founder and managing partner of Think Big. “We watch a lot of our entrepreneurs spend money to get on a plane, fly across the country to meet with investors who may not even be interested in what they have to say, just to get a rejection. There has to be a better way.”

Sih and his partners hope they’ve found a better way in the form of PitchCastr. Something of a Match.com for start-ups and venture capitalist, the site lets financial backers browse through a catalogue of pitch videos posted by nascent business owners looking to secure capital.

Online for nearly a month now, the Kansas City-based entrepreneurial incubator hopes PitchCastr can break away from the pack at SXSW Interactive this week in Austin, Texas. The key to doing this, Sih said, is to distinguish the new service from similar funding-based operations like Kickstarter.

“The scope is a lot bigger than Kickstarter,” Sih said. “We’re not just looking to raise funds for our entrepreneurs. We want to connect them with serious investors who will make a commitment.”

The promise of PitchCastr is two-fold. It’s designed to let entrepreneurs cast the widest possible net for funding, while simultaneously helping investors sort through just the pitches that interest them.

Start-ups post a brief video pitch online (no more than 10 minutes). From there, financiers look through and select the ones that pique their interest. If enough investors show interest in the same idea, the entrepreneurs can then schedule a live “demo day” in which they can teleconference with all the interested backers simultaneously.

“I think this is going to cut down on a lot of travel time and a lot of wasted time,” Sih said.

PitchCastr is a logical extension for Think Big, a company that prides itself on moving startups quickly from the incubator stage to financial self-sufficiency. The National Business Incubation Association reports that most startups spend an average of 33 months in a business incubator or accelerator firm.

But from its inception in 2010, Think Big has been focused on revving up the process. Based out of a 20,000 sq. ft. office in downtown Kansas City, the firm has already served nearly 400 clients, with an emphasis on establishing revenue streams within 90 days.

“On average, start-ups are spending 2-3 years inside incubators,” Sih said. “That may have been fine at one time. But in the tech world, your market could be gone in 2-3 years.”

In addition to helping investors, Think Big is also helping to boost the profile of Sih’s hometown of Kansas City as a hotbed for technology startups. Though it may seem like an unlikely location, Kansas City has been integral in nearly doubling the number of start-ups in the Midwest, according to Venture51. The town was also chosen as one of the pilot cities for Google’s fiber optic program because of all the startup activity. Think Big also partnered with the city’s chamber of commerce last year to host its first startup conference. PitchCastr is a Microsoft Bizspark company, using the Windows Azure platform.

“There’s more going on here than people might realize,” Sih said. “And in this day and age, it’s easy to connect and start a tech company from just about anywhere.”

And with the arrival of PitchCaster [sic], that’s just the point that Sih and his partners are hoping to make.

Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark providing Software, Support, and Visibility to Software Startups. Visit microsoft.com/bizspark for more information.

Read the original story: http://www.newscastic.com/news/a-match-com-for-startups-pitchcastr-seeks-to-connect-investors-with-entrepreneurs-227168/ 

Follow PitchCastr: @PitchCastrTips 

Think Big Partners Hosts Two Startup Events During Kansas City’s Global Entrepreneurship Week

KANSAS CITY, MO—November 7, 2012—Kansas City-based startup accelerator and business incubator Think Big Partners has teamed up with Microsoft Windows 8, Startup Weekend and Global Entrepreneurship Week to host two entrepreneurial events on November 16, 2012 in Kansas City, Missouri. Think Big Partners’ two events taking place during Global Entrepreneurship Week feature networking opportunities for startup entrepreneurs as well as a chance to learn how to use Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 8.

Think Big Partners first Global Entrepreneurship Week event is Startup Waffles, a popular breakfast networking event open to all attendees of Global Entrepreneurship Week and Startup Weekend. The event is free (requires registration) and will be hosted by Think Big Partners at the bizperc coworking space (1800 Baltimore Avenue, 6^th floor, Kansas City, MO 64108). Startup Waffles starts at 7:30am on Friday, November 16 and lasts until 9:30am.

“In the past, Startup Waffles has always had a great turn out,” says Sarah Snyder, Think Big Partners meeting planner and event manager.  “It’s an event that Kansas City entrepreneurs look forward to because it’s an outstanding networking opportunity.  We look forward to bringing together KC’s most well-connected entrepreneurs during Global Entrepreneurship Week.” 

Following Startup Waffles, Think Big Partners will host Microsoft Windows 8 Kansas City Bootcamp on the 6^th floor of the bizperc loft space.  Led by Microsoft startup evangelist Taylor Cowan, the technology-focused bootcamp will concentrate on educating attendees on how to effectively utilize and build on the new, highly-regarded Windows 8 platform.  The free event is open to Global Entrepreneurship Week attendees as well as the Kansas City startup and entrepreneurship communities. Though it is free to attend, space is extremely limited and registration is required. Midwest-based developers, entrepreneurs and startups interested in learning more about the highly-regarded Windows 8 platform are encouraged to attend.

Starting at 10:00am on Friday, November 16, startup evangelist Taylor Cowan will give a presentation that will highlight how to navigate Windows 8, the user-experience patterns, the inherent async design and integration features.  In addition to great learning opportunities during the Microsoft event, attendees will also receive access to Microsoft BizSpark accounts for free as well as access to Microsoft software.  Attendees will also have hands-on access to demonstrate and intact with four touch devices loaded with Windows 8, including two of the brand new Microsoft Surface tablets and two Microsoft slates.

In addition to the bootcamp portion of the event, attendees will have the chance to speak with Taylor Cowan about both Windows 8 and Azure during private office hours from 2:00pm-4:00pm on Friday, November 16. 

Potentially interested attendees are encouraged to sign up for both events as space is limited and is expected to fill up quickly.  To learn more about Startup Waffles, Microsoft Windows 8 Kansas City Bootcamp and other Global Entrepreneurship Week events, please visit KCSourceLink’s GEW Calendar of Events. 

Microsoft Azure Cloud vs. Amazon Web Services

While hosting Microsoft's Azure Cloud and Windows 8 App Kickstarts, we were asked a lot of questions.  But the most prevalent question of all seemed to be "What's the difference between Microsoft Azure Cloud and Amazon Web Services?"

We're glad you asked.  Because as a matter of fact, there are a lot of things that differentiate Microsoft's Azure and Amazon's cloud platform.  Which one is right for you?  Read below to find out:

Who Leads in the Cloud Space?
Amazon has been known as the cloud leader for quite some time now mainly because of its competitive price points.  But that hasn't stopped Azure from claiming some of the top accounts including Boeing, General Mills, Lockheed Martin, Travelocity and Xerox. At the same time, Amazon Web Services have been around longer and plans to expand its global datacenters and cloud portfolio.  When it comes to credibility, Amazon may be the most trusted, but Azure isn't far behind.

IaaS vs PaaS
Amazon is best known for its Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) when Azure provides a Platform as a Service (PaaS).  What's the difference?  In IaaS models, the vendor only provides the underlying infrastructure (to include network, storage, compute resources and virtualization technology).  PaaS models, on the other hand, provide both an underlying infrastructure as well as the application development platform to include automation to deploy, test and iterate applications (through operating systems, databases, middleware, up-to-date tools and services).   

Which Makes Building Easier?
Azure seems to be more user-friendly than AWS.  According to Craig Knighton of LiquidSpace, "it is easier for the average engineer to accomplish high availability on Azure because the tools push you down that path and make it pretty darn easy to build stateless applications."  .NET engineers will also benefit more by utilizing Azure cloud while Java and Python developers may excel using AWS.

Which Performs Faster?
It's a close one, but AWS might take the cake.  Experts believe that AWS and Azure are probably equal when it comes to pure performance, but AWS may out-perform Azure when it comes to specialized applications.

Which Saves Me the Most Time? 
Hands down Azure.  As a strong PaaS, Microsoft's Azure Cloud platform automatically configures, optimizes and updates the cloud environment for the developer, saving loads of time.

Which One is More Cutting Edge? 
AWS may be considered more "cutting edge" than Azure.  The platform gives developers the capability to deploy new technologies event before becoming part of the platform.  But in the case of a simple business application, either AWS or Azure will do the trick.

Which Has a Better Failover Strategy?
It's a tie.  There is no way to provide a 100% uptime of availability zone or data-center whether that be on Azure or AWS.  Keep in mind that disasters usually happen because of poor application not because of the fragility in the cloud.  AWS is still recovering for the 4-day outage it endured in April of 2011.

Which Is Better for Big Data?
Amazon does big data really well.  Whether it's extra-large memory instances, high-CPU instances or cluster compute instances, Amazon really can't be beat.

Which Has More at Stake?
Azure--but that may be a good thing.  Knighton notes that if Microsoft fails with its cloud platform, the company will die a long, slow death.  Amazon, on the other hand, can rely on book selling if AWS fails.  Therefore, with Microsoft facing more pressure with the platform, there's no doubt that its Azure cloud service will succeed.  Either way, one thing is for sure, neither Microsoft or Amazon are going away anytime soon.

Which One's Cheaper?
Both Azure and AWS allow you to utilize a free usage tier to test out the platforms.  From there, it's up to the user to determine how much they want to spend on their cloud platform service.  Therefore, price depends on what services you need to use.  I will say that in order to determine how much money you will spend, Azure has a super easy pricing calculator (vs. Amazon's pricing charts).

Let's face it.  You can't go wrong with either Azure Cloud or AWS.  Both provide great cloud platform options--it all depends on what you need it for most, what type of developer you are and what you're trying to accomplish.  We'll let you make the decision on your own.

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Think Big and Microsoft BizSpark Offer Startups $60,000 in Cloud Services on Windows Azure

WRITTEN BY ALLISON WAY, SENIOR COPYWRITER & CHIEF EDITOR

Think Big Partners, a technology-focused startup accelerator and mentorship-based collaborative coworking space for entrepreneurs, and Microsoft BizSpark Plus have collaborated to offer startups $60,000 in cloud services on the new Windows Azure program.

BizSpark Plus is an extension of the Microsoft BizSpark program, designed to accelerate the success of startups around the world. The program works through select incubators and accelerators such as Think Big Partners to provide value-added products and services to high-potential startups. The BizSpark Plus package will provide startups up to $60,000 of compute and storage per startup for up to two years.

Microsoft BizSpark has selected Think Big Partners among 40 other incubators and accelerators to become a part of its BizSpark Plus Partners global network and will provide exceptional Microsoft offers to the high-growth startups undergoing the Think Big accelerator process. The 40 accelerators and incubators involved in this program have been chosen by Microsoft based on their ability to attract and work with world-class startups. Over time, Microsoft plans to extend additional offers to startups through the BizSpark Plus Partners.

"We are excited about this opportunity," said Herb Sih, Co-Founder of Think Big Partners. "Microsoft BizSpark is a valuable and proven technology solution for entrepreneurs and startups when they need it most. In addition, BizSpark Plus has given Think Big Partners the opportunity to be faster and smarter when it comes to building profitable companies."

Think Big Partners has worked with high-growth tech startups from across the nation that use cloud computing services. According to TechStars, cloud applications are driving the new startup ecosystem and provide startups the ability to drive user adoption, scale their businesses and generate financial returns faster than ever before. Windows Azure will offer a simple and powerful platform for the creation of Web applications and services.

By providing Windows Azure, Microsoft and Think Big Partners hope to help startups grow their businesses by offsetting cloud computing costs so that they can focus their efforts on other business challenges including research, development, investment and promotion. For more information about the BizSpark Plus program, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/plus.

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