TBP’s June Entrepreneur Corner Brings in Hundreds of First Friday Shoppers

It’s not every day that a bunch of Kansas City’s local storefront owners can gather together to sell their homemade, one-of-a-kind items.  But thanks to the newly-formed Zaarly Bazaars (and a dynamite collaboration with Think Big Partners), we were able to bring together many of Kansas City’s coolest storefront owners during First Fridays.  The result?  Hundreds of people in and out of our parking lot buying some of the city’s most unique entrepreneurial products.   

There’s no denying it: June 7 was one of Kansas City’s most successful First Fridays.  The Crossroads was buzzing with local vendors, live entertainment (who got to see the Quixotic show?), live bands and hundreds upon thousands of excited attendees.  Snow & Co. was at one-in, one-out capacity, PizzaBella was completely full until 11:00 at night and our parking lot at 18^th & Baltimore was crammed with local shoppers from 7:30-9:30pm.

As a matter of fact, according to Zaarly, over 100 downloads of the Zaarly app occurred during this Entrepreneur Corner--in just a matter of a few hours!

If you had the chance to stop by Entrepreneur Corner and check out our Zaarly Bazaar, we hope you enjoyed your experience (and we hope you walked away with something awesome!  Maybe a Nelson-Atkins inspired Kansas City t-shirt?  Or a throw pillow in the shape of Missouri?). 

We snapped a few photos ourselves as we enjoyed chatting with new and old faces at Entrepreneur Corner.  Take a look:

Our own Think Big booth attracted budding entrepreneurs from the Kansas City area.

Zaarly storefront owners conversed and sold to First Friday attendees.

The Think Big Partners team celebrates Entrepreneur Corner, First Fridays and the Zaarly Bazaar by crowding around Think Big Accelerator's newest product--a Fully charging station/cocktail table. 

Thanks to all who made it out to Entrepreneur Corner and our first ever Zaarly Bazaar during First Fridays!  We hope you had as much fun as we did.

To learn more about Entrepreneur Corner, visit us on Facebook!

What is a Zaarly Bazaar?

As many of you already know, Think Big Partners is hosting a Zaarly Bazaar during Entrepreneur Corner (First Fridays) on June 7, 2013.  Sure, it sounds interesting, but what is a Zaarly Bazaar exactly? 

First of all, let’s talk about Zaarly—one of the most well-known and successful startups from the Kansas City region.  Zaarly is an online marketplace that helps you buy and sell things with the people around you.  Zaarly pushes the notion of “buying local”.  The platform allows you to browse local listings, place orders, hold on to your favorites, and ultimately, discover what local products you love.

The explanation above makes it seem as if Zaarly is an online-only business.  Not so fast!  Thanks to Zaarly Bazaars, much like the one we are hosting on June 7, buyers can meet local Zaarly storefront owners live and in person.  Once a month, Zaarly throws a good old fashioned bazaar in its various cities, bringing locals the best of the best of food, services and handmade goods.  Zaarly also makes multiple appearances at flea markets and other local events nationwide (so keep your eye out!).

If you’re an avid Zaarly user (or are just interested in learning more about this successful KC startup) be sure to swing by Think Big Partners’ parking lot at 1800 Baltimore during First Fridays (June 7, 2013 from 5:30-8:30pm) to learn more, get involved and buy local.  See you there!

Is your startup interested in showcasing at a future Entrepreneur Corner? Contact us! 

June 2013 Entrepreneur Corner: Zaarly Bazaar

Now that summer is upon us, it’s time to celebrate and recognize all the hard work Kansas City’s entrepreneurs have done while suffering through the snowy winter.  And we’re doing it this First Friday! 

It’s time to kick off another summer of Entrepreneur Corner. If you’re not familiar with Entrepreneur Corner, it’s an event hosted by Think Big Partners during First Fridays at our headquarters in the heart of the Crossroads Arts District (1800 Baltimore). Each Entrepreneur Corner event serves as a showcase of local Kansas City entrepreneurs and startups.

The first Entrepreneur Corner of the year will take place on June 7th from 5:30-8:30pm in the Think Big Partners parking lot (our May EC was unfortunately canceled due to weather). For the month of June we are partnering with Zaarly to host a Zaarly Bazaar.  The Bazaar will showcase Zaarly’s local small business storefronts.

We will also be featuring the First Friday by the Pitch app (powered by intev).  The app is a one-stop-shop for info of every event happening on First Friday.

No amazing social event would be complete without drinks—and Think Big has that covered! If you’re wondering about music too, look no further. Think Big Accelerator company WeeJay will be demoing its technology that allows you to be the DJ!

So clear your calendars on June 7^th from 5:30-8:30pm and join us at Entrepreneur Corner to celebrate the beautiful weather and support local entrepreneurs and startups!  See you then. 

Is your startup interested in showcasing at a future Entrepreneur Corner? Contact us!