Entrepreneurs Converge and Create in 7th Annual Kansas City Startup Weekend

This past weekend was the 7^th annual Kansas City Startup Weekend and what a whirlwind it was! For those unfamiliar with the event, it is one of many global Startup Weekend events aimed at empowering entrepreneurs and creating viable, ready-to-launch companies…all within a 48 hour timeframe! Here’s the basic framework:

-          Speakers, mentors and entrepreneurs converge in a shared space

-          The entrepreneurs pitch their ideas

-          The best ideas organically arise via popular consensus

-          Teams are formed around the ideas

-          The next two days are a mad frenzy to create the next big thing!

According the Startup Weekend site, the 11 teams created this year were:

• Gitalytics: Github Analytics
• Pluginy: Specializes in dynamic content optimization and helping non-technical and IT professionals make changes to website content as efficiently as possible.
• Antler Atlas: The first website that allows hunters to upload pictures of their big game trophies and tag them geographically, without giving up the location of their honey-hole!
• Aqualife: Pairs your water bottle to your iPhone to ensure you don't get dehydrated.
• Shopily: Simplifies the retail experience for consumers and provides rich insight into behavior for marketers.
• LittleHootz: The digital scrapbooking app that makes it easy to create, archive and share all the unexpected and hilarious things your kids do and say. 
• Mingle: A digital networking application that makes making the connections you need fast, easy and efficient.
• Open Gardens: Open Gardens connects growers and communities to nurture collaboration and  promote sustainable living.
• All Dogs: Dog breed matching web and mobile app.
• Code Your Own: Website to build your own customized code learning experience. 
• Vidspective: The First-Person Video Marketplace.

Of the 11 teams that participated, the overall winner was LittleHootz. The idea, created and pitched by team leader Lacey Ellis, struck a chord in its potential uses for parents, teachers and other scrapbooking enthusiasts.

Second place went to Aqualife (whose website was down at the time of writing), an app that monitors how much water you’re drinking by syncing with your water bottle. Third place went to Vidspective, an application which will monetize behind-the-scene access.

Code Your Own was awarded crowd favorite, it also striking a chord with its ability to empower novice and professional coders alike by providing a clean, easy-to-use platform that only utilizes what you need.

We celebrate the speed, drive and passion of these entrepreneurs. They are adding to the growing startup economy, and we look forward to seeing what they will do with their newfound notoriety.

Is the Work-from-Home Boom About to Bust?

Headlines all over the business community have been dominated by Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer’s announcement that, starting June 1, employees will no longer be allowed to work remotely. Any employees who fail to show up to work in person at Yahoo! headquarters will be fired.

The announcement sent shockwaves through the tech world, a community which was built on telecommuting and is one of the few sectors still actively encouraging it. Beyond the initial division of support/anger, there was an overarching sense that whatever the outcome of Mayer’s decision, her new rule is perhaps an indicator that the working-from-home boom is about to bust.

Mayer’s reasons were clear in the leaked memo, stating,

To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together.

Her words are sobering, particularly in light of the recent scandal involving a high-level developer outsourcing his work to China. The man, who worked mostly from home, made a six-figure salary and paid the Chinese firm a fraction of that to do his work for him. With all that downtime, he did what anyone with so much money and free time would do: surf Reddit and watch cat videos (seriously, that’s what he did).

Simply put, it’s hard to keep track of what work is being done by who and at what quality level when so many workers are scattered all over the place. And research has shown that executives and CEOs still spend about 80% of their time in face-to-face meetings, because it’s much easier to communicate and get a sense for what’s going on that through email exchanges. Companies cannot survive on email alone, because it’s the personal interactions, the unanticipated run-ins, and the day-to-day chatter that provides an environment ripe for innovation, collaboration, and ingenuity.

Yahoo! has been clear that they are not forecasting a coworking space renaissance in the tech community, but rather making a move that is necessary for them to move forward as a company. Being a CEO is about leveraging and directing current needs for future growth, and Mayer’s decision certainly has an eye on both.

At bizperc, we see the importance of coworking. Great things happen when entrepreneurs share space to collaborate, tinker and communicate together. Mayer’s decision is a bold one, and while the ramifications remain to be seen, odds are the tech, entrepreneur and startup community will be watching closely to see what happens next.

Note: the author wrote this article from home. He didn't get on Reddit once.

Brad Feld ‘Experiments, Learns and Helps' Kansas City Startup Community with KC FiberHouse

Just in case you needed another reason to be excited about Kansas City’s startup scene: Last week, Brad Feld, Managing Director of the Foundry Group in Boulder, Colorado and co-founder of startup accelerator TechStars, announced that he bought a house in Kansas City, KS. 

People buy houses all the time, so why is this exciting?

Brad Feld’s house isn’t going to be any ordinary house, but rather a startup dream. A group of startups will be selected to live and work in the house for a year – rent free. Additionally, Brad won’t be taking any equity in the companies. According to his statement, “I’m using a ‘give before you get’ philosophy here to experiment, learn and help the Kansas City startup community.”

This announcement follows the increasing buzz about Google Fiber (which the house will be equipped with) and the Kansas City startup scene in general. Brad Feld, in addition to being an early-stage investor, has historically been a successful trend spotter. If this move is any indication, the consistent attention the Kansas City startup scene has been getting as of late isn’t going away anytime soon. If anything, this move is an indication that a movement is underway.

While the concept of free rent is new, the entrepreneurs-in-houses concept isn’t entirely new to Kansas City. Homes for Hackers and Kansas City Startup Village were both early adopters of the concept and both have had success with implementation.

In addition to being a draw for entrepreneurs, FiberHouse has opened one of their rooms on Airbnb for “fiber tourists” interested in getting as close to the entrepreneurial epicenter as possible.

As Feld says:

"I'm putting the thesis of my book into action by directly supporting a startup community that sees endless opportunities ahead. The winners will have access to Google Fiber and a neighborhood and city brimming with startup activity. They can take advantage of the many entrepreneurial programs and events offered by the Kauffman Foundation. And, lastly, I commit to take a personal interest in the entrepreneurs selected to live in my KC Fiberhouse and will do what I can to provide feedback and advice."

The application to live in FiberHouse is available through March 22. The applicants will be judged by a panel including Brad Feld, Scott Case of Startup America Partnership,  David Cohen of TechStars and Lesa Mitchell of the Kauffman Foundation. According to the site, applicants will be judged “based upon the innovative potential of their startups and their companies' ability to leverage Google Fiber.”

Interested applicants can apply here!

ShowMe SXSW Bus: The Ultimate Roadtrip for Midwest Entrepreneurs & Startups

SXSW has long been a mecca for music fans all over the world. In recent years, the festival has evolved into a place not only for music, but as a unique opportunity for startups to network, gain exposure and launch their careers. This all happens at the SXSW Interactive in Austin, TX, March 8-12, 2013. SXSW Interactive has become, in recent years, a premier place for businesses from all over the nation to converge and learn from one another. In keeping with the spirit of collaborative entrepreneurship, multiple Missouri sponsors have worked together to create the ShowMe SXSW bus.

We are excited to announce the ShowMe SXSW initiative. Largely underwritten from major sponsors like The Kauffman Foundation and The St. Louis Regional Chamber, and with additional contributions from Think Big Partners, the KU Center for Technology Commercialization, and the EDC of Kansas City, this endeavor will surely be one to remember.

The ShowMe SXSW bus is important and special for many reasons.  First, ShowMe SXSW provides access to transportation down to SXS—a gigantic community effort to support local startup and the incredible levels of innovation.  But perhaps the most important aspect of ShowMe SXSW provides young startups the chance to connect to a broad, culturally powerful audience, and learn from and bond with each other along the way. This is a collaborative effort aimed at helping innovative startups connect with each other and the world.

Two such startups are Click With Me Now from St. Louis and Phone2Action from Kansas City. Both companies have been nominated as two of the 48 internationally selected finalists for the 2013 SXSW Interactive Accelerator Award, a prestigious award that is often a launchpad for widespread cultural recognition. Receiving the award is akin to receiving an Oscar – a career is forever changed and the sky is the limit from then on out.

The ShowMe SXSW bus will depart from the Kauffman Foundation at 9 PM after a celebratory send-off for the entrepreneurs on March 7.

According to the official press release, other Missouri startups and companies traveling to Austin on the ShowMe SXSW bus include LightBridge, Local Ruckus, Stand Up For Good, Macquarie Energy, Integrated Roadways, Locker Partner, DC Ventures, The Icarus Agency, Clifton Labs, Neighbor.ly, TheHub.fm, Capital Innovators, Cultivation Capital, LockerDome, SNW Research, Crave Coffee House, Think Big Partners, KC Digital Drive, Every Child’s Hope, The App Tribe, JGrill Media, 4 First Names, GS Acoustics, H&R Block, Revvv.It,  Mano’s Gifts, SightDeckKC, RareWire, FoodEssentials, Openly Disruptive, Code for America, Digital Talent Agents and the KC Startup Network.

As you can see, ShowMe SXSW is an enormous opportunity for local startups to expand their reach via the SXSW audience, while simultaneously expanding inward their connection to other local startups. This will be a career-making event for some companies and Think Big Partners is thrilled to be a part of it.

If you’d like to learn more about ShowMe SXSW, follow on Twitter @startupmo or @showmesxsw. Bloggers will be chronicling the adventures on a Tumlbr as well as capturing the event in photos via Instagram.

In Case You Missed It...Kansas City Startup Crawl Recap

The evening of Friday, February 8 was Kansas City’s inaugural Startup Crawl. As the buzz built for weeks, and the RSVPs stacked up, everyone seemed to be wondering exactly how things would shape up. An event of unprecedented scope and partnership, the Startup Crawl, organized by Red Nova Labs (the mastermind behind Venture Fridays), showcased some of Kansas City’s fastest-growing startups.

I was lucky enough to attend Startup Crawl from start to finish (or should I say from Kauffman to Startup Village). Here’s a little recap of exactly what my crawl looked like:

STARTUP CRAWL STOP 1: The Kauffman Foundation

I started at the Kauffman Foundation at 4801 Rockhill Road. The Kauffman Foundation is perhaps the single largest source of support for Kansas City entrepreneurs. Host of the weekly forum 1 Million Cups, a meeting which gives two companies the opportunity to present to a wide range of Kansas City entrepreneurs, mentors, and advisors, the Kauffman Foundation is near the epicenter of the Kansas City startup scene.

The organization’s dedication to exposing local companies to broad audiences showed in their food selection alone. Given prominent placement at the food table were local companies like Milk & Honey, creators of flavorfully innovative, artistic, and original French Macaroons.

Milk & Honey macaroons were full of complex flavor and texture

Other local flavors showcased at Kauffman included Farm to Market bread and fruit tarts from the Berry Nutty Farm (shown below) as well as an assortment of Boulevard beer at the open bar (plus white and red wine).

Locally-made finger foods like these fruit tarts were a real treat at Kauffman

In addition to the gourmet finger foods and beverages (including a soda refrigerator full of Mountain Dew!), Kauffman also had a variety of activities. You could attend Marketing Trivia, with a new game starting every 15 minutes, or you could have your photo taken at the Kauffman Lab photo booth (the pictures will soon be uploaded to their Facebook page). You could even write your Twitter handle on the networking whiteboard, or engage in the main draw of the evening: conversation. Walking through the room, I could hear dozens of people networking – explaining what they did, why it mattered, and how they could potentially connect with the person they were talking with. The room was humming with energy, insight and prospect.

A Kauffman Labs photographer was on hand to take pictures for their Facebook page

STARTUP CRAWL STOP 2: Think Big Partners

After a half hour at Kauffman, the shuttle arrived and we boarded. The shuttle ride was heated, spacious and relaxing. Our next stop was Think Big Partners at 1800 Baltimore. Choosing the stairs over the elevator, it was exciting to hear the conversations grow louder with each step. Upon walking through the glass doors, the first thing to be noticed was the Roasterie coffee bar, Kansas City’s great coffee company being a staple in the Thing Big offices. The next was the panoramic view. The third was the keg of Boulevard Wheat beer, which a group of Kansas City entrepreneurs were heartily enjoying. Tyler Prochnow, senior partner and co-founder of Think Big Partners, was welcoming visitors and readily answering any questions they had.

The Roasterie coffee bar with the Kansas City skyline as a backdrop

But the beer wasn’t the only thing keeping people flowing through the doors at Think Big Partners. The sprawling office space, with its panoramic views of the city and multiple stories of collaborative use, was thoroughly engaging. Revdel, a cloud-based events-scheduling service provider founded by Patrick Stoddart, was being showcased on the fourth floor.

The 6th floor of Think Big Partners houses the stunning bizperc event space

The fourth floor of the building boasts meeting rooms, a productivity center, a resource library, a kitchen, a mailroom, and Roasterie coffee bar. More established startups and entrepreneurs are housed on the fifth floor, including reclaimed material marketplace Planet Reuse, mobile banking platform Dwolla, and community engagement platform Mindmixer, to name a few. CandyCam Multimedia Robotics was even demoing their Skyhook Prototype, an innovative approach to camera technology that will certainly be a game changer (shown below).

The Skyhook Prototype is a fascinating, mathematically brilliant innovation in camera technology

STARTUP  CRAWL STOP 2: OfficePort

The next stop on the tour was OfficePort, a coworking space at 208 W. 19th Street. Outside the office, the iconic Roasterie Airstream was serving hot coffee. After getting a coffee warm-up, we walked inside and were greeted by friendly staff.

The Roasterie Airstream made an appearance outside OfficePort

The OP staff explained the OfficePort concept: a month-to-month office space rental that can be scaled to meet your size needs at any time. The innovative office space concept felt highly conducive to collaboration and creativity. In addition to boasting a roof-full of solar panels, OfficePort also houses EventPort, a 3,000 square foot event space which is often used for performance events.

The month-to-month, on-demand sizing concept ensures that startup companies can grow at their own pace

OfficePort was highlighting its collaboration with Kansas City B-Cycle, a membership-based city-wide bicycle rental concept. Right next to the bicycles was an open whiskey bar, an OfficePort Friday tradition. The room was full of Kansas City entrepreneurs networking and having fun. The mood was relaxed and inviting.

Just one of the many whiskey’s available for tasting at OfficePort

STARTUP CRAWL STOP 4: BetaBlox

Next up on the tour was BetaBlox at 3101 Mercier. BetaBlox, a seed accelerator/startup incubator, is housed in the incredibly unique Downtown Underground. Because of the nature of being housed underground, it doesn’t require heating in the winter or very much cooling in the summer.

The Downtown Underground is an innovative entrepreneurial environment

We weren’t sure what to expect from an underground office, but we were pleasantly surprised. Similar to other stops on the tour, BetaBlox had Boulevard beer on tap. The mood at BetaBlox felt more focused on the networking aspect of the tour, with beer and snacks being all they needed to inspire countless conversations among guests.

The stripped-down feel of BetaBlox radiated focus on the work

The space at BetaBlox was impressive, with the exposed limestone underground drawing a lot of attention from visitors. BetaBlox had the feel of a lean startup environment akin to an early-day Facebook. While the space didn’t have the city views of some of the other spaces, it was nonetheless captivating. The room was alive with energy.

The exposed and painted limestone was of high interest to guests

STARTUP CRAWL STOP 5: Red Nova Labs

Our next stop was Red Nova Labs at 4830 Rainbow. Red Nova Labs is a diverse work space, housing web developers, marketing agencies and technology think-tanks in its large space. A keg, self-serve bar and food center (including hot dogs!) and ping pong table set the fun mood.

Red Nova Labs made sure to create a fun, engaging environment

Local startups were being showcased around the room. The CEOs of Ruxter and BuzzMeDo, mobile marketing platforms changing the ways companies communicate with companies, were manning an information booth and networking. The Kansas City Cupcake Co., a company which makes custom cupcakes for businesses, was sampling their different varieties. Stand Up For Good, a community mobilization platform, and KC Roundtable, an entrepreneurial leadership group, both had networking tables as well.

Ruxter and BuzzMeDo were two of many companies networking at Red Nova Labs

Like so many other spaces we had seen over the course of the evening, it was clear that the space at Red Nova Labs was intentionally designed with collaboration in mind. The open floor plan, centrally located kitchen, and multi-level space all encourage startups and entrepreneurs to create together.

The hot dog bar was a big hit with guests

STARTUP CRAWL STOP 6 (LAST STOP!): Kansas City Startup Village

Our final stop of the Startup Crawl was Kansas City Startup Village at 4454 State Line Road, a grassroots entrepreneurial initiative. We were surprised when the shuttle pulled up to a house! Upon entering, however, it was clear this was no ordinary space. Innovative startups lived inside – from the mobile search app Leap2, to the mobile authentication app EyeVerify, to the social voting platform SquareOffs, to multiple others, the house was packed to the brim with startups.

The Weston Brewing Company showcased their entire selection

The house was packed with guests who were enjoying regional brewery Weston Brewing Company’s entire selection. A live band filled the air with music, and a fire pit kept the outside guests warm. The offices inside were spacious. One can only imagine how much collaboration a typical day brings.

What on the outside looks like a regular house turns out to be an innovation nexus on the inside

Since this was our last stop, we stuck around for a little while and enjoyed the music and conversation. It felt like the perfect end to an unprecedented evening.

A bluegrass band completed a fun-filled evening

Carrie Royce, co-founder/CMO/CSO of Red Nova Labs and organizer of the Venture Fridays Startup Crawl, did an amazing job organizing this event. Unprecedented in scope, the Startup Crawl shined a bright spotlight on the Kansas City startup scene. If it wasn’t before, it is clear now that Kansas City is full of entrepreneurs who are bringing innovative, game-changing products and services to the world. The sheer proximity to so much creativity was stunning. Whether you were an industry veteran or a first-timer looking to learn more about the Kansas City startup scene, this event had something for everyone.

It was clear throughout the evening that every participant in the Startup Crawl had invested time, money and thought in how best to facilitate networking in their respective spaces. These initial investments are investments in the future. Throughout the evening I kept thinking about how much money was being generated through the crawl, in terms of future collaborations, inventions and companies that will be created from networking. It might not be immediate, but eventually the fruits of the startup crawl networking will show, and if the countless conversations throughout the night are an indicator, they will occur in abundance. So while this startup experience was fun and informative, it was also a boon to the local economy. Here’s to the future we’re creating together, and to more events like this one that help make such a future possible.

Jeb and Patrick: A bizperc Coworking Collaboration Story

We often think of collaboration as something that only happens intentionally through formal meetings or events. While that may often be the case, it’s also true that collaboration is often embedded in startup environments, and perhaps especially so at Think Big Partners’ coworking space, bizperc. Many times, entrepreneurial collaboration grows organically from proximity and shared space.  This happened to be the case with ambitious startup leaders Jeb Ory and Patrick Stoddart.

Jeb Ory

Jeb Ory is the co-founder of Phone2Action, a mobile campaign platform that's rewriting the rules of community empowerment. Patrick Stoddart recently joined the bizperc coworking space as founder of Revdel, a cloud-based communications and event-scheduling service provider in education, government, religious organizations, and more. The two began talking since they sat a couple desks away from each other. We'll let Patrick tell the rest.

"After chatting back and forth over a couple months," Patrick says, "we realized that while our products and audiences might have been different, Jeb and I were utilizing very similar technology.  A month and a half ago, just before landing his first significant contract with the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO), Jeb's CTO unfortunately had to step down. That left a huge need for fulfilling technical requirements prior to the start of the contract."

From there, the collaboration seemed almost effortless.  

"Knowing me, he scooted over in his chair and asked if I wouldn't mind helping with his development needs. The needs were pretty straightforward, so I agreed and built him some projects and pieces that he needed for the startup."

Patrick smiles at this point in the interview. "It turns out that Jeb was going on a gospel tour in the South—Louisville, Jackson, Memphis, Baton Rouge, Mobil, Birmingham—with Marvin Sapp, a well-known gospel singer and charter school founder. BAEO was utilizing Jeb's platform to gain support for charter schools in marginalized communities with few desirable school options."

Patrick Stoddart

"I happened to walk by Jeb one day," Patrick continues, "and he asked me if I wanted to join him on the tour for technical support. I said, 'Let me think about it.' I came back five minutes later and said, 'Okay, I've thought about it, and I can't think of a reason not to, so let's do it!' We took a look at my schedule and decided that I would attend the first half of the tour."

When asked about the turnout, Patrick had encouraging data to illustrate the positive impact of the BAEO/Phone2Action partnership. "We had 12,000 attendees, with over 25% of participants using Phone2Action. We were pulling data all night and sending it to BAEO, and that data helped them make informed decisions about where to focus their resources." At the time of writing, Jeb was still on the tour.

Their collaboration a so successful that the two decided to see what other ways they could branch out as entrepreneurs. 

"We've talked about other ways to leverage our products," Patrick begins. "We want to be able to keep in touch with product launch, so on Wednesday morning at 1 Million Cups we leveraged Phone2Action for content acquisition, collecting over 70 user's information. 

Reflecting on the collaboration, Jeb has nothing but glowing remarks for Patrick and Think Big Partners. “We are thrilled to work together with the great people of Think Big. In fact, one day I looked around and realized that I had received help in some fashion from 10 different people since I moved into Think Big last September. All I can say is WOW. And getting to work with Patrick? Now that's something EXTRA special. He's one of the best engineers I have ever met; like Zuckerberg smart. KC, keep an eye on this one," 

The Kansas City startup community is quickly gaining recognition as one of the premier sources for innovation, thanks to people like Jeb and Patrick. Their startup collaboration is the product of the Think Big Partners/bizperc open environment—a startup hub that's humming with conversation, networking, and opportunity. It's people like Jeb and Patrick—ambitious, open-minded, and generous entrepreneurs—that make the Kansas City startup community such an exciting place to be.