Today, I spent most of my day at the Big Kansas City, a conference focusing on entrepreneurship in the Midwest area. As it happened, there was something else interesting that happened today:Project Glass started sending out tweets to the new members of its Glass Explorers program – those persons who will be among the first to receive a pair of Google Glass of their own to test out.

To be one of the first, those interested had to tweet to Google with the hashtag #IfIHadGlass and their idea, along with an application and the willingness to part with $1500 if they were selected.

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Hackovate Health Announces Winners of H&R Block Health Care Innovation
Competition
H&R Block and Think Big Partners Announce the Four Winners of the Hackovate
Health Innovation cCmpetition
KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 1, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global health care focused innovation competition Hackovate Health came to a close when it announced four winning business ideas at the Finale event at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. Organized by H&R Block and Think Big Partners, the Hackovate Health Finale brought together innovators, entrepreneurs, healthcare professionals and industry leaders for a half-day pitch fest and awards ceremony.

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Kansas City’s brand new Think Big Accelerator has just announced that they are the latest partner in the Microsoft Bizspark program.

Think Big Partners and the Think Big Accelerator for emerging early stage, high growth potential startups just announced their first class of six startups last week. The six startups will participate in the accelerator program for 22 weeks of intense training to prepare the startups for a demo day to investors at the end of the session in January.

The six startups selected to go through the program received a seed investment between $18 and $25,000 dollars in exchange for 6-8% equity.

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Think Big Partners will invest as much as $144,000 in the six companies that make up the first class for its business accelerator program, the Kansas City Business Journal reports.

Managing Partner Herb Sih said Think Big’s investments in the companies will range from $18,000 to $24,000 in exchange for a 6 percent to 8 percent equity stake.

Companies in the first accelerator class include three from the Kansas City area, and one each from Los Angeles and New York.

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Think Big Partners today announced the six startups accepted into the first class of its Think Big Accelerator, a 22-week program that starts Tuesday in the company's coworking space, bizperc.

Each startup receives investment, mentorship and business services, an offering Think Big Partners managing partner Herb Sih said is done through a "joint venture" of three entities. Think Big Ventures, a fundrecently launched by Sih and Think Big Partners senior partner Tyler Prochnow, provides each startup an $18,000-$24,000 investment in exchange for a 6-8 percent equity stake. Think Big Partners provides business services. Bizperc, a coworking space owned by Think Big Partners, provides office space.

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