In conjunction with sponsoring a couple of events in the Midwest, we’ve extended the deadline for new applications until August 15th. So, if you haven’t already, you still have time to submit your application to be the next Sprout! Just visit http://www.sproutbox.com/apply. TECH cocktail and Geek Dinner are two great events for the tech community and we wanted to lend them our support, but realized anyone we’ve met at the events would narrowly miss our deadline. We’ve received applications from entrepreneurs in over 20 states and 6 different countries, but we really wanted to give entrepreneurs at these events a chance to meet with us, ask questions, and still have time to submit a great application.

SproutBox is excited to be sponsoring TECH cocktail on August 6th in Chicago. Enthusiasts from all over the country will be in Chicago to continue to light the technology fire in the Midwest. TECH cocktail helps amplify the technology signal in under served markets and they have fun doing it! http://techcocktail.com

We’ll also be opening our doors to the Bloomington community and hosting Bloomington Geek Dinner on August 13th at the “Box”. Come by for pizza, drinks and tech talk with all the geeks of Bloomington! http://www.bloomingtongeekdinners.com/

The Selection and Advisory Committee is the guiding light that helps SproutBox identify, target, and grow the next generation of entrepreneurs. Each quarter, the committee assists the SproutBox founders with the selection of a new Sprout. The committee meets to review applications and hear pitches from entrepreneurs from all over the world. Once a Sprout is selected, committee members help mentor entrepreneurs by sharing their knowledge and experience over lunches, coffees, chats, and calls. The close relationship our Selection and Advisory Committee members have with each entrepreneur will be a critical component in the success of our companies.

Our committee is already loaded with successful entrepreneurs. Now we’re adding some more tech firepower. We’re proud to announce these new additions to our team!

Neal Patel – Google, Inc
Business Development and Strategy

Neal works in business development and strategy at Google, Inc., where he focuses on initiatives and partnerships that further Google’s mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Prior to joining Google, Neal worked as a strategy consultant and also spent over five years structuring and negotiating M&A and corporate finance transactions. In his spare time, Neal advises various start-ups and investors in the tech sector, and is also a co-founder of Bacche, Inc., an upscale children’s apparel company whose clothing celebrates the world and its cultural diversity. Neal holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University and a J.D. from the University of Virginia.

Anand Iyer – Microsoft, Inc
Technology Evangelist

Anand joined Microsoft in January 2005 as an Evangelist, Microsoft’s ambassador to the Silicon Valley. During his tenure there, he has been in the midst of several launches, such as Visual Studio, SQL Server, Vista, Office and many others. Anand is actively involved in the startup community in the Silicon Valley and liaises with Microsoft corporate development teams and startup companies. Before joining Microsoft, Anand worked for Cisco Systems’ New Business Ventures team, pioneering XML-based manageability solutions. Anand has close ties to the state of Indiana – he graduated from Purdue University in 2001 with a degree in Computer Engineering.

First of all, thanks to the 250+ people that made it from all over the Midwest (and beyond) to our grand opening event last Friday. We had a blast! There were a ton of people who I know really wanted to check out the space that couldn’t make the event. So I shot this quick video tour of The Box.

Each of the private offices was designed by their occupant. We are running a contest using DecideAlready to determine the favorite of the attendees. We’ll post the results here, so keep an eye out.

Kevin Makice was in attendance and wrote a great recap and snapped some awesome photos you should check out. He also put together this video which gives you a feel for what was going on here Friday night.

While you can get a general idea from the videos and photos– It’s not the same as seeing it. We’d love to give you a tour in person. Just let us know!