17 KC entrepreneurs selected to ‘ScaleUP!’

A KCSourceLink program that connects high-achieving entrepreneurs with mentors and resources announced its latest brood of businesspeople.

ScaleUp! KC revealed Wednesday a group of 17 Kansas City-area entrepreneurs that hope to kick their businesses into higher gear. The diverse group includes entrepreneurs in such fields as software, transportation, fitness, food and more.

It is the second group that KCSourceLink has welcomed into the program, which aims to fill a gap in the area entrepreneurial ecosystem by supporting firms that have significant revenues but require support and expertise to scale.

“We know this second cohort will continue to raise the bar, for their companies and for the Kansas City economy,” Maria Meyers, director of the UMKC Innovation Center and founder of KCSourceLink, said in a release. “With their talent and the education, support and connections they’ll get through the ScaleUP! program, there are no limits to what they’ll be able to accomplish. This is truly what it means to ‘grow your own’ when we talk about building sustainable entrepreneurship and increasing economic opportunities.”

To be accepted, the entrepreneurs must lead a company that’s at least two-years-old, drive annual sales between $150,000 and $750,000, have a market that can generate more than $1 million and determination to exceed that mark.

The second cohort group includes:

• Sharon Auck of Fresh Approach Cleaning Professionals
• Chris Bird of Project Blackbird
• Lori Bryan of Lynch Bryan Consulting
• Russell Criswell of Vulcan’s Forge
• Steve Crockett of Gray Swan Software
• Karl Dunivent of Choice Cabinet KC
• Steve Redmond of FEWDM Fitness
• Kris Fredrickson of TeeQuest Solutions
• Sheldon Gray of Peak Roofing
• Ben Kittrell, DoodleKit
• Sharon Kwon of Korean Restaurant Sobahn
• Patrice Manuel of P/Strada
• Vincent Rodriguez of Velo+ Maps Coffee Roasters
• Chris Rosburg of CR Promotions
• Natasha Shirey of Freedom Transportation
• Joseph Thomas of Joeycuts & 180V Barber|Salon
• Summor White of Sitting Comfortably Pet Care

Jill Meyer, program director of ScaleUP! KC, said the program’s first cohort has scored many successes after graduation. That group also included a variety of industries, including technology, wine, logistics and software. One company, El Padrino Soccer Nation, was named the Kansas City Kansas Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the year.

“We were astounded by the talent, drive and early successes of our first cohort,” Meyer said in a release “We’ve already seen companies make early, significant strides with strategic plans, fresh branding, capital infusions, expansions, new employees.”

To learn more on the program, click here.