HEMP brings Apple co-founder to KC as featured speaker

May 8, 2015  |  Abby Tillman

Screen Shot 2015-07-27 at 1.50.30 PM

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, will be the keynote speaker at The Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program’s 20th anniversary celebration.

Screen Shot 2015-07-27 at 1.50.30 PMWozniak’s experience shaping the computing industry and influential product design for Apple have produced him fame as one of technology’s key thought leaders.

“As a successful entrepreneur, Steve Wozniak understands the importance a mentor can make in someone’s life, which is why we’re so excited to have him help celebrate 20 years of inspiring people through mentorship in Kansas City,” HEMP founder Barnett Helzberg Jr. said in a recent release.

The event will also feature the announcement of the first inductee into the newly established “HEMP Hall of Fame” — a program established to honor mentors in the program. Since 1995, more than 300 entrepreneurs have participated in the program and their impact on businesses has been significant. The companies of HEMP participants have on average grown revenue 43 percent and increased headcount by 30 percent.

The event will be held the evening of Thursday, Nov. 19, in Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, 1601 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, Missouri.

Advance sale group tickets of ten or more seats are on sale now, and individual tickets will be available Sept. 15. More information can be found at www.hempkc.org.

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

2015 Startups to Watch

    stats here

    Related Posts on Startland News

    KCSourceLink expands bilingual entrepreneur-focused support, adding two more Community Navigators

    By Tommy Felts | August 22, 2025

    A network of “Community Navigators” is extending resources deeper into Kansas City’s entrepreneur community, KCSourceLink announced Friday, detailing the hiring of Citlali Valdez and Racquel Rodriguez to its months-old connectivity program. “We are thrilled to welcome these experienced team members,” said Becca Castro, senior director of regional ecosystem development at the UMKC Innovation Center, which…

    Meet the Lumi Award winners: Digital Health KC salutes pioneers leading innovation trends

    By Tommy Felts | August 21, 2025

    A lot of smart investors are betting on artificial intelligence, said Dick Flanigan, telling a crowd gathered Thursday at Digital Health Day that even if AI doesn’t turn every startup that uses it into a multi-million-dollar company, the technology still will fundamentally reshape health care. “It’s transformational,” said Flanigan, CEO of Digital Health KC and…

    Meta’s billion-dollar KC data center just came online; here’s what the region expects it to generate

    By Tommy Felts | August 21, 2025

    As Meta officially flipped the switch this week on its Kansas City Data Center — making the $1 billion project part of the company’s global infrastructure — the move positions the metro as a hub for cutting-edge tech, said Quinton Lucas. “Meta’s investment in Kansas City is a clear signal that our city is a…

    Bean around the block: How this Westport coffee shop is cherry picking roasts from its own farm in the Andes

    By Tommy Felts | August 21, 2025

    A hemisphere away from Brett Janssen’s former job at General Motors in Kansas City’s Northland, the now-budding Westport coffee shop owner found a fresh batch of opportunities: his wife, business partner and a transcontinental farm-to-cup Columbian coffee operation. Janssen’s House Coffee — the fruit of Janssen and his fiancée Genisis Mejia’s passion for coffee —…