Claure, Bloch, Helzberg to discuss the entrepreneurial ‘grind’
August 24, 2015 | Bobby Burch
About 90 percent of startups fail.
And those that don’t must toil to walk the path of success. That grind to prosperity will be the subject of discussion during a speaking series that will feature titans of Kansas City entrepreneurship.
Kansas City’s Startup Grind — a program funded by Google for Entrepreneurs — aims to offer local businesspeople a chance to personally connect with successful entrepreneurs in their area. In coming months, the series will host such business behemoths as Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, Helzberg Diamonds founder Barnett Helzberg, H&R Block co-founder Henry Bloch, Sherry Turner, executive director of the Women’s Business Center and Keith Molzer, general partner of Flyover Capital.
Turner will be the next featured guest at Startup Grind, set for Aug. 26 at Village Square Coworking Studio, 4436 State Line Road. Turner’s organization, the Women’s Business Center, helps women in the area find jobs, start businesses, get financing or invest in other businesses.
Startup Grind’s relaxed atmosphere allows attendees to more effectively network, which she said should attract young people hoping to make important connections.
“A casual environment that allows a healthy interactive dialogue between entrepreneurs and community leaders is vital to early stage companies,” Turner said. “This event is exactly what young entrepreneurs must participate in to make connections that can impact the viability of their ideas.”
Molzer, general partner of Flyover Capital said Kansas City continues to grow thanks in part to a sustained community enabling entrepreneurs to be successful. Events like Startup Grind help cultivate that community, he added.
“The entrepreneurial ecosystem in Kansas city has been building and thriving over two decades,” said Molzer, who will be a featured guest on Oct. 14. “With its great network of angel investors, entrepreneurial support organizations and exceptional talent, I think the ecosystem will continue to grow and prosper.
“Events like Startup Grind provide a great stage to showcase the best and brightest entrepreneurs and the elite business leaders that can impact our region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Molzer added.
Other top speakers include Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, who leads one of the nation’s largest wireless carriers, and previously operated Brightstar, a company he founded in 1997 that grew into a global business with more than $10 billion in revenue. Claure will sit down for a conversation on Sept. 23.
One of more than 185 programs worldwide, Kansas City’s Startup Grind has featured such speakers as C2FO CEO Sandy Kemper, FarmLink CEO Ron LeMay, Thing Big Partners Managing Partner Herb Sih, University of Missouri-Kansas City Chancellor Leo Morton and many others.
Featured Business
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Kansas City ESO icon Maria Meyers championed for bringing SourceLink to the world stage
A decades-long effort to grow inclusive entrepreneurial communities by strengthening access to critical resources began as a grassroots movement in Kansas City, said Maria Meyers, whose work recently earned her global recognition — and a rare honor in recent years for an American recipient. Meyers, the founder of SourceLink — a first-of-its-kind platform boasting more…
How this startup founder earned $200K in unrestricted, trust-based funding to transform KC’s relationship to food
Long-term community change comes one meal at a time, acknowledged one of Attane Health’s biggest supporters, reflecting on the Kansas City startup’s growth from the “spark of an idea to a full-fledged solution” — ultimately earning its founder a game-changing funding boost. The St. Louis-based Missouri Foundation for Health this month announced its inaugural Spark Prize…
Kauffman awards $5.8M funding pipeline to research how to close wealth gaps in KC, beyond
Eight newly announced research grants from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation are expected to help catalyze research-based efforts aimed at growing equitable economic mobility in Kansas City, regionally, and nationally. More than $5.8 million in research funding will be disbursed over the next three years through this first round of grantmaking through Kauffman’s new research…
KC’s top emerging business is brewing more than just beer at 18th and Vine, owners say
Winning the Emerging Small Business Award is validation that Vine Street Brewing Co. — Missouri’s first Black-owned brewery — is tapped into what the community wants and needs, two of its owners said Tuesday. “It signifies we’re moving along with purpose and that we can really lean into our goals,” explained Annie McGinnis, co-owner and…