Popular ScaleUp! KC program welcoming area applicants
September 9, 2015 | Bobby Burch
ScaleUp! Kansas City is now accepting applications from area entrepreneurs that hope to boost their businesses through mentorship and a strong network of peers.
The program, which is now in the midst of its second class, welcomes about 15 businesspeople that aim to push their firm’s revenue past $1 million annually. ScaleUp! KC connects entrepreneurs with mentors, peers and resources to grow their businesses.
Operated by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Innovation Center, the program’s third cohort will be accepting applications until Nov. 23 and will begin in January.
“We know it’s important to attract and recruit companies to Kansas City, but growing our own [and] helping our homegrown businesses scale is critical to strengthening our economy, creating jobs and improving lives,” said Maria Meyers, director of the UMKC Innovation Center. “ScaleUP! KC wraps vital resources around Kansas City entrepreneurs who already know success and want to build bigger, better businesses right here in Kansas City. We’re energized that so many entrepreneurs — 32 to date — are using the program to strengthen their businesses and to create economic impact.”
ScaleUp! KC director Jill Meyer said that the program has made a significant impact on the entrepreneurs’ businesses since its January 2015 start.
Jowler Creek Vineyard & Winery recently received a loan to add a 6,000 square-foot facility to triple its footprint and increase production by more than 300 percent. El Padrino Apparel and Soccer Nation in June won the Kansas City Kansas Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year award.
“It’s been quite impressive to see the progress these companies have made in such a short time,” Meyer said in a release.
To be accepted into the program, 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 in revenue and the determination to exceed that mark.
Click here to learn more about those now in the program.
Featured Business
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Code for Kansas City hacking into fifth year; more civic hackers needed
After five years hacking, Code for Kansas City is expanding its reach with new projects and avenues for using the brigade’s coding and technology skills to identify and match problems in the community with potential solutions. A fifth annual hackathon event this weekend — the National Day of Civic Hacking or HackKC — illustrates the…
DivvyHQ lauded as one of industry’s best at content marketing conference
Kansas City-based software platform DivvyHQ nabbed two top awards at the Content Marketing World convention earlier this month in Cleveland, Ohio. For the second consecutive year, the startup received the audience choice award for the top content creation and workflow platform from the Content Marketing Institute — an industry leader with which DivvyHQ has an established…
Video: Hammerspace fueling maker community through supportive network
Since its launch in 2011, Hammerspace has served as a community space for hundreds of Kansas Citians. Unlike coworking spaces with traditional desks and chairs, Hammerspace gives members access to lasers, 3-D printers, sewing stations, radio components, and equipment for welding, sculpting, woodworking and other art forms. In April, Hammerspace moved out of its Brookside…
Glassdoor ranks KC No. 3 in nation for jobs; software engineers wanted
The Midwest is hiring. And Kansas City stands out among the best in the region, according to a new study. Popular job search site Glassdoor released a list of the top cities for jobs, ranked by affordability, hireability and employee job satisfaction. Kansas City nabbed a No. 3 spot on the list, following Pittsburgh at…