Report: Kansas City is ‘meh’ for millennial entrepreneurs
September 30, 2015 | Bobby Burch
A recent survey found that young entrepreneurs view Kansas City as a rather pedestrian locale to launch a business.
Millennial entrepreneurs ranked Kansas City as the 30th best city to start a business, according to a Thumbtack survey of about 3,700 entrepreneurs aged 34 and under. Thumbtack, which created a marketplace that connects professional service providers with customers, asked millennial entrepreneurs questions about the friendliness of local tax laws, licensing rules, the regulatory environment, training and networking opportunities and more.
Despite facing a sluggish economy after the Great Recession, millennial entrepreneurs have been launching a high number of startups and are looking for the best environments to do so.
In 2011, entrepreneurs age 20 to 34 were on average creating about 160,000 businesses each month, according to a study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. 27 percent of millennials in 2011 identified as self-employed.
Birmingham, Alabama earned the top ranking, followed by Boise, Idaho, Boulder, Colo., and Nashville, Tenn., respectively. Omaha earned a No. 12 ranking in the survey while St. Louis ranked as the 81st best place for millennial entrepreneurs. The survey evaluated 95 cities in total.

2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Pawsitive impacts: Social venture aims to break generational poverty through pet grooming
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon, a member of the KC Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, and Missouri Business Alert. Click here to read the original story. In 2018, Ashley Stillings was living in Hope House, a homeless shelter in Lee’s…
These iconic hearts are blank now, but a parade of artists is set to bring the KC landmarks back in 2023
Molly Burd acknowledges she applied for the KC Parade of Hearts on a whim. A week before the deadline, the Kansas City artist and Hewn sewing shop production manager saw applications were being accepted for artists to design the big hearts art pieces for 2023. “Once I got an email saying that there were over…
Why a KC athletic apparel founder is rebranding his business after amassing 125K+ social following
Building a clothing brand over the past decade has been like watching an art piece come to life, said Ryan Tanner Mueller, the man behind one of Kansas City’s most quietly successful apparel ventures. “I’ve always been influenced by a brutalist, minimalist-blend of streetwear and sportswear. Around the time we launched, the fashion trends were…
Her book helps kids understand football; how this 9-year-old scored her first literary field goal
Editor’s note: The following story was originally published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. For more stories like this one, subscribe to Up To Date on Spotify. Burkley Hoover has published her first book at the…
