High-profile judges for Kauffman contest includes Marcelo Claure, VCs
October 29, 2015 | Bobby Burch
A star-studded lineup of businesspeople from around the nation will be judging 15 startups in the Kauffman Foundation’s One in a Million pitch contest.
The competition, which will take place on Nov. 17 and 18 during Global Entrepreneurship Week, will award $10,000 to one startup that previously participated in the foundation’s 1 Million Cups program.
Those evaluating all 15 firms and whittling the round to five finalists are: Anita Newton, CMO of Kansas City-based Adknowlege; Sherry Turner, founder of OneKC for Women; Alicia Herald, CEO of myEDmatch; Trey Bowles, CEO of the Dallas Entrepreneur Center; and Nathan Gold, a public speaker known as the “Demo Coach.”
Judges in the competition’s final round of five startups are: Marcelo Claure, CEO of Sprint; Nicole Glaros, chief product officer of Techstars; and Paul Kedrosky, managing partner of SK Ventures.
A panel of judges evaluated 40 contestants’ business plans and pitch videos and then selected the semifinalists to compete for a grand prize of $10,000. Second- and third-place winners will receive $5,000 and $1,000, respectively.
Three Kansas City companies are among the semifinalists in the competition.
The companies representing the Kansas City area are:
- AEGLE Palette, of Shawnee, Kan., which created a digital placemat that helps users monitor and control their dietary intake.
- blooom, of Leawood, Kan., which offers users an online 401k tool that automates management of funds to maximize growth.
- Idle Smart, of Kansas City, Kan., which created automated engine start-stop technology that reduces overnight idle time by 70 percent, reducing costs for fleets by keeping batteries charged and engines warm.
Featured Business
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Planner pitches two-mile gondola over West Bottoms, linking KCK, KCMO downtowns
Editor’s note: The following story originally published by CityScene KC, an online news source focused on Greater Downtown Kansas City. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for the weekly CityScene KC email review. The idea of using gondolas for mass transit in Kansas City is back, but this time it’s being floated by…
Retaking the ‘entrepreneur’ label: ‘You need to have a good product, but ultimately it needs to be about more’
In “The New Builders,” written by Times of Entrepreneurship founder Elizabeth MacBride and venture capitalist Seth Levine, the authors look at the landscape of entrepreneurship across America. In this excerpt — from Chapter 3: The Definition Of Success — the authors focus on Isaac Collins, a Kansas City entrepreneur who also faces and fights added obstacles…
Some mysteries at historic 9th & State might never be solved — and bar owner Heather Hamilton is OK with it
Feeling invincible is a thing of the past, Heather Hamilton said, revealing a diagnosis that stopped her in her tracks and poured a change of perspective for the West Bottoms bar owner. “Knowing that I’m gene-positive for Huntington’s disease has made me even more motivated to make a difference,” Hamilton said, noting the disease has…
Angels in class: How Mizzou’s student-run venture course is investing up to $50K in real startups
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. COLUMBIA,…