Kauffman Foundation offers $25K via ‘1 in a Million’ contest
September 8, 2016 | Meghan LeVota
Think your business is one in a million?
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is offering 1 Million Cups presenters from the last year a chance to snag some cash — and this year they’ve bumped up the prize to $25,000.
In its second year, the 1 in a Million competition is open to any firm that has presented at one of 99 cities to host 1 Million Cups between Aug. 12, 2015 to Aug. 24, 2016. To enter, businesses must submit a 60-second elevator pitch online by noon, Sept. 13. More than 20 competitors have already applied.
1 Million Cups was established in Kansas City in 2012 and the format has since spread to dozens of cities around the world. Every Wednesday morning, two startup founders present to an audience with the intent to educate, engage and network — all over a cup of coffee. The audience then serves up critical questions to founders in an effort to challenge their business models and approaches.
This year, the competition will be entirely virtual. Once judges have narrowed down businesses to the top 40, the public will vote on the top 15 semi-finalists. The public will later be prompted in an additional round of voting that will narrow submissions to five finalists, and a panel of Kauffman fellows will make the final decision.
In addition to $25,000, the winner receives bragging rights as well as the No. 1 trophy. Kansas City-area startup Blooom won the competition in its inaugural year by presenting its online 401(k) management tool. Four other Kansas City startups entered the round of 40.
Featured Business
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Pepper teams with Switzerland cyber security expert to combat ‘terrifying’ IoT threats
A new, long-term collaboration between KC-based Pepper IoT and an international leader in digital security has an opportunity to aggressively boost consumer confidence in the rapidly expanding — and potentially hostile — Internet of Things, said Scott Ford. “It is terrifying to see millions of vulnerable connected devices being distributed to U.S. consumers who have…
Artist incubator paints scene of blissful collaboration in far-from-lonely West Bottoms space
Vanessa Lacy’s artist incubator eliminates “the lonely artist,” she said, noting her gallery model replaces solitude with creative relationships and a collaborative community. “Artists tend to get very isolated in their studio spaces working on their own; then they have a relationship with a gallery that’s really more of a business relationship,” said Lacy, owner…
Order here: Menufy online restaurant platform delivers results, food from OP startup
Servicing the online orders of more than 300 restaurants in the Kansas City metro, Overland Park-based Menufy is scaling its platform across the U.S., while maintaining a startup mindset, said Ashishh Desai. “Even though now we have over 4,000 restaurants nationwide — every state but Vermont and in 1,200 cities — we still have that…
Take the Kauffman survey: Is KC’s startup culture welcoming and inclusive to all?
Perception shapes reality, said organizers of a survey that seeks greater understanding of Kansas City’s startup culture. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s 2018 Entrepreneurship in Kansas City survey checks the pulse of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem by raising specific questions about culture and practice in workplaces across the metro, said John Quinterno and Julie Marks,…