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
OP-based motion capture startup DARI Motion sells to Omaha firm
DARI Motion, an Overland Park-based startup that created a motion capture platform that provides biomechanical analysis of athletes, patients and more, recently was acquired by a Nebraska firm. DARI, which stands for Dynamic Athletic Research Institute, was purchased for an undisclosed amount by Omaha-based Scientific Analytics Inc. With the acquisition, the firm aims to transform how…
Axing the status quo: Swell Spark builds experiences from West Bottoms HQ
Human interaction is about more than texting and social media posts, said Matt Baysinger, co-founder and CEO of Swell Spark. “One of the best things in life is sharing a meal together, but sharing a meal together is only as good as the conversation you get to have over that meal,” Baysinger said. “If you…
Metactive announces nearly $3M combined in funding round, government grant
Fairway-based Metactive has raised a $1.2 million round to accelerate the development of its products for the treatment of neurovascular, peripheral vascular and structural heart diseases. The round included Kansas City-based Mid-America Angels, as well as Serra Ventures. Founded by CEO Nick Franano, Metactive has raised more than $10 million to date. In addition to…
KC-based SouveNEAR vending machine startup prepping to scale up
SouveNEAR offers travelers a piece of KC — from KC, said co-founder Tiffany King. The Kansas City-based startup, which repurposes vending machines to sell locally made souvenirs, is in its fourth year of steady, organic growth, King said. As a member of ScaleUP! KC new class, SouveNEAR is preparing to grow the business and turn…