Kansas City Chief Dontari Poe challenges students, startups with new contest
December 9, 2016 | Meghan LeVota
Veteran Kansas City Chief Dontari Poe is hosting a competition that bridges young Kansas Citians and entrepreneurship.
Set for Dec. 13 at Think Big Coworking, Poe Man’s Challenge will pair nine local startups with 30 Kansas City high school students and pitch the companies to a panel of celebrity judges, including Poe and his teammates. Participating students will receive coaching from startup founders and then pitch the company as if it is their own.
Poe said he’s excited to acquaint more young Kansas Citians with entrepreneurship.
“It’s important that kids get exposed to what startups are all about. It will put them in a good position,” Poe told Startland News. “I feel that they’ll be ahead of me, at my age, if they start now. … Even if they never do a startup, learning how to pitch is an important life skill. We are always pitching ourselves for all sorts of things.”
Poe recently made his first tech investment in Lab Sensor Solutions, a company based in Redwood City, Calif. He hopes that Poe Man’s Challenge will inspire students to gain an entrepreneurial mindset in students, thus making an impact in Kansas City.
Mark Nolte, the founder of Start Talking, said he’s participating in the event to help educate the next generation of entrepreneurs.
“The more these students can learn now, the better they will be prepared to be entrepreneurs,” he said. “I hope we will see more events like this in Kansas City in the future.”
Below are the participating Kansas City area startups. To learn more or to purchase tickets for the event,click here.
- 2020 Adventures
- Blooom
- Dreams KC
- FEWDM
- Idle Smart
- PreScreend
- Start Talking
- The Selling Company
- Super Dispatch
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
LaunchKC cuts applicant field to 100 grant finalists
An international grant competition that will welcome 10 new tech firms to Kansas City has cut a few hundred companies from its field of applicants. LaunchKC — which aims to attract 10 tech firms to relocate to KC with $50,000 grants — notified 100 finalists of the competition on Wednesday via an email. Judges identified…
UMKC kicks off high-impact entrepreneur speaker series
The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Bloch School is hosting a bevy of successful area entrepreneurs to offer lessons and insights. UMKC’s “First Wednesdays” series will kick off this fall, aiming to offer area residents and students the chance to network and learn from some of Kansas City’s brightest business minds. The university’s first event is…
Scholarship courses available to KC entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners in Kansas City, Mo., can now tap a variety of scholarship opportunities to help their ventures grow. The Urban Business Growth Initiative is offering scholarships to three courses this fall that hope to assist Kansas City business owners develop their vision, test market viability and more. Some scholarships are worth…
Gallery: Techweek countdown party
Dozens of entrepreneurs, technologists and businesspeople sipped cocktails Monday at Techweek’s countdown party. Below are some photos from the event, which revealed eight new speakers and a rough schedule of events. To learn more about the event, click here.