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
Her red sauce is dynamite but Ragazza’s owner gives the chef title to her Italian heritage
Family is baked into the core of Laura Norris’ restaurants, she shared, from the Italian recipes served at Ragazza in Westport to the brother-sister duo running the new Enzo Wine Bar and Bistro together in the River Market. She opened Ragazza, which now sits at the corner of 43rd and Main streets, in 2013 and…
How a ‘City Hall Swiftie committee’ is bringing joy (and business) to NKC as concert tour hits Arrowhead
The street lights are pointing in an arrowhead, leading Taylor Swift fans to North Kansas City where they can walk the iconic “Cornelia Street.” In June, North Kansas City Mayor Bryant DeLong announced that Swift Street in NKC was to be temporarily renamed Swift Street (Taylor’s Version) in honor of the artist coming July 7-8…
Former Independence mayor named interim executive director for LGBT Chamber
An interim leader was announced Thursday as the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce forms a search committee tasked with identifying the next full-time executive director for the Kansas City-based business advocacy group. Eileen Weir, who served as mayor of Independence, Missouri, from 2014 to 2022, takes on the interim role July 11 after the announcement…
Fund Me, KC: Grocery store on Troost needs to bag community support to open, bringing fresh food east
Startland News is continuing its “Fund Me, KC” series to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses or lend a helping hand to others. This is an opportunity for business owners and innovators — like Kortney Lee who is attempting to expand the footprint of Community Groceries — to share their crowdfunding stories and potentially…