The 2017 Battle of the Brands set to kick off
February 1, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
Along with dozens of participating companies around the metro area, KCSourceLink is gearing up for its 2017’s Battle of the Brands competition.
Battle of the Brands is a bracket-style competition that pits Kansas City businesses against each other — only one will reign as the “Aristo of Entrepreneurship.”
Its purpose? To shine a light on Kansas City businesses and cultivate entrepreneurial enthusiasm.
The criteria is simple. Eligible brands must have been in business for at least one year and have entrepreneurial roots in the metro. To establish the 64 participant businesses, public voting will take place Feb. 20 to 23. After that, the official battle begins March 6. For each official round — 32, 16, eight, four and two — polls open at 8:00 a.m. and close at 11:59 p.m. the final day.
Participating businesses will be divided into four different groups: second-stage, microenterprise, main street and innovation. KCSourceLink hopes that the categories will reflect the diversity of entrepreneurs that make up our city.
In 2016, over 70,000 Kansas Citians cast their votes in the battle. For information about applying, click here.
Here is the schedule:
- Round 1: “64 to the Floor” March 6-9
- Round 2: “Sturdy 32” March 13-16
- Round 3: “Scrappy 16” March 20-21
- Round 4: “Epic 8” March 23-24
- Round 5: “Final 4” March 28-29
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Kansas City Startup Foundation and CEED merge, receive $1M donation
Increasing its ongoing support of entrepreneurs, Affinity Worldwide has donated $1 million to the Kansas City Startup Foundation (KCSF), a nonprofit championing and connecting the local startup ecosystem. As part of the donation, Kansas City-based Affinity is also donating ownership of the Center for Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development (CEED) — the parent organization of Startland News…
Denise Kruse: So your startup has a strategy — now what?
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Strategy. Strategic plan. Go-to-market. Blueprint. Tactics. Startup innovators probably have heard an exhaustive list of synonyms and buzzwords. I’ve seen them all as a business leader for more than 30 years, helping companies define their strategy or execute on it. And there’s good reason…
Innovation Stockyard feeds effort to protect food chain
When feeding the world, being proactive on animal health technology is vital, Ronan Molloy said. “The reality is, its importance will only hit home when we have a significant event, like a swine flu,” Molloy, president of Innovation Stockyard, said. “Then all of the sudden people will say ‘Oh, why is my fillet now $40…
Students bump shoulders with architects at STEAM Studio
Most children won’t have experience working in a professional environment until they land their first job or internship, Mandi Sonnenberg said. “Some kids may have popped into their mom or dad’s work and have gone to a professional space at least a couple times in their life,” Sonnenberg said. “But for kids in the urban…