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
Exclusive: John Fein departing Techstars to lead new $7M Midwest venture fund
After three years with the Kansas City-based Sprint Accelerator, John Fein is moving on to lead a venture fund that has ambitious Midwestern plans. Fein, who’s served as the managing director at the Techstars-led accelerator since 2014, will serve his last day with the organization on July 31. With decades of fast-paced startup experience, Fein…
Mid-America Angels set for second consecutive record-breaking year
The Mid-America Angels is poised to make 2016 a record-breaking year. The area investment group already has deployed $1.7 million via seven deals in the first six months of 2016, setting pace for its biggest year of investment in its ten-year history. In 2015, the firm set a record for its amount of capital deployed,…
With a fresh $2M, Athlete Network sets ambitious growth goals
Athlete Network has scored a slam dunk with a $2 million seed round raise. The Lenexa-based firm that created a social network for athletes announced Thursday it had closed its first funding round after bootstrapping for two years, Athlete Network CEO Chris Smith said. The platform aims “to keep athletes competing in life” by enabling…
KC’s ‘entrepreneurial and innovative spirit’ lures Virgin Mobile HQ move
Kansas City’s entrepreneurial vigor again was cited as the impetus of a corporation’s expansion into the area. Virgin Mobile USA announced Friday that it selected downtown Kansas City for the company’s new headquarters as it relaunches its brand under Sprint. Virgin Mobile expects to hire 50 people in a variety of positions by the end…