Listen: Leaders analyze KC’s entrepreneurial milestones, assess challenges
June 22, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
To say that Kansas City’s entrepreneurial community has matured in the last 15 years would be an understatement.
Many leaders say that if you lived in the metro during the early 2000s and were to return now, you may not even recognize the place.
Taking a moment to reflect on how far Kansas City has come, Startland News and Think Big’s June Innovation Exchange used a historical lens to analyze Kansas City entrepreneurship.
Panelists shared their analysis on the metro’s entrepreneurial ecosystem — including growth, future opportunities and areas to be improved.
In the conversation, you’ll hear from entrepreneurial community leaders including:
- Joe Reardon, CEO of Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
- Toby Rush, CEO of EyeVerify
- Darcy Howe, Managing Director of the KCRise Fund
- Joni Cobb, CEO of Pipeline Entrepreneurial Fellowship
- Herb Sih, Think Big Partners
- Maria Meyers, Executive Director of KCSourceLink
A recording of the event is below, and photos are beneath that. Hope you enjoy!
Featured Business
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
mySidewalk CEO steps down, Stephen Hardy takes the helm
Nick Bowden, the former CEO of Kansas City tech firm mySidewalk, recently resigned from the firm he co-founded. Effective immediately, the company’s former COO, Stephen Hardy, will serve as CEO, Hardy told Startland News. Bowden will remain with the company as an advisor and will serve as a board member. “The company has my full…
Roberts: Court action to make KC a patent troll haven will squash innovation
Editor’s note: Melissa Roberts is urging the Kansas City business community to sign a petition that aims to halt an effort to establish Kansas City as an area friendly to “patent trolls.” The commenting period on the proposed changes closes 5 p.m., Nov. 26. The opinions in the commentary are the author’s alone. I used…
Nick Ward-Bopp: Local maker community harkens to KC’s creative roots
Editor’s Note: Nick Ward-Bopp co-manages the MakerSpace at the Johnson County Library, helping the community use tools for digital fabrication like 3D printers and laser cutters. He also spends his nights and weekends co-running Maker Village — a small wood and metal shop in Midtown Kansas City — where it focused on building community through workshops…
Kansas City’s slow, steady entrepreneurial growth nabs No. 23 ranking
For the second year in a row, Kansas City maintained its rank as No. 23 out of 40 metros in entrepreneurial activity, according to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s 2016 Main Street Entrepreneurship report. The annual report covers the rate of business owners, established small business density, survival rate and more. These metrics are calculated…