ScaleUP! KC welcomes 16 new entrepreneurs to the program
June 7, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
On Wednesday ScaleUP! KC welcomed 16 new entrepreneurs into its incubator program’s sixth cohort.
To qualify, ScaleUP! companies must be in business for at least two years, generate annual sales of between $150,000 and $750,000 and have the potential to reach to $1 million in sales. Startups from the latest cohort represent industries such as software development, healthcare, construction, consulting, cleaning services and more.
Since its launch in 2015, the program has cultivated 77 business owners’ skills. Alumni have gone on to expand facilities, raise capital, launch products and hire more employees.
Jill Meyer, program director of ScaleUP! KC, said that the program has proven to be impactful for the Kansas City entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“ScaleUP! KC has been—and continues to be—such a critical program for Kansas City’s small business entrepreneurs, those businesses, research shows us, that create jobs and fortify our local economy,” Meyer said in a release. “It provides already successful business owners with the tools, coaching, peer mentors—and especially the time and guidance—to focus on effective strategies that will help them scale their businesses.”
Funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, ScaleUP! America awarded the University of Missouri-Kansas City one of the first program contracts nationwide.
On May 30, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation announced that ScaleUP! KC was one of the eight recipients of its KC Accelerator Challenge, awarding a grant to the program.
“Winning this award will help ScaleUP! further strengthen the success of our alumni with continued coaching and peer mentoring and help us reach deeper into the KC community to support the growth of KC’s small businesses,” Meyer said in a release.
Here are the members of ScaleUP!’s sixth cohort:
- Thomas Assel, Assel Consulting LLC,
- Chris Ayala, First Response Construction LLC
- Cristina Betts, MD HomeCare, LLC
- Sheryl Briggs, ClassApps LLC
- Dawn Cramer, Cramer Capital Management,
- John Crum, Crum Cleaning
- Kathy Gates, The Running Well Store
- Chris Goodwin, Insurance Pros
- April Kramer, Apple Pie Painting
- Nick Lewman, Matai Services
- Elizabeth McFadden, Novella Brandhouse Group, Inc,
- Mani Raman, Yotabites Consulting LLC
- Sara Noble, Noble Designs, Inc.
- Brendan O’Shaunghessy, Ocean & Sea
- Jennifer Rosenblatt, MusicSpoke
- Lori Worthington, Right Angle Advisors
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
‘More than a thrift store’: Goodwill’s efforts to close digital divide sell an expanded mission — upskilling workers
Editor’s note: The following is the first in a series of stories focused on digital inclusion efforts in Kansas City, and is presented by Google Fiber. Ron Carr’s retirement made him restless, he shared. Wanting to be a valuable player in Kansas City’s economy once again, Carr enrolled in Goodwill’s Digital Skills Training program. “With…
Thrive Homes builds ‘life-changing’ independence for those struggling with mobility, aging in place
The impact of Thrive Homes is as simple as it is profound, said Christian Hill, whose startup taps into state and federal health funds to provide timely home modifications for residents with disabilities and accessibility issues. The Overland Park-based company makes it possible for people with certain health conditions — and those who are experiencing…
She started by getting Black art into Black spaces; now Natasha Ria El-Scari wants all of KC to know what they’ve been missing
A Renaissance woman, Natasha Ria El-Scari — gallerist, curator, poet, spoken word performer, educator, and life coach — has surrounded herself with art throughout her life. However, as the Kansas City native watched her hometown’s art scene flourish and thrive, she noticed not everyone was included. “As the city started to change, and the Crossroads…
Travel on tap: How a KC couple built a self-serve port for international wine lovers north of the river
Grab your wine passport, Russ Johnson said, because this self-serve wine bar allows customers to taste the world one sip at a time. And the technology that makes the business possible? Johnson — a software developer-turned-entrepreneur — built it himself. “Our brand is really focused on going on a vacation and having this world experience —…