VIDEO: Startup leaders talk KC Startup Foundation (plus bloopers)
August 10, 2017 | Bobby Burch and Meghan LeVota
So, what exactly is the Kansas City Startup Foundation?
For one, it is a foundation. Secondly, it involves startups. And last but not least, it serves Kansas City.
If you have ever found yourself confused about what exactly the Kansas City Startup Foundation does and which programs it offers, then the video below is for you.
Since the foundation’s launch in 2016, it has undergone many pivots, shifts and changes.
As you may have read in the news earlier this week, the foundation has merged with Center for Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development, a for-profit community building organization spearheaded by Adam Arredondo. A former board member at the Kansas City Startup foundation, Arredondo will now serve as the executive director for the nonprofit.
It became clear to Arredondo that both organizations shared the same vision: “to create the most connected startup ecosystem in the world.”
And as Matthew Marcus, the Kansas City Startup Foundation’s director of operations, began to realize, “volunteer efforts alone were only going to take the foundation so far. We needed more resources and more support to champion our efforts.”
Former co-founders of the now-defunct local events startup Local Ruckus, Arredondo and Marcus have been through a lot with each other. The pair also served as integral community builders cultivating the Kansas City Startup Village since about 2012.
In the video below, Arredondo and Marcus share their entrepreneurial journey and detail what to expect from the foundation in the future.
Bloopers
Featured Business
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Sporting KC teams with homegrown company to bring biodegradable straws to the Cauldron
Sporting Kansas City announced Tuesday a multi-year partnership with BIOLO as the official home compostable straw of Sporting Sustainability. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Kansas City, BIOLO manufactures bags, mailers and straws that are proudly made in the USA with Nodax – a revolutionary polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolymer certified to biodegrade in soil, marine and…
Missouri startup wants to make it easier for HR to fill tech gap with foreign nationals; its immigration management software just got funded
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. ST.…
UMKC’s pitch competition showcases ‘real people’ solving real problems with $88K up for grabs
Seven ventures remain in a popular regional business challenge that culminates this week with $88,000 in prizes on the line. Many of the competitors: no strangers to the pitch stage. Finalist presentations in the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge are planned for in-person Friday afternoon, followed by an awards ceremony at the UMKC Bloch Executive Hall.…
Take a peek down Ludo’s lanes before Made in KC’s new shuffleboard bar opens in Midtown
When the team at Made in KC moved the local-first retailer’s flagship shop to Martini Corner in spring 2021, they immediately had a vision for what the multi-concept building could entertain, said Keith Bradley. The vision: a retro shuffleboard bar. “The idea for a shuffleboard bar sparked from two places. One was the desire we…