Can KC founders replicate success with WeWork Creator Awards?

June 4, 2018  |  Startland News Staff

Wesley Hamilton, WeWork Creator Awards

After two area founders snagged sizable cash prizes in past contests, a global coworking giant is re-igniting the WeWork Creator Awards competition to recognize entrepreneurs’ work.

WeWork plans to dish out at least $238,000 and up to $634,000 in awards to the Eastern United States’ region, which includes Kansas City in this year’s contest parameters. WeWork awarded more than $16 million in Creator Awards in the inaugural 2017 contest.

“The Creator Awards is intended to acknowledge and empower those who exemplify the WeWork mantra ‘create your life’s work,’” the company wrote. “A creator is anyone who brings a new idea into the world, pursues a passion, and believes in something greater than oneself. From artists, performers, and educators to entrepreneurs, startups, and nonprofits, creators are making the world a better place every day.”

Disabled But Not Really founder Wesley Hamilton and Venture Legal founder Chris Brown both won $18,000 prizes in the 2017 awards season. Hamilton earned the WeWork Community Giver Award, and Brown claimed the incubate category for the Southern Region.

Applications are accepted until July 20. The Creator Awards is open to both WeWork members and companies outside of the WeWork network.

Applicants can apply for an award in one of these four categories:

  • Performing Arts Award — For entertainers and groups with a unique point of view ($18,000 to $72,000 awarded)
  • Nonprofit Award — for charitable organizations big and small ($72,000 to $130,000 awarded)
  • Business Venture Award — For entrepreneurs and companies with fresh ideas ($130,000 to $360,000 awarded)

Honorees also are selected for the Community Giver Award, which salutes those making a difference in their local community ($18,000 to $72,000 awarded).

For more information on the Creator Awards, check out the video below.

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