ScaleUP! KC announces eighth cohort of firms eyeing serious growth
August 24, 2018 | Startland News Staff
The ScaleUP! Kansas City program has welcomed another large batch of growing companies hoping to accelerate their businesses.
ScaleUP announced Wednesday that it accepted 17 Kansas City area companies into its ranks, offering the firms mentorship, resources and connections.
Check out these stories from the previous 2018 ScaleUP! cohort
• CEO Raina Knox: Millennials don’t have a monopoly on startup momentum
• KC-based SouveNEAR vending machine startup prepping to scale up
• KC Shave Company cuts its own niche with blades of disruption
The new cohort of entrepreneurs represent varied industries, such as IT, wellness, landscaping, education, architecture and more, said Jill Meyer, program director of ScaleUP! KC. Including the latest group of businesses, ScaleUP! Has helped 126 companies grow through its free program, amplifying their economic impact in the region, she added.
“Year after year, we see that ScaleUP! KC is such a vital program for the city’s small business owners — and you can see that in the numbers,” Meyer said.
With two cohorts per year, the program helps qualified businesses with revenues above $200,000 reach their expansion goals by leveraging and expanding existing proven programs, synergies and connections in the Kansas City region, according to ScaleUP!
ScaleUP! is funded through a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and administered by the UMKC Innovation Center.
Here’s more on the 17 business leaders now in the ScaleUP! program.
- Mollie Ahlers-Estes, Ahlers Building Maintenance Co., LLC, Lenexa, Kansas
- Henrik Andersen, Scandinavian Co-Op, LLC, Kansas City, Missouri
- Angel Canday, Natural High Wellness Center, Leawood, Kansas
- Kristen Christian, Bee Organized, LLC, Overland Park, Kansas
- Brandon Dye, Dye Electric, LLC, Kansas City, Missouri
- Drew Ford, Kakkuro Suite, Overland Park, Kansas
- Aaron Fulk, Lillian James Creative, Mission, Kansas
- Kita Gandhi, B.I.C. Design Co., North Kansas City, Missouri
- William Gibson, Down to Earth Services, Kansas City, Missouri
- Christopher Martin, ProcureIT Network, LLC, Grain Valley, Missouri
- Phillip Martin, cfm Distributors, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri
- Patricia McCreary, Margaret’s Place, LLC, Kansas City, Missouri
- Laurie Miller, Ross Miller Cleaners, Kansas City, Missouri
- Lisa Schmitz, Lisa Schmitz Interior Design, Kansas City, Missouri
- Amy Slattery, Odimo, Kansas City, Missouri
- Shantelle Tomlin, Tomlin Academy, Kansas City, Missouri
- Kirby Virden, Maxim Outdoor Signs, Overland Park, Kansas
Featured Business

2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Bringing grub to KC food deserts, Rollin’ Grocer to expand impact after contest win
While he takes pride in his roots, Priest Hughes said it saddens him to see a staple of life — fresh food — become so difficult to attain in parts of Kansas City. Over the course of a decade, Hughes has noticed several grocery stores in his neighborhood close at an alarming rate. Purchasing fresh,…
Truck-sharing app Bungii hauling early success, eyeing expansion
Less than a year after its launch, Kansas City-based truck-sharing app Bungii is gaining significant traction. In addition to expanding its platform from only Kansas City to include Lawrence, Bungii has tapped hundreds of users that temporarily need a truck to haul their stuff. Led by two recent college graduates, Ben Jackson and Harrison Proffitt, Bungii’s on-demand…
Kauffman Foundation: National startup activity continues to improve
National startup activity grew slightly in 2016, a consecutive three-year improvement that reached pre-Great Recession levels, according to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. However, in the long-term view startup activity is still in decline when compared to the 1980s, the 2017 Kauffman Index of Startup Activity found. Victor Hwang, vice president of entrepreneurship at the…
Kauffman report: KC startup momentum builds for 3 years running, improves national rank
It’s not just a feeling. Momentum in Kansas City’s startup community continues to grow, according to new data from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Kauffman Index of Startup Activity found that for the third consecutive year, entrepreneurial activity in the Kansas City metro has grown. The index — which presents entrepreneurial trends nationally, at…
