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
KC tech firms respond to ‘bleak’ millennial voter turnout
A meager millennial voter turnout in Kansas City’s recent municipal elections is compelling local organizations to combat apathy with technology. More Kansas Citians 90 and older cast ballots in the City of Fountain’s 2014 municipal elections than voters under 30, according to a study by Kansas City-based civic engagement company mySidewalk. A paltry 0.7 percent…
Lean Lab announces new, mature fellowship class
The Lean Lab, an education innovation incubator, announced its second cohort of fellows who hope to bring meaningful change to Kansas City education. In the 2015 class, 10 fellows with seven solutions for Kansas City’s urban education will be participating in the Lean Lab’s summer program. Fellows arrive at the program with ideas in various…
KC newbie Rex tops $1M in revenue, kicks off hiring
Surging growth at one of Kansas City’s newest startups is leading it to hire a staff six times its current size. Rex, an animal health tech company that recently graduated from the Techstars-led Sprint Accelerator, is hoping to quickly boost its headcount from two to 12. In the days following a pitch at the accelerator’s…
ShotTracker, NBA champ Klay Thompson set for virtual camp
The Golden State Warriors weren’t the only team elated from its Tuesday night NBA Championship win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Overland Park-based ShotTracker also snagged a win alongside the Warriors’ first championship since 1975, as the wearable tech firm’s recent endorsement deal with Golden State guard Klay Thompson received another coat of varnish. Golden State’s…
