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
IXKC: Want top talent in Kansas City? Stop talking about yesterday (Photos)
Kansas City already has what it takes to recruit and keep top talent, Neal Sharma told Wednesday’s Innovation Exchange crowd. What the metro seems to lack is the confidence to boast about itself, he added. Sharma, CEO and co-founder of DEG, a full-service digital agency in Overland Park that has grown to about 300 employees,…
State of the City: Mayor challenges startup community to be more inclusive in hiring
As a growing piece of Kansas City’s business fabric, the startup community should better reflect the diverse creative and tech talent working within the city, Mayor Sly James said Tuesday following his State of the City address. “There are a lot of entrepreneurs who, for example, make bow ties, who make clothing, who do things…
Predictive tech gives KCMO smart weapons in the fight against potholes, crime
Kansas City is tackling its pothole problem using technology that aims to predict where they’ll emerge next, city officials said. The proactive approach also is targeting Kansas City’s crime rate. Government officials from Kansas City, Missouri, shared details about their experience with smart, predictive technologies during a panel discussion Tuesday afternoon at the Smart Cities…
Investing in the arts earns KC designation as UNESCO’s only ‘City of Music’ in US
Landing on a United Nations agency’s City of Music list reflects more than Kansas City’s century-old link to American jazz, said Jacob Wagner. “This designation is a recognition of our investment and commitment to music, arts and creativity as a driver of urban economic development,” said Wagner, faculty director of the Center for Neighborhoods at…