AccessAble Living: $10K prize will help AltCap Your Biz winner speed services to seniors

November 21, 2019  |  Austin Barnes

AccessAble Living

A medical supply startup designed to help Kansas Citians age in place earned judges’ seal of approval — and $10,000 — in the 2019 AltCap Your Biz Competition.

AccessAble Living

Dr. Brandy Archie, AccessAble Living

“I hope this is a jumpstart for us to help solve a common healthcare problem,” said Dr. Brandy Archie, director of AccessAble Living, Wednesday night during Global Entrepreneurship Week as she received the first place prize in the fifth showing of the AltCap competition. 

Reinventing living spaces with easy, affordable fixes, AccessAble Living works to provide its senior and reduced mobility clients with the necessary tools and resources to maintain comfortable lives in their own homes, Archie explained during a pitch to judges. 

“I can promise this money is going to go to a really good cause and help people in the Kansas City area,” she told a crowd gathered for the competition’s grand finale and happy hour at the Black Archives. 

Most AccessAble Living clients receive an assessment and necessary upgrades to their living space within seven days, Archie noted. The cash infusion from AltCap will help the startup grow its inventory and could reduce turnaround time to less than one day. 

Click here to view AccessAble Living’s application video. 

African Designs by Liliane and Amisi

African Designs by Liliane and Amisi

 

 

Kanbe’s Market

Kanbe’s Market

African Designs by Liliane and Amisi secured $5,000 as the competition’s second-place winner, while Kanbe’s Market walked away with third place and a $2,500 injection. 

“It’s been an amazing, really emotional day,” said Davin Gordon, business development officer at AltCap. “It’s been tough on our judges — because everybody was amazing. All of our finalists deserve an opportunity to win and all of you are great.”  

“This is really the reason why I get up every single day … these sorts of opportunities,” Gordon continued. “Not only to create meaningful relationships, but also gather a community of people to support you and show you why your work is so important to Kansas City.”

New in 2019, AltCap added a Fan Favorite Award to the competition. Social media votes awarded a $500 prize to White Noiz Studio — a digital content agency. 

White Noiz Studio

White Noiz Studio

Healthy Hip Hop, Duct Tape Grandparenting, Blockchain Water, Neighborbuilt, Safely Delicious and SandByrd Design also competed in the pitch contest. 

Previous winners of the AltCap Your Biz competition include Rightfully SewnMaker Village, Barefood’n Happy,  and Hostel KC.

This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.

For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

2019 Startups to Watch

    stats here

    Related Posts on Startland News

    Shawnee’s new chef-driven sports bar serves retro with a side of Spam fries and banana ketchup

    By Tommy Felts | March 20, 2025

    Serial Kansas City hotspot founder opens door to Hank’s Garage with chefs Howard Hanna, Zac Sachs Eric Flanagan’s latest venture turns a former Shawnee auto shop into the resurrected downtown entertainment district’s newest destination — a casual neighborhood sports bar, complete with an innovative and elevated menu, classic beers, craft cocktails, and an outdoor patio…

    Meet KC’s cowpunk basement guitar hero: This DIY dreamer is demanding more from himself

    By Tommy Felts | March 20, 2025

    Kansas City’s DIY music scene has long been a hub for raw, creative talent — with eclectic frontman Kole Waters quickly becoming one of its standout names. As the lead guitarist and co-vocalist for post-country phenomenon Big Fat Cow and the centerpiece of synth-infused Dreamist, Waters blends influences ranging from folk storytelling to cathartic soundscapes.…

    Build to barrel: Inside Holladay Distillery’s ironclad plan to boost bourbon production by one-third

    By Tommy Felts | March 19, 2025

    WESTON, Missouri — Holladay Distillery is breaking ground with Rickhouse D — its first new barrel-aging warehouse in 75 years — marking a major step in expanding bourbon production from the historic plant. Renowned as the only Missouri operation to age bourbon in ironclad rickhouses, Weston-based Holladay Distillery is increasing capacity to meet surging demand,…

    So you think you’re CEO material? UMKC’s ‘CEO Academy’ puts that ambition to the test

    By Tommy Felts | March 19, 2025

    Aspiring executives with an eye on the C-suite need to be ready well before the opportunity arises, said Dan Hesse, leaning on his years of past experience as president and CEO of Sprint. It’s not about just being the boss, he emphasized. “Of all the roles, that of the CEO is so different than any…