AccessAble Living: $10K prize will help AltCap Your Biz winner speed services to seniors
November 21, 2019 | Austin Barnes
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.
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
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
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 Sewn, Maker 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
Featured Business
2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
‘Proud capitalist’ to young social entrepreneurs: It’s OK to make a buck while saving the world
Darcy Howe encouraged budding, would-be founders to think about ways they can effectively scale their mission-driven ideas, drawing on KCRise Fund’s model for social entrepreneurship. “Being socially mission-driven is not mutually exclusive to making money,” Howe, founder and managing director of KCRise Fund, told Enactus students gathered Tuesday during an end-of-year celebration for the University…
Million-dollar corporate gift puts $25M Negro Leagues capital campaign on the board; now you’re on deck
Editor’s note: Bank of America is a financial partner of Startland News, although this report was created independently by the nonprofit newsroom. A historic age of impact is under way, said Bob Kendrick, as Kansas City’s Negro Leagues Baseball Museum unveiled plans for a new, state-of-the art campus backed by a $1 million grant from…
They walked right past us: Small biz owners shocked by low NFL Draft sales, now wary of World Cup
A massive surge in visitors and foot traffic as Kansas City hosted its first NFL Draft failed to score many points outside the event grounds this weekend, as countless small businesses along the city’s urban corridor reported a sharp dip in revenue. “I think we’re all looking at our numbers and everything right now, and…
Scale VC launches Fund II with $5M investment led by UM System, Shelter Insurance
COLUMBIA, Missouri — Venture capital fund and studio Scale VC raised a $5 million round of funding in less than six months, said Brett Calhoun, highlighting the potential for growing a nationally recognized startup city in the middle of the country. “Successful founders are everywhere — and that includes right here in the heart of…