Meet the 2020 class: BetaBlox demo day returning with events across startup sister cities
January 6, 2020 | Startland News Staff
Audience tickets for BetaBlox’s Overland Park demo day are nearly gone, said Weston Bergmann, just weeks before the incubator program showcases its newest startups across three events in two cities.
BetaBlox is an exclusive school for startups. Every year, its team picks the best-of-the-best and then puts them through a rigorous curriculum of classes, one-on-one consultation, and mentorship designed to give them a higher likelihood of survival.
The “can’t-miss entrepreneurship event” Jan. 20 at the GRID Collaborative Workspace is expected to entail a combination of pitches, expo-style networking, and a panel of investors speaking about developing startups, said Bergmann, founder and lead investor at BetaBlox.
“It’s kinda like Shark Tank, but you get to be the shark,” he said, comparing the overall event structure to the popular reality TV pitch show.
Two more demo days featuring BetaBlox’s 25th cohort are set for Jan. 29 and Jan. 30 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the program also operates its “gym for entrepreneurs.” The 10-year-old incubator boasts graduating companies collectively doing more than $100 million annually, Bergmann said.
While tickets for the events are free — thanks to sponsorship support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, he noted — only 200 are available in Overland Park.
Click here to secure a spot at BetaBlox’s Jan. 20 demo day.
“Essentially anyone who wants to support the development and growth of the Kansas City economy should attend,” Bergmann said.
The twelve companies pitching at the event include:
• Flexy, Kansas City (Mallory Jansen and Aja James) — Fitness staffing agency
• BioGen Ag, Kansas City (Chad Shoefield) — Agricultural food manufacturing
• LockedUp, Kansas City (Eric Ulleberg) — Breathalyzer that literally locks up your car keys
• FlipperForce, Kansas City (Dave Robertson) — House flipping and project management software
• Fantastic55, Kansas City (Ann O’Meara) — Media company for empowering an aging community
• Everwild, Kansas City (Sarah Yaeger) — On-demand and subscription-based floral company
• Cherry Marketing, Kansas City (Jenni Kulzer) — Marketing agency
• River Watch Beef, Kansas City (Chris Kovac) – Grass-fed subscription-based beef
• KC Hemp Co, Kansas City (Kyle and Heather Steppe) — Organic CBD manufacturing
• Tulsa Birth Center, Tulsa (Sarah Foster) — Modern network of midwives
• Baby D’s Sting, Tulsa (Dillon Hargrave) — Hot sauce manufacturing and distribution
• Add Multiply Sports, Tulsa (Corey Else) — Sports performance technology
Nathan Corn, founder of Kansas City’s FlexPro, a subscription-based meal prep company, is expected to be featured in a “Where are they now?” segment focused on BetaBlox success stories.
Founders from the companies plan to practice pitches before the event during a weekend-long session that puts startups in close quarters with each other, as well as about 20 people from the BetaBlox portfolio (entrepreneurs, mentors and investors) and another 20 curated guests from the entrepreneur ecosystem.
Learn more about BetaBlox and its demo day below.
Featured Business
2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Kansas City corporate leader works to take ClimateTech from research to the real world
The solar canopy at Operation Breakthrough’s high-profile STEM lab and youth coworking space was an opportunity for Black & Veatch to put one of the firm’s core capabilities to use for the community and the climate, said Ilya Tabakh. “[Our goal was] to support an initiative that supports STEM education, combines sustainability and technology, and…
Just funded: Meet the five latest startups scaling their tech, Digital Sandbox KC’s impact
Five emerging startups are the latest to benefit from Digital Sandbox KC’s support — investment and resources that have led to more than $200 million in follow-on funding in less than 10 years for Sandbox companies. “Without this funding, it would have taken us much longer, as the whole project is currently being bootstrapped,” said…
Developers’ plan for massive West Bottoms investment stirs fear in some neighbors
Editor’s note: The following story was originally published by CityScene KC, an online news source focused on Greater Downtown Kansas City. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for the weekly CityScene KC email review. SomeraRoad’s ambitious proposal to transform a sleepy section of the West Bottoms into a “dynamic” mixed-use district has strong…
How a historic Roman Catholic private school became ‘the queerest hotel in Kansas’
With its claim to fame as the first incorporated city in Kansas, Leavenworth is a hidden treasure of historical sites, said Ilan Salzberg, but its significance does not end within its past, as the vibrant town has still so much to offer. “Leavenworth is a really cool town that I think commonly gets overlooked. People…