Meet the 2020 class: BetaBlox demo day returning with events across startup sister cities

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.

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.