UMKC contest awards $35K+ to winners, feeds student-community innovation
May 5, 2020 | Tommy Felts
One startup’s winnings from Friday’s Regnier Venture Creation Challenge are expected to have a near-immediate, tangible impact on Kansas City — helping Kanbe’s Markets provide produce in one of its corner markets for an entire year.
“This means that about 4,500 people will have consistent access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food on Kansas City’s east side,” said Max Kaniger of Kanbe’s Markets, reflecting on his social enterprise’s $5,000 prize at the student venture contest.
Founded in 2016, Kanbe’s Markets is a 501c3 nonprofit organization with four full-time employees and three part-time employees that developed an unmatched food distribution model in the Kansas City region. The Healthy Corner Stores (HCS) model was designed to enhance equitable food distribution by intervening on hunger issues for the 400,000 food-insecure individuals and families living in Jackson County food deserts.
Kaniger, a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, competed as a community business finalist — a new slot designated for non-students to showcase work being done in the larger community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As a non-profit, we really appreciated the opportunity to share our work with so many incredible Kansas City leaders,” Kaniger said, noting increased need within the areas Kanbe’s Markets serves. “Given the current crisis, there are now thousands more people in our city facing food insecurity.”
Click here to learn more about Kanbe’s Markets or to donate to the ongoing effort.
Kanbe’s Markets was one of several RVCC winners Friday, collectively taking home more than $35,000 in prize money at the conclusion of the virtual competition. The event is part of the Regnier Institute at UMKC’s arsenal of programming intended to accelerate startup ideas to launch in a safe environment.
Click here to read more about the virtual Regnier Venture Creation Challenge.
“UMKC and the Regnier entrepreneurship program provided me with the solid foundation necessary to build my business,” Kaniger noted. “UMKC and the community of alumni have been supporting Kanbe’s from the very beginning. Having that network behind us is a big part of why we are where we are today.”
Among the other prize winning student finalist teams from the 2020 Regnier Venture Creation Challenge:
General track
- Calving Technologies (Mizzou) – $5,000
- Jensen Applied Sciences (Iowa State University) – $4,000
- Interplay (UMKC & E-Scholars) – $3,500
- ChordaWorm Lures (Iowa State University) – $3,000
Blue KC healthcare innovation
- WartPatch (UMKC) – $5,000
- Flyover Counseling (E-Scholars) – $1,000
- Norah Health (Mizzou) – $1,000
- Striae Away (Missouri Science & Technology) – $1,000
- The GuideLine (Missouri Science & Technology) – $1,000
Specialty award winners
- Generation Green (UMKC & Enactus) – $1,000
- Linda Tong Planners (Iowa State University) – $1,000
- Dart (UMKC, E-Scholars & Enactus) – $1,000
- MARGOLOH (Blue Valley CAPS) – $1,000
- Vivas y Muerto (Kansas City Art Institute) – $1,000
- SNidAP (UMKC) — $500 (Innovation Prize)
Click here for more detailed descriptions of each student finalist team.
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
2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
NMotion adds ‘concierge’ investment accelerator for early-stage founders; applications close May 30
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by the NMotion startup accelerator, but was independently produced by Startland News. Following NMotion Venture Studio’s successful launch in 2020, Nebraska’s largest and only startup accelerator is adding a new high-touch opportunity to its lineup: NMotion Growth Accelerator. “Five out of the 10 companies that came through the NMotion…
Donations honoring late podcast host, comedian fund ‘place of peace’ for young creators; recording studio dedicated to Mathew George
Friends and family of the late podcast host Mathew George gathered to celebrate the dedication of Operations Breakthrough’s newly-debuted recording studio on what would have been Mathew’s 27th birthday. “What could have been a really depressing day was more celebratory, like it would have been if he were still here,” shared Mary Ann George, mother…
Pipeline Innovators gala adds glamour, top honors back into the mix for celebration of fellows
A remixed Pipeline Innovators gala honored veteran and emerging fellows from within the elite startup founder network Friday — returning the full live celebration to a stage in Kansas City for the first time since 2018 and crowning two new Innovator of the Year recipients. Marking the first Innovators gala for Pipeline executive director Melissa…
When a global health crisis exposed ‘broken’ systems, these KC startups jabbed back
Patients need easier access to their medical records, said Saroj Gupta, stressing the life-threatening outcomes for individuals who might miss important vaccinations — or erroneously obtain multiple doses — because of poor or hard-to-find documentation. “We call ourselves a developed country, but our healthcare system is so broken,” said Saroj Gupta, the founder and CEO…