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
No cookie-cutter way to create an entrepreneur, so what’s the catalyst? Inside KU’s venture test lab
Editor’s note: The University of Kansas’ School of Business is a partner of Startland News. It’s a practical testing ground for KU students to flex their entrepreneurial muscles, Ryan Rains said, describing a business program built for could-be entrepreneurs who aren’t necessarily even business majors — and who, ultimately, might choose to abandon their concept…
Enactus USA turns 50 in KC as local leaders urge: Give your network to an entrepreneur
A three-day expo featuring student-led innovation and entrepreneurship from across the nation found its home (and groove) “in the heart of the USA” this week, said Mikena Manspeaker, noting the campus of UMKC was the perfect fit for marking the 50th anniversary of Enactus United States. “Kansas City is just booming with entrepreneurial spirit and…
Streetwear-infused runway show hits 10 year-mark, building fashion family along the way
High fashion met heartfelt passion on the runway Sunday with the return of the The Kritiq Fashion Show — a celebration of creativity, entrepreneurship and community spirit that not even a global pandemic (or family pressures) could undress. “This is our 10th year,” said Mark Launiu, co-founder of The Kritiq, as well as the Kansas…
Goodwill’s ‘adult high school’ in KC just scored major funding wins (and hired its first leader)
A first-of-its kind adult high school in the region hit two big funding milestones this month, said organizers of the Excel Center, announcing six-figure financial contributions from the City of Kansas City, Missouri, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, as well as a key hire. Led by Goodwill of Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas (MoKan…