Meet 20 scaling companies making the leap with ScaleUP! KC’s latest small biz cohort
January 28, 2021 | Startland News Staff
Successfully scaling entrepreneurs take the time to work on their businesses — rather than just in them, Jill Hathaway said, emphasizing the transformative power ScaleUP! Kansas City brings to the 20 top-tier business owners newly participating in its 11th cohort.
“This intensive program has had a profound impact on the small businesses it serves during the 16 weeks and long after the course ends,” said Hathaway, program director for ScaleUP! KC. “The tools, coaching and connections help them navigate unexpected twists and turns with confidence and a clear plan.”
ScaleUP! KC, which is administered by the UMKC Innovation Center, provides direct support for growth-oriented entrepreneurs and firms — to include underserved and underrepresented communities/populations — and strengthens the entrepreneurial ecosystem by filling a gap for second-stage businesses, according to the program.
Click here to learn more about ScaleUP! KC, which is offered at no cost to participants thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The cohort’s latest additions from across the Kansas City region — each with revenues above $200,000 — represent such diverse industries as security, marketing, fitness, construction, insurance, tech, sanitation and education, according to ScaleUP! KC.
Members of the cohort include:
- Tony Blogumas — Green Resources Consulting, Cleveland, Missouri
- Brian Butner — NPB Companies Inc., Kansas City, Kansas
- David Chavez — INGEÑUITY, Olathe, Kansas
- Jocelyn Cohenour — Studio7 Pilates + Barre, Prairie Village, Kansas
- Isaac Collins — Yogurtini, Kansas City, Missouri
- Samantha Comer — Niftiest Construction Provider LLC, Kansas City, Kansas
- Nicole Feltz — Nicole L. Feltz Agency, American Family Insurance, Overland Park, Kansas
- Blair Hauser — Marquette Physical Therapy, Leawood, Kansas
- Renee Jones — Patrick’s Heating and Cooling Supply, Kansas City, Missouri
- Maria Kunstadter — The TeleDentists, Kansas City, Missouri
- Toni Laban — Pacific Sanitation Services, Kansas City, Missouri
- Audrey Mathis — Lumen Touch, Kansas City, Missouri
- Corey Phillips — Trilogy Sports & Fitness, Kansas City, Missouri
- Andrew Powell — State Line Door & Lift, Grain Valley, Missouri
- Kristen Rising — Rising Construction Services Inc., Grain Valley, Missouri
- Randy Robbins — J&C Auto Glass, Raytown, Missouri
- Von Walker — Clean It All, Independence, Missouri
- Caleb Walston — Walston Door Company LLC, North Kansas City, Missouri
- Sanford Willis — Willis Willis and Sons LLC, Kansas City, Missouri
- AbdulRasak Yahaya — Open Minds Child Development Center, Olathe, Kansas
Including the newest cohort, 175 Kansas City-area business owners have participated in ScaleUP! KC. The program helps them create the processes, strategies and long-term plans to not only grow but also to scale their businesses and be equipped and ready for shifts and opportunities, according to ScaleUP! KC.
Featured Business
2021 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Frank Keck: Benefits of developing a strong workplace culture
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary about workplace culture are the author’s alone. Check out a previous column by Frank Keck here. “We know that engaged managers and employees are much more likely to remain in an organization, leading to fewer hires from outside the organization. This results in: Lower wage costs for…
Downtown space levels up with ‘Novel Coworking’ name change
About seven months after arriving in Kansas City, one of the area’s newest coworking spaces has announced a name change. Chicago-based Level Office — which opened a studio in downtown Kansas City in February — announced Monday a rebrand to become Novel Coworking. The revamp more accurately represents the company’s mission to amplify its customers,…
Photos: KC Coworking Day sings virtues of big ideas in startup spaces
KC Coworking Day is a celebration of people whose vision exceeds their circumstances, said Bob Martin. “If you’re an entrepreneur, and you have a vision, I hope your vision is so big that you’re uncomfortable sharing it with everybody — that there’s only a handful of people to whom you’re going to say, ‘This is…
Digital Sandbox startup Fast Democracy building non-partisan social database for tracking legislation
Today’s political climate demands not only a better-informed public, but accurate tools to help voters arm themselves with timely information, said Sara Baker, co-founder of Fast Democracy. The Kansas City-based startup — one of four early-stage businesses recently accepted into Digital Sandbox KC — aims to help people “touch their democracy” through its non-partisan web…