Blip Roasters, Lifted Spirits leaders among latest ScaleUP! KC cohort, priming their businesses to scale 

Eighteen Kansas City companies — ranging from coffee, software, and cycling, to construction, human resources, hair care, fitness, and distilling — are slated to join the latest ScaleUP! KC cohort, the program announced Wednesday.

“ScaleUP! Kansas City has a long history and proven track record of helping Kansas City business owners get the confidence, one-on-one coaching and professional peer network they need to not only grow multimillion-dollar businesses, but also become business and community leaders,” said Jill Hathaway, program coordinator for ScaleUP! Kansas City. “ScaleUP! KC offers vital support for these businesses that fuel the economy in our metro.”

Beyond helping businesses scale, the program aims to create new jobs, open new locations, develop resiliency for the future and strengthen the regional economy. Now in its seventh year, ScaleUP! KC is the longest running program in Kansas City for scaling businesses, open to any industry and growth-minded entrepreneurs in the greater Kansas City bi-state region.

Click here to learn more about ScaleUP! Kansas City.

Members of the new cohort include:

• Amanda Anderson – Contractor Accelerator, Lee’s Summit, Missouri
• Christina Baanders-Decker – Midwest Cyclery LLC, Kansas City, Missouri
• Bobby Caffrey – Chopper Industries LLC, DeSoto, Kansas
• Ian Davis – Blip Roasters, Kansas City, Missouri
• Brittany Fugate – Cenetric Network Services Inc., Olathe, Kansas
• Laura Garfield – Idea Decanter, Lee’s Summit, Missouri
• Zack Gould – KnockTurn Labs, Pleasant Hill, Missouri
• Sara Greenwood – Greenwood Consulting Group, Mission Hills, Kansas
• Scott Holsman – Next Level Performers, Overland Park, Kansas
• Karen Hughey – KR-HR/Nucleus Training Solutions, Overland Park, Kansas
• Reda Ibrahim – RK Contractors LLC, Kansas City, Missouri
• Rickey Leathers – Savvy Salon, Mission, Kansas
• Elisabeth Megli – Theme Strategic Proposals, Grandview, Missouri
• Michelle Ortiz – MJ Fitness LLC, Kansas City, Missouri
• Cecilia Smith – The Facial Bar, Kansas City, Missouri
• Michael Stuckey – Lifted Spirits Distillation, Kansas City, Missouri
• Gerald Thompson – Handyman Pro of Northland KC, Lathrop, Missouri
• Bryan Tobiason – KC Home Photography, Gardner, Kansas

ScaleUP! KC is funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the U.S. Economic Development Administration through the Mid-America Regional Council.  Event sponsorship has been funded by Arvest Bank. Administrative support and coaching is facilitated by Missouri’s Small Business Development Center at UMKC, a program of the UMKC Innovation Center.

“Every business owner who completes the ScaleUP! Kansas City program gets a new perspective that helps them transition from working in their business to working on their business,” Hathaway said. “This 16-week program has a profound impact on the top-tier Kansas City business owners who enroll and opens real-world doors to new possibilities and goals they’ve been dreaming of. The coaching, connections and skill-building helps them navigate the unexpected with a clear vision and the confidence to tackle any challenge.”

Including this newest cohort, 193 Kansas City-area business owners have participated in this selective program.

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