Overland Park startup wins four pilot projects through NXTUS health competition
July 1, 2022 | Startland News Staff
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation.
WICHITA — A summer innovation showcase powered by a corporate leader in health care solutions culminated with commitments to 22 pilot projects for competing startups, as well as 13 more potential partnerships aimed at tackling projects from access to mental health care and addiction treatment to improving senior care.
The NXTSTAGE Community Health and Vibrancy Pilot Competition brought together leading entrepreneurs to present their technology solutions to Kansas organizations focused on improving the health of Kansans and removing barriers to community growth, organizers said.
Click here to read more about the competitors.
Pilot partners from across Kansas committed to implementing promising technology tools aimed at key challenges.
Overland Park-based SoulFIRE Health was awarded pilot projects by Healthy Bourbon County Action Team, Hodgeman County Economic Development, Scott County Development Committee, and Thrive Allen County.
“We’re working to help connect entrepreneurs to customers here, so they can grow companies of significance and help Kansas communities thrive,” said Mary Beth Jarvis, executive director of Wichita-based NXTUS, which partnered with presenting sponsor Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas on the NXTSTAGE competition.
Rebecca MacKinnon, SoulFIRE Health, speaks with Erin Croom, of Atlanta-based Small Bites Adventure Club, at the NXTSTAGE Community Health and Vibrancy Pilot Competition
A program of 5th Dimension Strategies, SoulFIRE Health presents evidence-based healthy nutrition and activities content, targeting communities and health coaches working with persons with chronic disease.
Click here to read more about SoulFIRE Health, which is led by Rebecca MacKinnon, Chris Jackson, and Kourtney Govro.
Quest Moffatt, Kadogo, with Abel Frederick, United Way of the Plains, at the NXTSTAGE Community Health and Vibrancy Pilot Competition
Fellow Kansas City competitor Kadogo, an app that aims to expand charitable giving, also is under consideration for potential projects with Healthy Bourbon County Action Team and Thrive Allen County.
Click here for a full list of awarded pilots and possible future projects.
“We’re thrilled to play a part in connecting entrepreneurs with local community organizations to improve health outcomes and the economic well-being of our state,” said Virginia Barnes, Blue Health Initiatives director at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. “Our communities have unique health needs and the technology being implemented as a result of this competition has the potential to improve the lives of thousands of Kansans.”
[divide]
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
2022 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
MidxMidwest teases lineup for three-day investor-innovation event (and the startup party of the year)
Building on Kansas City’s ambitious spirit, a new blend of music, startups and community is expected to meet at the crossroads of innovation, said Alexa Heying, pulling back the curtain on plans for the region’s flagship Midwest tech conference. “The goal of MidxMidwest is to create the connective tissue between founders, investors, and corporates so…
Peek inside: Buffalo State Pizza takes another slice of ownership with fresh-baked downtown OP relocation
Three decades of pizza at a popular downtown Overland Park corner might have come to a close this week, as the crew at Buffalo State Pizza Co. picked up the last of what they could carry and walked it a half block down the street to the shop’s new home near another local favorite, The…
One cabin, one chair, one cut: Barber swaps rushed for rustic at his no-distractions shop in the woods
LONE JACK, Mo. — A short drive to visit this barber — his cabin tucked away in the oaks and hickories about 35 minutes from the heart Kansas City — is about more than just the journey to a great hair cut, Micah Holdaway said; it’s about the experience. After running Barberhouse Men’s Hair Studio in…
Q&A: Troy Nash grew up in public housing; now he’s leading real estate innovation at UMKC
Editor’s note: The following story was written and first published by the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Click here to read the original story. [divide] Executive MBA professor named new real estate center director With more than two decades of leadership in public-private partnerships, economic development and community engagement, Troy Nash will serve as director of the Lewis…