2023 Startups to Watch: KC Pioneers tap spirit of collaboration to game the middle of the map
December 14, 2022 | Channa Steinmetz
Editor’s note: Startland News selected 10 Kansas City scaling businesses to spotlight for its annual Startups to Watch list. Now in its eighth year, this feature recognizes founders and startups that editors believe will make some of the biggest news in the coming 12 months. The following is one of 2023’s companies.
Click here to view the full list of Startups to Watch — presented in partnership with Social Apex, supported by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and independently produced by Startland News.
The Kansas City Pioneers are among the fastest-growing esports organizations in North America, said Mark Josey, and the Pioneers are on a mission to include the entire Kansas City community in the excitement.
Elevator pitch: The Kansas City Pioneers is an entertainment, media and gaming organization. The Pioneers compete in top-tier esports at professional levels in Apex Legends, Rocket League, Splitgate and Madden NFL, with streamers in dozens of other esports.
- Founders: Sam Kulikov, Alex Laughlin, Jeremy Terman, Mark Josey, LJ Browne
- Founding year: 2019
- Current employee count: 33
- Amount raised to date: $1.4M
- Noteworthy investors: Undisclosed
“One of the things that I love about Kansas City is its spirit,” said Josey, who serves as the CEO of the Kansas City Pioneers. “It’s a spirit of tech and innovation, entertainment and community — and people here want to connect. People want to learn and help you. As more people have come to realize that gaming is the future, and it’s already here in Kansas City, they’ve responded really well.”
Since the Pioneers was founded in 2019, the organization has built various men’s and women’s teams across a variety of esports, climbed its way up the leaderboards and secured several national and local partnerships such as Price Chopper, Boy & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City and Guys Snacks. The Pioneers also collaborated on an activation with the Kansas City Royals.
“We have a lot of folks here who love gaming and happen to be traditional athletes,” Josey said, noting that three players of the Kansas City Chiefs have become brand ambassadors for the Pioneers. “What I think is really interesting with them is [using] gaming as a conduit to reach fans and do good in the community. We are of course happy to be a part of that.”
Click here to read more about the Kansas City Pioneers.
The Kansas City Pioneers currently operate the second largest women’s league in the world, as well as hold the fifth position for best Apex Legends team in the world. Through this success and inclusion, the Pioneers are able to build a strong fan-base and presence in the Midwest — which is attractive to publishers deciding where to host tournaments, Josey said.
“Similar to the World Cup, these esports championship tournaments are going to have a major impact on where they’re hosted,” he explained. “… In Kansas City, thousands of people coming here for a championship translates into eating at our great restaurants, going out in Power and Light, supporting local businesses and buying some merch. The Pioneers are a conduit to bringing that awareness.”
Kansas City hosted a bracket-style Halo tournament in 2022, which brought about $1.8 million in economic growth, Josey said, noting that Halo is not as big as other games in esports.
In 2023, Josey anticipates continuing to make Kansas City a hub for innovation and esports.
“We’re seeing esport organizations being a higher and faster evaluation than some traditional sports teams trajectory,” Josey said. “It’s all about — how do you reach the future? We’re doing it through building really good teams and engaging fans in different ways. That’s interesting to partners and sponsors. I’ve said this before, but we are Kansas City-founded, globally driven. We want to be at the forefront of this industry.”
Startups to Watch presented in partnership with Social Apex, supported by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and independently produced by Startland News.
Social Apex connects you to the modern consumer.
As a digital marketing agency based in Kansas City, Missouri, we create customized marketing experiences to better connect to your customer.
Social Apex works with you hands on with strategic consulting and content geared to drive results and help reach long-term growth.
Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2023
[slide-anything id=”691097″]
Startups to Watch 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
1 Million Cups wraps month-long black entrepreneur showcase
Celebrating differences strengthens everyone, a white 1 Million Cups volunteer told a room full of black entrepreneurs and business owners Wednesday evening. “Diversity and inclusion are important to us year-round here at 1 Million Cups,” said Kyle Smith, communications coordinator at KCSourceLink and a 1MC Kansas City community organizer. “And I am very well aware…
C2FO raises massive $100M round for global expansion
In what is believed to be the largest venture-backed funding round in the Kansas City area’s history, C2FO is lighting the fuse on its global expansion with a $100 million capital raise. The Leawood-based financial tech firm’s round was led by Munich-based Allianz X and Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Company, and included participation from Temasek,…
Techweek KC returning with big LaunchKC, Techstars, BetaBlox demo days
One of Kansas City’s biggest conference series for entrepreneurs is returning in October alongside some of KC’s most premier accelerator programs, said Amanda Signorelli, CEO of Techweek KC. Demo days for Techstars KC and BetaBlox will join LaunchKC as signature events during the Oct. 8-12 conference, she said. “Combined with the nationally recognized LaunchKC competition…
Techstars KC alum Grit Virtual posts $840K oversubscribed seed round
Reality is starting to sink in for Grit Virtual, said co-founder Chris Callen. “It’s exciting to finally be able to talk about our funding rounds and the successes we have had,” Callen said. “It’s been an exciting ride so far, and we’re kind of gearing up to make it a real company, not just an R&D…