Votes are in: ‘Fan favorite’ winners bake in support at KC Chamber showcase; Top 10 coming April 21
April 7, 2023 | Startland News Staff
Editor’s note: The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is a non-financial partner of Startland News, which serves as the media partner for the Small Business Superstars program.
Two Black- and women-owned ventures were named “fan favorites” Tuesday in a public vote that followed this week’s Small Business Showcase at Union Station. The honors are the first-announced awards of the KC Chamber’s 2023 celebration, which culminates in June with the big reveal: Small Business of the Year.
LaVita Green, Caresticks Mobile Phlebotomy, at the We Are Black pitch competition organized by Kansas City G.I.F.T.
Fan favorite winners — presented by the Kansas City National Security Campus — included:
- Brown Suga Bakes, Ebony Paul-Harris — An Olathe-based cookie baker with a brick-and-mortar and pop-ups across the city; specializing in “memorable flavor-stories worth indulging in.”
- Caresticks Mobile Phlebotomy, LaVita Green — Provides patients with on-site and mobile phlebotomy services, to grow its staff of specialized phlebotomists, as well as train new ones. (Recent grand-prize winner in the We Are Black pitch competition organized by Kansas City G.I.F.T.)
The two businesses will receive a Member Spotlight from the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, as well as an opportunity for takeover of the KC Chamber’s Instagram account for a day.
Now in its fourth year, the fan favorite awards are determined by an online vote of participants at the KC Chamber’s Small Business Showcase, which on Tuesday brought 67 small businesses and more than 1,000 attendees people to the Grand Hall at Union Station.
Both Brown Suga Bakes and Caresticks remain eligible for other awards — from Emerging Business and Equity honors to the coveted Small Business of the Year or “Mr. K” Award — in the runup to the KC Chamber’s June 14 Small Business Celebration.
Next up: An announcement April 21 of the Top 10 finalists for Small Business of the Year.
Click here to learn more about the KC Chamber’s Small Business Celebration and awards program.
Eric Wollerman, Honeywell FM&T, and Vicky Kulikov, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, announce the 2023 KCNSC Fan Favorite awards at Spark Coworking in downtown Kansas City; photo by Channa Steinmetz, Startland News
Finalists are curated from the dozens of award nominees showcased at this week’s event. Eric Wollerman, president of Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technology, was among the attendees who met business owners during Tuesday’s gathering.
Eric Wollerman, Honeywell FM&T, and Vicky Kulikov, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, announce the 2023 KCNSC Fan Favorite awards at Spark Coworking in downtown Kansas City; photo by Channa Steinmetz, Startland News
Honeywell FM&T is an LLC that manages a contract under the Department of Energy for the National Nuclear Security Administration. Through that relationship, it operates the Kansas City National Security Campus — the longtime sponsor of the fan favorite awards and Small Business Celebration.
“We partner with over a thousand small businesses annually, so we want to help support the local small business community — those who already do business with us and others,” Wollerman said Thursday before announcing the winners during a Facebook Live broadcast with the KC Chamber at Spark Coworking in downtown Kansas City.
“A large percentage of our annual spend — 55 percent — is targeted to small businesses. It’s roughly $400 million each year,” Wollerman further detailed, referencing Honeywell’s work through the Kansas City National Security Campus and its government contract.
“We’re really trying to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Many times, that takes partnering with the small business community,” he continued. “Our affiliation with the Chamber has been very beneficial.”
Watch the KC Chamber and Kansas City National Security Campus announce the “Fan Favorite” awards below.
Featured Business
2023 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Looping back? Missouri partners with Hyperloop to study 23-minute KC-St Louis route
Missouri’s prospects for landing a Hyperloop route apparently aren’t off the rails after all. Despite the company revealing four U.S. finalist routes in September — which did not include a proposed route through the Show Me State – Hyperloop One announced Tuesday it has entered into a public-private partnership with the State of Missouri to conduct…
Techstars Spotlight: GRIT Virtual builds 3-D tech into 2-D construction mindset
3-D should stay 3-D, said Chris Callen, CEO of GRIT Virtual. And with the rise of virtual reality and augmented reality technology, that philosophy can be applied to the construction of 3-D buildings, Callen said. Wichita-based GRIT Virtual is a software-as-a-service platform for large contractors. It uses VR software to streamline the workflow for construction…
Cherry Pit Collective offers community-first workspace for female artists, makers
For artists and makers, coworking is often more than just a preference for a non-traditional space – it can be a necessity. When Kelsey Pike graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2011, she came to the realization that she wouldn’t be able to continue her craft — papermaking — without the tools and…
Under-the-radar innovators exchange challenges, answer ‘Why KC?’ (photo gallery)
It all comes back to time and money, Jennifer Rosenblatt said. “With a startup, things always take longer, and they always cost a lot more,” said Rosenblatt, co-founder of MusicSpoke. “Where we are now is not where I wanted to be.” Though selected as one of Startland News’ 2017 under-the-radar Kansas City startups, as well…