PHKC awards $25K to Alchemy Sandbox winners; It’s amazing when someone understands your vision, founder says
June 28, 2023 | Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
Year one challenges can be difficult for entrepreneurs to swallow, James Thomas noted, but he’s raising a cup to the first anniversary of Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri Shop with validation and a splash of funding.
James Thomas, Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri Shop; photo by Austin Barnes, Startland News
Two days after completing The Porter House KC’s fourth small business development cohort and competing in its finale competition, Thomas pitched again — this time pouring a $5,000 grant from Alchemy Sandbox, another PHKC program that provides critical funding, mentoring, and connections to founders in partnership with UMB Bank.
“Your first year is always the hardest,” Thomas explained of starting a business. “You’re trying to figure out what to do, how to market your brand, how to sell your product, figure out how to make people understand and realize your vision, and do the best you can with the resources.”
“Luckily Porter House and UMB Bank were there and they understood my vision; they saw my potential,” he continued. “When I heard I’d won, it was just an amazing feeling that people are seeing and understanding what I have to offer and what I can do for the city.”
Brain Freeze is a pop up daiquiri shop with 28 flavors — including Frose, King Cake, and Feelin’ No Pain — that caters corporate events, weddings, birthday parties, and more.
The Duffle Brand; photo by Austin Barnes, Startland News
Additional winners from Alchemy Sandbox’s Quarter 2 cohort — each winning as much as $5,000 — include paraMi, The Duffle Brand, Magnolia Beauty Academy, and MJ Fitness.
paraMi team: Erika Reza, Silvia Marin, Veronica Alvidrez, and Nayelly Serrano-Dantzler; photo by Martin Martinez
Click here to learn more about paraMi’s new storefront.
According to The Porter House KC, four out of five of the winners have participated in past Alchemy Sandox cohorts, which is a process that includes an online application, a pitch workshop led by the Missouri Small Business Development Center, and a five-minute pitch and three-minute Q&A period with judges.
“To be able to see each of these business owners progress each quarter in their comfort of pitching, their comfort of discussing their business, and ultimately, their comfort in discussing their work is phenomenal to see,” said Miranda Schultz, director of operations at The Porter House KC.
Click here to apply for the Alchemy Sandbox program.
James Thomas, Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri Shop; photo by Austin Barnes, Startland News
James Thomas, Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri Shop
Thomas — who plans to use the $5,000 to purchase another daiquiri machine and truck — started Brain Freeze in June 2022 after coming up with the idea during the pandemic.
“I’ve traveled to New Orleans and to downtown and they have daiquiri shops,” the KC native explained. “And I wanted to bring something like that that’s fun with an atmosphere of joy to Kansas City. So during COVID — when it was sad, depressing, and lonely — I wanted something to bring people together.”
He said he decided to put his own twist on the daiquiri shop concept by going mobile.
“I wanted to do something where you don’t have to leave your house or you don’t have to go down to a restaurant,” he added. “You can go down the street to your neighbor’s house or go to an anniversary party or wedding and have the same feel of New Orleans at your event.”
Click here to see events where you can find Brain Freeze.
In his first year in business, Thomas noted that he’s thankful to have the support of The Porter House KC and fellow cohort members.
“It’s a community of entrepreneurs that are going through the same struggles that we are going through,” he said, “but look to each other to figure out how to overcome the struggle that we have.”
Featured Business
2023 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Cherry on top: 9-year-old baking entrepreneur cuts check to pay off KC students’ negative lunch balances
Baking is the perfect recipe for spreading joy — owning a small business should be too, said 9-year-old Ire Cherry, recalling the moment she stood before administrators at University Academy in Kansas City, holding a check wider than she is tall. “My mom and her sister were talking about people in Virginia who couldn’t pay their…
Kauffman Foundation’s Erin Jenkins bounces between contrasting cultures, startup life
Editor’s note: This content was sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation but independently produced by Startland News. Curiosity took Erin Jenkins to Japan. Curiosity brought her home. In between, she embedded herself in the worlds of intercultural entrepreneurism and startup life — her journey aligning itself with an opportunity to serve as a program officer…
Pride outside: How the outdoor industry is missing out with a $1 trillion LGBTQ+ blind spot
“You can’t be what you can’t see,” said adventurer and speaker Mikah Meyer, quoting activist Marian Wright Edelman last week in Kansas City. Representation of LGBTQ+ consumers and entrepreneurs formed a thematic trail throughout the recent Mid-America Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce awards luncheon where Meyer made keynote remarks. His borrowed quote also reflected…
nbkc launches Entrepreneur in Residence incubator: ‘I have a whole company behind me’
Less than a year after its inaugural Fountain City Fintech accelerator debuted, nbkc bank has launched a new incubator program designed to tackle common banking industry problems with start-up-style ideation, problem solving, and tenacity, said Megan Darnell. The goal: building new companies along the way, the nbkc program manager said. “Kansas City has every single…