Pipeline gala salutes ‘thriving, ever-evolving’ Midwest startup scene boosted by its fellows
June 16, 2023 | Startland News Staff
The 2023 edition of the Pipeline Entrepreneurs Annual Innovation Gala honored a slate of innovators and inspirational forces from across the region, hailing the growth of entrepreneurship in the heartland — and a handful of top award winners.
Past Innovator of the Year recipients Parker Graham and AJ Mellott introduce the 2022 fellowship class award winner at the 2023 Pipeline Innovators Gala; photo by Channa Steinmetz, Startland News
Melissa Vincent, executive director of Pipeline Entrepreneurs, credited the fellows with fostering a now-thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.
“It is through [our members’] hard work and dedication to staying in the Midwest that has taken what was once an entrepreneurial desert, and turned it into a thriving and ever-evolving ecosystem these last 16 years,” Vincent said.
Both the 2022 Pipeline Fellows and Pathfinder class members were officially honored as graduates of the program.
The 2022 Pathfinder cohort marked the inaugural graduating class of the program, which was developed in 2021 as an entryway into the elite fellowship for often-overlooked founders who have not yet made the jump to full-time work with their startups.
During the program — which was held at Hotel Kansas City on Thursday evening — the 2023 Fellows and Pathfinders were introduced, and five awards were presented. Two Kansas City entrepreneurs took home hardware.
Awards and awardees from the gala included:
2022 Innovator of the Year — Jessica Loseke, Midwest Barrel Co., Lincoln, Nebraska
The Pipeline Innovator of the Year award is the award given to the fellow with the best showing in these three components: performance during the Pipeline Fellowship year, scores for their completed business plans, and their presentation score during the Innovators Daytime Pitch Showcase.
Member Growth Award — Bo Lais, Lula, Kansas City, Missouri
Pipeline Members continue to work with the Pipeline organization, and each other, as they grow and scale their businesses. This award recognizes a Pipeline Member for a particularly strong demonstration of growth, be it revenue, capital raised, creation of high-salaried jobs, new ventures or innovation.
Member Inspiration Award — Ali Schwanke, Simple Strat, Lincoln, Nebraska
Pipeline Members know that Pipeline is a never-ending, long-term community of entrepreneurial leaders. They help each other — and the organization — as members all grow toward their goals. This award recognizes outstanding contributions by a Pipeline Member to the organization and the many peers within it.
Mike Bosch Resilience Award — Tim Donnelly, Serviam Care Network, Kansas City, Missouri
The Pipeline Resilience Award is among the newest awards and is awarded to an entrepreneur who exemplifies what it means to be an entrepreneur through and through. To show resilience and strength against all odds and continue to keep building and give back to the community and the membership.
2022 Pathfinder Entrepreneurial Inspiration Award — Letisha Wexstten, V15Able, St. Louis
Check out a photo gallery from the Pipeline’s rooftop reception and gala below.
2023 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Frustrated by the fit, this traveler-turned-swimwear founder crafted 10 pairs himself; now his trunk show is going global
Opening a popup swimwear store in one of Atlanta’s most upscale malls represented a surge of momentum for Tristan Davis’ high-end brand that began not on a beach or a runway, but in Kansas City’s tight-knit startup community. “We’ve gone from an idea in a handmade bathing suit to a high fashion mall in less…
Harvesting opportunity: How a KC chicken chain turned a strip of parking lot into its latest ingredient
Months before snow blanketed Kansas City this week, Todd Johnson transformed a weed-filled, unusable portion of parking lot at his Lenexa restaurant into a flourishing garden that serves up fresh produce used in kitchens at all three of his Strips Chicken and Brewing locations in Johnson County. In its first season, Moonglow Gardens — as…
AI evolved faster than rules to protect people; this founder wants to code ethics back into the tech
Amber Stewart sees what many overlook in artificial intelligence, she said: the human cost of unregulated technology that can manifest as anything from sexist and racist outcomes to outright theft from willing and unwilling members of the public. “I’m not afraid of the tech,” said Stewart, founder and CEO of GuardianSync. “I’m afraid of unfettered…
A romantic hideaway (for you and a book): Entrepreneur’s heart for reading opens store on Independence Square
America Fontenot didn’t plan to launch her new Independence bookstore on national Small Business Saturday — the busiest shopping weekend of the year — but renovation delays just kept pushing back the opening, she said. So while many small shops were offering Black Friday-adjacent deals to get customers in the front door, Fontenot’s The Littlest…