Gatekeepers hate to see them coming: Why Back2KC leaders think these outsiders could be the next best Kansas Citians

A Kansas City homecoming movement with a track record of sparking real relocations and startup investment is gearing up for its annual gathering — welcoming expatriates and newcomers alike as it seeks to deepen ties between the city and its far-flung alumni.

But the program’s high-octane leader insists the work of Back2KC isn’t just about scoring moves. It’s about shifting the culture and breaking barriers to inclusion.

“Road blockers, gatekeepers — they don’t come to my events. They hate me,” Jessica Powell said with a laugh. “The people who come are the ones who want both state lines to win.”

Think of the Sept. 19 summit as less a recruitment pitch and more a celebration of Kansas City’s strengths — with proof that the strategy works, explained Powell, program manager for Back2KC. Since launching in 2018, the initiative has directly influenced at least 38 high-power professionals to relocate back to the metro, with many stepping into leadership roles at local companies, investing in startups or launching ventures of their own.

“Back2KC was designed to be more than a single-day event,”  Powell said. “It’s about building a long-term pipeline of talent, capital and champions for Kansas City.”

Darcy Howe points out changes to the Kansas City skyline to Back2KC attendees during the program’s 2018 gathering; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

From Detroit spark to KC fire

Back2KC traces its roots to a call Kansas City investor and civic leader Darcy Howe received nearly a decade ago from Detroit’s innovation chief.

Darcy Howe, KCRise Fund

Detroit had been working on a “Back to Detroit” push aimed at reversing blight by luring former residents to reinvest. Howe, who had just years earlier launched the KCRise Fund to support early-stage companies, saw a parallel challenge in Kansas City, saw opportunity for a similar program locally.

“We recognized as these companies were growing, they needed talent,” said Howe, founder of both the KC Rise Fund and the Back2KC initiative. “So we combed LinkedIn, we found anybody that had something that said Kansas City, and we invited them back.”

The results were immediate: returning professionals not only filled leadership gaps in startups but also became champions for the city in their new circles. Even those who didn’t immediately move home became advocates, mentors, and investors.

“I challenge other organizations in Kansas City to either support Back2KC in a significant enough way to make it happen or to start their own in a different way,” Howe said. “This is an open-sourced idea.”

ICYMI: Darcy Howe honored with Impact and Influence Award at Digital Health Day.

Jessica Powell, Back2KC, New2KC; photo by Austin Barnes, Startland News

Turning disruption into KC’s advantage

While Howe remains Back2KC’s spiritual driver, Powell has taken the reins as the program’s enthusiastic operator. A Shawnee Mission East grad who bounced from Kansas City to Chicago and Austin before returning, Powell admits she didn’t always feel at home here.

Jessica Powell, leader of New2KC, leads a panel conversation with new Kansas City residents during a February 2025 Startland News Live event; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

“My tagline is ‘It shouldn’t take a lifetime to find your people in Kansas City,’” she said.

Early in her career, Powell struggled in traditional jobs until a Chicago startup gave her room to thrive, she said. When Howe challenged her to apply that energy at home, Powell accepted.

“Darcy was like, ‘Why are you helping all these other cities with their startup communities? You should be helping your own hometown. And shame on you,’” Powell recalled. “She told me, ‘You’re an entrepreneur. That’s why you’re getting fired.’”

The jab landed. Powell now runs both Back2KC and a related effort called New2KC, which helps recently relocated professionals find community, so they don’t bounce again after a few years.

“Kansas City needs to be more inclusive and less comfortable,” she said. “Everyone here has a great life, but when we don’t try new things, we don’t grow. I want us to open the doors to people with different ways and learn from them.”

This year, Powell is pulling together a full day of programming hosted at the Crossroads headquarters of SafetyCulture — a scaling tech company with dual HQs in Kansas City and Australia — followed by evening events during the Plaza Art Fair and Startland News’ Startup Crawl.

Highlights for Back2KC attendees include:

• Opening keynote from Howe on the state of Kansas City tech.
• An all-female panel on the business of sports, capped with a woman moderator.
• Afternoon sessions on investment and innovation.
• An evening reception at The Monarch Bar, a swanky Plaza destination reserved privately for attendees.

“We celebrate ourselves really well in Kansas City,” Powell said. “The difference at Back2KC is the vibe. The people in the room are there to uplift each other, to build community, and to drive the economy forward.”

A repeat returnee comes back (and back) swinging

Among this year’s featured participants is Sean O’Leary, founder of Denver-based Transformative Ventures and a University of Kansas alum. Though his home base has been Colorado for more than two decades, O’Leary said his ties to Kansas run deep — and Back2KC has given him a reason to reconnect.

Sean O’Leary, Transformative Ventures

“I went to school at the University of Kansas and lived there for about four and a half years,” he said. “I wanted to start getting back and having reasons from a business perspective to get back to Lawrence and Kansas City, go to Chiefs games,” and all the rest that goes with staying up with a city on the move. 

O’Leary first connected with Powell through her expat outreach, and this year she persuaded him to headline a private govtech roundtable Sept. 18, the day before the main summit.

“The speaking thing I’m going to do is around accelerating and executing one’s vision and market,” O’Leary explained. “It’s about, ‘OK, how do we all win together?’”

Rather than deliver a one-way lecture, O’Leary spent weeks preparing by interviewing more than 10 Kansas City founders.

“I asked everybody, ‘What were the three to five pillars you needed to execute on this year? Where have you made pivots to capital resources thus far?’” he said.

The roundtable will share those lessons with entrepreneurs and civic leaders, offering a rare outside-in look at Kansas City’s innovation hurdles — from top-of-funnel customer challenges to access to venture capital.

O’Leary frames his role simply:

“For me, it’s about accelerating someone’s vision and hopefully being an accelerant of their market,” he said. “That gives me a fulfilled heart to give back.”

Jessica Powell, program manager for Back2KC, speaks about the program in May 2019 at a Startland News Innovation Exchange event; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Why it’s more than a reunion

Back2KC’s success is measured not only in headcounts, but in influence. The initiative maintains an “unofficial returnee list” to track outcomes. Beyond the 38 confirmed moves, dozens of alumni now mentor founders, invest in startups, or advocate for Kansas City from afar, according to Powell and Howe.

Examples include:

• Jack Spangler, who returned to lead a local startup.
• John Thurlow, who relocated his wealth management firm to Overland Park.
• Randy Lovelace, a tech leader at SafetyCulture, which now hosts the summit.

Howe emphasized that Kansas City’s business establishment needs to see Back2KC as an economic development play.

“It’s an interdependent business effort that needs to be supported by the business entities in Kansas City,” she said. “If they’re trying to attract businesses back, they need to attract talent that wants to be here.”

Sept. 19: Where KC’s future returnees take the stage

For now, the focus is on delivering a strong experience Sept. 19, Powell and Howe said. The day promises networking, panels, and plenty of Kansas City flavor, capped by cocktails and connections at The Monarch Bar.

Back2KC attendees and ambassadors listen to panelists during a 2024 event at Safety Culture in the Crossroads; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“I don’t have time to beg people to come back anymore,” Powell said. “There are so many new KC people here they now need our services most.”

That’s the impetus behind New2KC, the sister effort she leads to make sure newcomers find community quickly — and don’t leave again after just a few years.

And, overall, Howe sees the effort  as entering a new chapter — one where the format could be replicated across industries, from tech to medicine to construction.

“2KC helps our community more broadly,” Howe said. “We would welcome a broader adoption of the idea.”

As Kansas City rides a wave of national attention — from the Chiefs’ dynasty to the World Cup’s arrival — Back2KC’s leaders argue that the moment to seize is now.

“Kansas City doesn’t even know what it’s missing sometimes,” Powell said. “But if we open the doors, welcome new ideas and let smart people do smart things, we will grow.”

Haines Eason is the owner of startup content marketing agency Freelance Kansas. Previously he worked as a managing editor for a corporate content marketing team and as a communications professional at KU. His work has appeared in publications like The Guardian, Eater and KANSAS! Magazine among others. Learn about him and Freelance Kansas on LinkedIn.