Build a bigger bandwagon for women entrepreneurs, founders say; an isolated journey is too lonely 

Representation of women in entrepreneurship is critically important, Vanessa Jupe told a crowd gathered this week at Union Station, emphasizing the power of exposure and leading by example to create a stronger, more diverse ecosystem.

“If we don’t start businesses, then other women aren’t going to see that as a possibility,” said the founder and CEO of Leva, an app-based community that educates and empowers mothers and parents of babies aged 0-12 months.

Vanessa Jupe, Leva, speaks during the 2024 C3KC conference at Union Station; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

During the “Rise of Women Entrepreneurs” panel at Tuesday’s C3KC Conference — organized by the Junior League of Kansas City — Jupe shared an example to illustrate the power of representation. She had asked one of the Junior League members volunteering at the event why she decided to become a lawyer, Jupe recalled; that woman pointed to a female relative.

“‘I don’t know if I would have chosen law if I hadn’t had her in my life,’” Jupe said the member told her.

This representation — in entrepreneurship and at all levels of business — matters, Jupe continued, because women are going to tackle problems with new and different solutions than previously explored.

“Women’s mental health, maternal health, menopause support, these things are businesses that women are starting that are making a difference because no one has ever before,” she explained. “We need more of that.”

Kansas City boasts many amazing female-founded companies that are solving problems with strategies never before deployed, she added.

RELATED: Motherhood is tough; this breastfeeding, diaper tracking app uses tech to guide moms past stigmas

Jupe was joined on the panel by Dr. Brandy Archie, founder of AskSAMIE and AccessAble Living; and Maria Meyers, executive director of the UMKC Innovation Center. Dr. Kirsten Brown Persley, CEO of Persley Advisors, moderated the panel, which focused on the increase of women in entrepreneurship since the pandemic.

Maria Meyers, UMKC Innovation Center, discusses the growth of women in entrepreneurship during the 2024 C3KC conference at Union Station; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“Women are starting businesses very, very rapidly these days,” said Meyers, whose organization works to connect, support, sustain, and empower entrepreneurial efforts within the region and across the country. “There’s a lot of business starts right now, actually. Business starts are up 37 percent since 2020.”

“They continue to go up,” she continued. “When we have complete disruption, we have innovation; we have the ability to look at problems and people have the time to look at problems.”

Vanessa Jupe, Leva, center, and fellow panelists participate in the “Rise of Women Entrepreneurs” conversation at the 2024 C3KC conference at Union Station; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

As more women start businesses, it’s important to band together, Archie noted, as one of entrepreneurship’s biggest challenges is isolation.

“It can feel very lonely to start a business because you might be the only person who sees the vision for this,” explained Archie, who launched her curated marketplace making aging in place possible in 2023 and was named one of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2023. “Eventually you’ve gotta get everyone else on your bandwagon; that’s the goal. But when you’re working on that bandwagon, it can feel like you’re doing it alone.”

It’s important to find a network of fellow entrepreneurs, she continued.

“So that you can have people to talk to that are also going through similar things and be a support system for you,” Archie added. “Most people in your life probably are not entrepreneurs, so it’s hard to talk to people that don’t understand the challenges.”