Education

Bryan Boots, UMKC's Regnier Institute

Regnier student venture contest widens to high schools, eyeing next generation of innovators

A broader reach is expected to drive the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge in 2020, as the University of Missouri-Kansas City expands the impact-driven contest beyond multiple state lines.  “We hope to see even more regional representation in the competition than we’ve had in past years — which has already been pretty regional,” Bryan Boots, managing director…

Kaylee Chappelow and Rebecca Burney, RiskGenius

Chit chat on the elevator? RiskGenius targets missing ‘adulting’ soft skills with event series

College curriculum often falls short of the crucial soft skills to get young entrepreneurs from coffee chats to the head of the table, said Kaylee Chappelow.  “I don’t want to say college sucks … but I think we all agree that it doesn’t touch on the soft skills,” laughed Chappelow, customer success manager at insurtech…

Photo by Brad Neathery

The Village KC plans STEM camp, financial literacy efforts to help KCMO teens unlock potential

A new sense of freedom is on the horizon for Kansas City teens as The Village KC opens its doors and empowers young people to find their futures.  “Freedom, to me, is access to opportunities that allow you to live well,” Di’Anna Saffold, founder and executive director, explained of ways The Village KC aims to…

Jack Schraad, Brad Garlinghouse, Nathan Nichols, Mason Qualls, Daniel Jones, Craig DeWitt, and Pat Thelen; Ripple and KU Blockchain Institute

Startup Road Trip: Student-led KU Blockchain Institute has high-tech dreams with graduation nearing 

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. LAWRENCE…

Rhonda Dolan, Udo, Urban Business Growth Initiative alum and 2019 Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year

Newly launched Dare to Venture competition set to award $30K in micro-grants

Participants in a series of select entrepreneurship courses this winter will be eligible to win a total of $30,000 in micro-grant awards thanks to the Urban Business Growth Initiative. Funded by the City of Kansas City, Missouri, and administered by the UMKC Innovation Center, the new Dare to Venture Micro-Grant Competition is expected to feature…