E-Scholars rebrands, extending Regnier legacy deeper into influential UMKC accelerator

E-Scholars — the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s flagship accelerator program — isn’t going anywhere, Alex Matlack shared, but it is getting a rebrand.

After listening to feedback from alumni, mentors, and community members, the program formally known as Entrepreneurship Scholars is now the Regnier Venture Accelerator, joining the likes of the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge and Summit — an annual student and community entrepreneurship showcase — and Regnier Innovators Hub within the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Bloch School of Management.

“I think we feel like we’re honoring our legacy and our biggest benefactor (Bob Regnier),” Matlack, director of the accelerator, told Startland News, “and extending our brand within the institute.”

“It’s the same program,” she continued. “It’s the same mission. This doesn’t indicate some major overhaul of this of the program altogether outside the ordinary continual improvement that we do as semesters go on.”

Launched in 2011, the program accepts 20 early-stage entrepreneurs — from undergraduate and graduate programs throughout the university, plus a few from the community — and provides mentorship, resources, and a collaborative community, she noted.

“I really am passionate about making sure that whatever we are doing with these participants, it’s helping them go up and out,” she explained. “So that’s why we really wanted to refocus our energy on the accelerator.”

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Matlack said surveys and conversations with alumni, mentors, and community members revealed that the name E-Scholars didn’t fully capture the program’s mission or clearly communicate its value.

“We got a lot of responses aligned with what my gut was telling me,” she continued, “which was that the E might sound like electronic and scholars might sound like scholarship. So both parts of the name don’t quite get across what we want to say with the program: a high quality accelerator program at UMKC.”

After announcing the new name in an email, the feedback has been positive, she noted.

“I think everyone feels good about the change,” she added. “It just sounded like a better way to fully package what our brand does.”

Watch an in-depth podcast discussion below about the Regnier Venture Accelerator — recorded before the rebranding — featuring Matlack and Sam Kulikov, co-founder of Social Apex Media. The interview is part of an ongoing UMKC Student Venture Series podcast from the Regnier Institute.