LaunchKC invested in this founder’s vision; now she’s helping the grants competition boost KC’s startup scene

Editor’s note: LaunchKC — a longstanding initiative from the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City and the Downtown Council — annual funds six to seven companies through its popular fall grants competition.

Winning members of the 2025 LaunchKC cohort are set to be announced at a LaunchKC Liftoff event Nov. 19 at J. Rieger & Co. The celebration serves as a cornerstone event within Global Entrepreneurship Week-Kansas City.

Click here to RSVP for the LaunchKC Liftoff event.

[divide]

Establishing startup tech as a core element of Kansas City’s business scene takes intentional connectivity and well-placed capital, said Jannae Gammage, reflecting on the impact of the founder-focused LaunchKC and its work to bridge a gap in resources for entrepreneurs.

LaunchKC winners in November 2023: Steven Coen, SaRA Health; Jannae Gammage, Foresight; Neelima Parasker, Lotus TMS; Learie Hercules, Heft IQ; Holly Andra Small, Lotus TMS; Triumfia Houmbie Fulks and Sedric Hibler, CodeAlgo Academy; Ryan Cowdrey and Blake Herren, Raven Space Systems; photo by Mark McDonald, Downtown Council

Gammage’s company, Cyphr, was a 2024 LaunchKC $50,000 grant recipient — one of only six winners out of 100 applicants — and that money is crucial to founders like her, she said, who experience real challenges when it comes to securing business funding from within the Kansas City metro. 

“There’s a lot of relationship capital here; it’s a good place to start any company, but as far as the things you need to elevate your business — AKA (money) — Kansas City isn’t always the best place to find investors willing to take a risk,” Gammage said.

A 2020 report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation documented a capital funding gap of at least $1.4 billion, which does not account for recent inflation.

LaunchKC, however, appreciated Gammage’s grit and persistence, said Jim Erickson, director of strategic initiatives for the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri, and a key leader within LaunchKC.

“Jannae and Cyphr really stood out,” Erickson said, noting she impressed the 2024 competition’s judges with her vision and ability to execute. “While there is a general anticipation that our companies will scale. It usually takes years to achieve that growth. Jannae is unique in the pace that she has scaled Cyphr, and she is also unique in the quality of the team that she has assembled.”

Support from LaunchKC is helping to fuel that momentum, Gammage said, acknowledging that the program is much more than a one-time check for $50,000.

“It’s important to note that you could just throw money at anything, right? And you could be throwing that money into a dumpster fire,” she said. “But LaunchKC gets intimately involved with you — not in an ‘I want oversight on everything you’re doing’ way, but ‘Give me all your gaps so I can help you.’”

“And then there’s the money.”

Jannae Gammage, Cyphr, gives her pitch during a LaunchKC showcase in November 2023; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Gammage appreciates that LaunchKC chooses to work with companies in a variety of stages — true high-growth startups to newer companies that need a little push — offering custom resources depending on a business or founder’s needs.

LaunchKC’s guidance on capital deployment strategies has been especially vital to her company, Gammage added.

“It’s very easy to spend on the wrong thing because you don’t know what’s next,” she said.

For Cyphr, the right thing meant spending LaunchKC winnings to hire a person who has since unlocked millions in revenue, Gammage said.

Selling a vision

The longtime entrepreneur got her start at 14 — reselling school supplies she knew her peers would get excited about.

“I was using my allowance, buying things for school — notebooks, pencils, erasers, things that mattered when we were in middle school — and reselling them for double the price,” she said.

In addition to later serving in the U.S. Army as a staff sergeant specializing in military intelligence, Gammage continued to pursue business opportunities — even including gym ownership, eventually selling hers to a franchise.

After her turn in fitness, Gammage launched The Market Base, a SaaS platform “for the underdog entrepreneur and small business” that provided on-demand marketing support.

Jannae Gammage, Cyphr, right, pitches her startup alongside co-founder Alaia Martin at the Finovate Fall conference in New York City; photo courtesy of Cyphr

Launched Cyphr — an innovative automation platform set to redefine the lending process for small and minority-owned businesses — came next. In some ways, it carries on her desire to deliver targeted support to underserved entrepreneurs.

ICYMI: This emerging fintech powerhouse is on a roll; how Cyphr models what’s possible with the right backing

Cyphr’s first big impact goal: to see $100 million deployed to small businesses every year, with at least 10-20 percent of that total hitting companies in the Kansas City area. 

On the jobs side, she’s actively hiring and is paying above market for the region, Gammage said.

“If you look at our benefits program, you’ll see that it’s an extreme exercise in trust and the idea that if you take care of your people, they will take care of you,” she said, adding, “I have never seen benefits like ours anywhere.”

Gammage has her eye on the ripple effect her business could drive, too, stating she believes that “for every dollar that we get into the hands of a small business, they’re going to bring $20 to $25 back into the economy.” 

Hunting a younger set of eyes

LaunchKC bucks conservative investment trends, Gammage emphasized, noting their forward-thinking on reshaping the landscape, not just picking individual prize winners.

Erickson and Tommy Wilson, director for LaunchKC and director of business recruitment and research for the Downtown Council, lead that charge.

“Entrepreneurs in KC suffer from a lack of capital and even more so from a lack of connectivity to mentors and Kansas City’s business community,” Wilson said. 

“The failure rate for companies that go through LaunchKC is a fraction of what it is for startups in general, and it’s no coincidence that LaunchKC companies have already created more than 1,200 jobs and attracted a half billion dollars of investment for KC,” he added.

Jannae Gammage, Cyphr

Beyond funding gaps, Gammage noted, talent remains a challenge. 

“It’s also going to take some new people,” she said of building out a stronger startup ecosystem. “Kansas City has gotten to the point where everyone knows everyone, and the growth is going to hit a ceiling eventually.”

To become a true tech hub, Gammage said, the city needs to keep hunting capital, and it needs to draw in youth — specifically younger entrepreneurs and investors. 

“So, the scene needs to be less conservative, infuse more money, with younger people deploying it,” she said. “I hate to say that; I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes, but we need a fresh set of eyes here in Kansas City. For me, I’m thinking in 20 years I’ll be at 60. I can’t see that vision like someone younger could.”

Dollars downstream

Despite the existing gaps, Kansas City’s promise is strong, Gammage and the LaunchKC leaders agreed. And success for startups benefits the broader business community.

Jim Erickson, Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri (EDCKC), gives a presentation on LaunchKC during 1 Million Cups Kansas City at the Offices at Park 39; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

KCSourceLink’s annual “We Create Jobs” report paints a clear picture: New and young firms employing fewer than 20 employees “were responsible for 66 percent of the net new jobs created in our region over the past five years.” 

And, according to that same report, those new firms pay better on average, too, with a starting wage of $78,985 versus $73,175.

Grants and other investments like those made by organizations like LaunchKC help drive this reality, Erickson said. 

And, they invest in the region’s business ecosystem in other ways. 

Gammage was asked to be a LaunchKC judge this year, she said, and competition used the Cyphr platform to manage the process. 

“I think that just speaks to how supportive they are,” Gammage said. “Becoming a customer I think is the real way to double down and show you believe in it, you know what I mean?”

“When you say, ‘You know what? We really believe in this company. We’re also going to use Cyphr and spread the word,’ that is a huge sign off.”

[divide]

Haines Eason is the owner of startup media agency Freelance Kansas. He went into business for himself after a stint as a managing editor on the content marketing team at A Place for Mom. Among many other roles, he has worked as a communications professional at KU and as a journalist with work in places like The Guardian, Eater and KANSAS! Magazine. Learn about him and Freelance Kansas on LinkedIn and Facebook.