Missouri Starters Coalition debuts effort to boost homegrown jobs, future founders 

Entrepreneurs across Missouri gained a new champion this week as regional and national advocates launched a new coalition to support builders in the face of systemic, confidence-shaking roadblocks as they seek to drive job creation and higher lifetime incomes.

Jim Malle, Missouri Coalition manager for Right to Start, speaks to coalition stakeholders during a launch event in Kansas City; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

The Missouri Starters Coalition on Thursday unveiled its founding members — Back2KC, Cortex, E-Factory, Keystone Innovation District, LaunchKC, NextMO, and lead organizer Right to Start — which together plan to make entrepreneurship a greater civic priority through convening, addressing barriers to starting businesses, and making sure all communities are included.

“We are beginning the journey today of launching a coalition of entrepreneurs, policy makers, civic organizations, to really come together to continue to boost entrepreneurship in the state of Missouri,” said Jim Malle, Missouri Coalition manager for Right to Start. 

“Kansas City has had a lot of great momentum over the last 5 to 10 years in this space, and Right to Start is going to be here to continue to move that along in a great direction,” he added.

The launch event also included a panel on how small businesses can prepare for and benefit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup. An estimated 650,000 World Cup visitors are expected across June and July 2026 as Kansas City hosts both group stage and quarterfinal matches.

RELATED: World Cup will produce KC small biz millionaires in just weeks, leaders say, but it’s only the start

Wes Rogers, 2nd District Councilman for KCMO and chair of the city’s Small Business Taskforce, center, speaks on panel moderated by Right to Start’s Jason Grill, right; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Entrepreneurship drives America

Victor Hwang, founder and CEO of Right to Start, returned to Kansas City for Thursday’s event and praised the city’s growth as a startup hub.

“This is one of the most dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystems that I’ve seen, and it’s just a really exciting time,” Hwang said.

He pointed to research showing that 65 percent of Americans believe it is harder to start a business today than it was a generation ago. Yet, he noted, nearly everyone agrees that entrepreneurship is critical to the future of the country.

“New and young businesses account for almost all net job growth in the economy,” Hwang said, citing that a 1 percent rise in local entrepreneurship raises household incomes by about $500, and at the state level, a 1 percent increase lowers poverty rates by 2 percent.

“Entrepreneurship-led economic development leads to higher lifetime incomes, more homegrown jobs, and more opportunity for all,” added Jason Grill, chief government affairs officer of Right to Start.

In light of America’s 250th anniversary in 2026, Hwang said, the country’s founding story is tied to today’s entrepreneurs.

“America was one of the great startup ideas,” he said. “Founders of today, the people that are doing stuff now, are part of that same story. We want everyone to feel like they can be a founder of the future of this country.”

RELATED: ‘America the Entrepreneurial’: Can builders restore the promise of ‘the most courageous startup the world has ever seen?’ 

Jim Malle, Missouri Coalition manager for Right to Start, right, speaks alongside Victor Hwang, founder of Right to Start, at Keystone CoLAB in Kansas City; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Statewide push follows legislation

The Missouri Starters Coalition builds on policy momentum already in motion. In 2024, Show Me State lawmakers passed the Right to Start Act, which created Missouri’s first office of entrepreneurship and set up new tracking for government contracts awarded to businesses less than three years old.

Jessica Powell, Right to Start; photo by Austin Barnes, Startland News

“As a lifelong Kansas Citian, entrepreneur, and former member of the Missouri House of Representatives, it gives me great joy to see Missouri embracing the importance of new, young businesses to the economy and well-being of the state,” said Grill.

Malle, based in St. Louis, will oversee the coalition’s growth with the help of Jessica Powell, who is based in Kansas City and a Right to Start advocate for Missouri.

“Having spent much of my career advancing entrepreneurship in both Kansas City and St. Louis, I’m excited to see this coalition emerging to promote entrepreneurship as a civic priority statewide,” Malle said. “It’s especially important, as entrepreneurship benefits literally everyone in Missouri.”