Popular ScaleUp! KC program welcoming area applicants

ScaleUp! Kansas City is now accepting applications from area entrepreneurs that hope to boost their businesses through mentorship and a strong network of peers.

The program, which is now in the midst of its second class, welcomes about 15 businesspeople that aim to push their firm’s revenue past $1 million annually. ScaleUp! KC connects entrepreneurs with mentors, peers and resources to grow their businesses.

Operated by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Innovation Center, the program’s third cohort will be accepting applications until Nov. 23 and will begin in January.

“We know it’s important to attract and recruit companies to Kansas City, but growing our own [and] helping our homegrown businesses scale is critical to strengthening our economy, creating jobs and improving lives,” said Maria Meyers, director of the UMKC Innovation Center. “ScaleUP! KC wraps vital resources around Kansas City entrepreneurs who already know success and want to build bigger, better businesses right here in Kansas City. We’re energized that so many entrepreneurs — 32 to date — are using the program to strengthen their businesses and to create economic impact.”

ScaleUp! KC director Jill Meyer said that the program has made a significant impact on the entrepreneurs’ businesses since its January 2015 start.

Jowler Creek Vineyard & Winery recently received a loan to add a 6,000 square-foot facility to triple its footprint and increase production by more than 300 percent. El Padrino Apparel and Soccer Nation in June won the Kansas City Kansas Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year award.

“It’s been quite impressive to see the progress these companies have made in such a short time,” Meyer said in a release.

To be accepted into the program, entrepreneurs must lead a company that’s at least two-years-old, drive annual sales between $150,000 and $750,000, have a market that can generate more than $1 million in revenue and the determination to exceed that mark.

Click here to learn more about those now in the program.