ScaleUP! KC announces eighth cohort of firms eyeing serious growth

The ScaleUP! Kansas City program has welcomed another large batch of growing companies hoping to accelerate their businesses.

ScaleUP announced Wednesday that it accepted 17 Kansas City area companies into its ranks, offering the firms mentorship, resources and connections.

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Check out these stories from the previous 2018 ScaleUP! cohort

• CEO Raina Knox: Millennials don’t have a monopoly on startup momentum

• KC-based SouveNEAR vending machine startup prepping to scale up

• KC Shave Company cuts its own niche with blades of disruption

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The new cohort of entrepreneurs represent varied industries, such as IT, wellness, landscaping, education, architecture and more, said Jill Meyer, program director of ScaleUP! KC. Including the latest group of businesses, ScaleUP! Has helped 126 companies grow through its free program, amplifying their economic impact in the region, she added.

“Year after year, we see that ScaleUP! KC is such a vital program for the city’s small business owners — and you can see that in the numbers,” Meyer said.

With two cohorts per year, the program helps qualified businesses with revenues above $200,000 reach their expansion goals by leveraging and expanding existing proven programs, synergies and connections in the Kansas City region, according to ScaleUP!

ScaleUP! is funded through a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and administered by the UMKC Innovation Center.

Here’s more on the 17 business leaders now in the ScaleUP! program.

• Mollie Ahlers-Estes, Ahlers Building Maintenance Co., LLC, Lenexa, Kansas
• Henrik Andersen, Scandinavian Co-Op, LLC, Kansas City, Missouri
• Angel Canday, Natural High Wellness Center, Leawood, Kansas
• Kristen Christian, Bee Organized, LLC, Overland Park, Kansas
• Brandon Dye, Dye Electric, LLC, Kansas City, Missouri
• Drew Ford, Kakkuro Suite, Overland Park, Kansas
• Aaron Fulk, Lillian James Creative, Mission, Kansas
• Kita Gandhi, B.I.C. Design Co., North Kansas City, Missouri
• William Gibson, Down to Earth Services, Kansas City, Missouri
• Christopher Martin, ProcureIT Network, LLC, Grain Valley, Missouri
• Phillip Martin, cfm Distributors, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri
• Patricia McCreary, Margaret’s Place, LLC, Kansas City, Missouri
• Laurie Miller, Ross Miller Cleaners, Kansas City, Missouri
• Lisa Schmitz, Lisa Schmitz Interior Design, Kansas City, Missouri
• Amy Slattery, Odimo, Kansas City, Missouri
• Shantelle Tomlin, Tomlin Academy, Kansas City, Missouri
• Kirby Virden, Maxim Outdoor Signs, Overland Park, Kansas