Another point for Utopia: Small businesses score cash prizes in Access to Money competition

Patricia McCreary is on a mission to show that Kansas City leads the way on senior and disabled care, she shared. Winning the established business category of the SCORE Access to Money pitch competition puts her one step closer, McCreary added.

She founded Margaret’s Place — an adult daycare, senior recreation and wellness center — in 2015 in honor of her grandmother. Now McCreary — along with co-founder Shereese Hameed-Muhammad — is working to build Utopia Point, an extension of Margaret’s Place.

Winning a cash prize at Friday’s SCORE event at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation was a welcome boost of momentum, she said, even with a potential pitch hiccup in the works. (Prize totals for winners were not immediately released.)

“It feels great, especially since my pitch deck didn’t work,” McCreary said. “We’re looking to get $4 million, so every inch we get closer to it is perfect.”

Patricia McCreary, Margaret’s Place, accepts her first place award during the SCORE Access to Money pitch competition; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Margaret’s Place leaders are currently raising money for phase two of Utopia Point, McCreary said, noting that when it’s finished the space will house Maragaret’s Place and include a wellness center that mixes Eastern and Western modality, model housing for independent, assisted, and veterans living, chicken coops, and a garden.

Phase 1 included purchasing the building at 35th and Woodland and Phase 2 will include building the wellness center.

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“Our mission and Utopia Point is to provide a nurturing and inclusive environment dedicated to promoting health and wellness while enhancing quality of life and to be industry innovators who specialize in the redesign of the geriatric and disabled care community,” McCreary explained to judges during the event.

The pitch competition — hosted by SCORE, which operates with a mission to foster vibrant small business communities through mentoring and education — also included a category for new businesses and elevator pitches with three participants in each category.

Antoinette Redmond, NeuroCompass, answers questions from judges during the SCORE Access to Money pitch competition; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Antoinette Redmond — founder of NeuroCompass, which sets out to revolutionize the way pediatricians, parents of children with autism, and service providers collaborate through its online platform — took home first place among the new businesses.

Antoinette Redmond, NeuroCompass, accepts her first place award during the SCORE Access to Money pitch competition; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Like McCreary being inspired by her grandmother’s need for care, Redmond was compelled to start NeuroCompass when her son was diagnosed with autism, she shared.

Instead of a doctor having to send a referral multiple times for each therapist and the parents having to fill it out just as many times, she explained, the platform will streamline the process.

“Kansas City alone has so many resources, but they’re completely fragmented,” she continued. “So we want to bring everybody together to serve as a resource hub, build a community, and advocate for one another.”

It’s a surreal feeling to win a category in just her second pitch competition, Redmond said. She plans to use the cash prize toward building the online platform.

“It feels amazing to have the concept validated through the confirmation from the judges,” she added.

Aisha Walker, Walker Foundation, accepts her first place award during the SCORE Access to Money pitch competition; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Aisha Walker — who took the top prize in the elevator pitch category — was inspired to start her nonprofit after her mom lost her hair to alopecia.

Aisha Walker, Walker Foundation, answers questions from judges during the SCORE Access to Money pitch competition; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

She started the Walker Foundation by creating custom wigs for women and children with hair loss and now the foundation also provides hair services to children that are in foster and adoptive care, in underserved communities, in hospitals, and those with disabilities. 

She said the cash prize comes just in time as her team is preparing for its signature event — Hairitage Day — on June 23.

“It’s our biggest event that we have,” Walker explained. “So we serve over 400 children in the community. We will have foster and adopted children there and we will provide free hair services. We have a fashion show where we’ll highlight all those kids to build that confidence in the right way. We also have speakers that are coming in, so it’s a huge event.”

On top of the pitch competition, the SCORE Access to Money event included keynote speakers, panel discussions, and interactive workshops with 30 entrepreneurial and finance experts from the Kansas City area.

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Second places

Established: Magnolia Beauty Academy (Liley Villazan) — Kansas City, Kansas-based cosmetology school that offers classes and certifications in nail technology and as an instructor.

New: On The Rise (Tesla Hague) — Behavioral economics coaching and consulting  with the vision to cultivate a global community where individuals can thrive in alignment with their values, their goals and their surroundings. 

Elevator: Make Your Mark (Sara Nelson-Johns) — Combining clinical expertise and lived experience to create accessible practical tools like planners, journals, apps for people with ADHD.

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Third places

Established: GenComix (Evan Davis) — A small comic book publishing company that supports promising talent with printing services, legal protection, social media marketing, and convention opportunities.

New: Parentful (Richard Dixon) — Empowering stress-free parenthood with AI by providing an app with real-time parenting advice from a licensed therapist.

Elevator: Ramona Harris — Nonprofit helping women and members of the LBGTQ community who are victims of domestic violence, plus working to develop a wearable digital device for victims of domestic violence and seniors to help loved ones to know their location.