Tag: Brandy Archie

Meet LaunchKC’s winners: $60K prize today; world headquarters in KC tomorrow

By Tommy Felts / November 18, 2025

Every iconic company headquartered in Kansas City — from Helzberg Diamonds to Hallmark — started with an entrepreneur hoping to scale a small idea into big impact, said Jim Erickson, teasing a next wave of emerging startups and the latest winners of the LaunchKC grants competition. Eight early-stage companies were announced Monday as recipients of…

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Black Ambition fund’s $50K gives KC healthech startup the ‘jet fuel we need to propel into 2025’ 

By Tommy Felts / November 22, 2024

An initiative led by musician-turned-philanthropist Pharrell Williams to help close the opportunity and wealth gap for Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs has selected Kansas City-based AskSAMIE for its latest cohort of funding, training and mentorship. Through the just-announced Black Ambition cohort, 30 founders are receiving awards between $25,000 and $1 million, totalling $2.7 million. AskSAMIE earned…

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Accessibility platform AskSAMIE expands to 500+ partners thanks to national homecare deals

By Tommy Felts / November 1, 2024

A pair of significant new partnerships not only allow Kansas City-based AskSAMIE to expand its national reach, said Dr. Brandy Archie; the deals put her startup a pivotal moment in its mission to deliver on-demand support to seniors and their caregivers. Working with homecare organizations ComForCare/At Your Side and CarePatrol will push AskSAMIE — a…

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UMKC pitch competition brings validating relief, cash prizes for emerging founders with big ideas

By Tommy Felts / April 13, 2024

A popular UMKC pitch competition awarded more than $80,000 in cash prizes to student and full-time entrepreneurs Friday — validating new ideas and emerging ventures alike.  “I never saw anything like this when I was in college,” said Dr. Brandy Archie, founder of AskSAMIE, who competed in a category especially for established startups at the University…

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Build a bigger bandwagon for women entrepreneurs, founders say; an isolated journey is too lonely 

By Tommy Felts / April 4, 2024

Representation of women in entrepreneurship is critically important, Vanessa Jupe told a crowd gathered this week at Union Station, emphasizing the power of exposure and leading by example to create a stronger, more diverse ecosystem. “If we don’t start businesses, then other women aren’t going to see that as a possibility,” said the founder and…

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