Tag: Crib Coaching

UMKC pitch contest returning with $90K in prizes; spots remain for emerging startups

By Tommy Felts / March 29, 2023

The 2023 edition of the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge (RVCC), an annual pitch competition hosted by UMKC, is expected to award $90,000 in equity-free funding to student entrepreneurs and Kansas City businesses. Ben Williams, managing director at the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, shared his excitement for this year’s event — set for April…

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Jill Bertelsen, Crib Coaching, pitches in May at the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge; photo courtesy of the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Henry W. Bloch School of Management and the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Leanlab launches edtech certification with focus on accountability to classrooms

By Tommy Felts / May 12, 2022

A new product certification from Leanlab Education means increased transparency for edtech companies — as well as added credibility for their work within schools.  “We want to give teachers and school administrators a quick way to understand if an edtech product reflects the insights of educators, students, and parents — the true end users in education — and…

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Jackie Nguyen, founder and owner of Cafe Cà Phê, and her team accept first-place honors in the James and Rae Block Kansas City Startup Awards at the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge

UMKC pitch contest puts Cafe Cà Phê closer to Jackie Nguyen’s big goal; winners range from students to emerging startups

By Tommy Felts / April 30, 2022

The University of Missouri-Kansas City continues to brew innovation — and the return of its Regnier Venture Creation Challenge (RVCC) Friday poured proof, offering more than $88,000 in critical cash prizes to percolating ventures that spill far beyond its classrooms.  “I moved to Kansas City from Washington D.C. over the summer and I started following Cafe…

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Comeback KC Ventures fellows: top, Dr. Shelley Cooper, Diversity Telehealth and Come On Now!, Ryan Grobler, IAQuality, Jill and Justin Bertelsen, Bertelsen Education and Crib Coaching; middle, Joel Stephens and Brandon Fuhr, XReps, John Black, MediView; bottom, Martin Bukowski and Eliot Arnold, Moodspark, Quest Moffat and Alejandro Andrade Salazar, Kadogo

Accelerator taps first 7 startups to help bring KC back from the edge of global health crisis

By Tommy Felts / January 28, 2022

Seven Kansas City tech startups have taken the leap to launch new technologies and startups in response to challenges posed by COVID-19 — and have received technical and financial assistance through Comeback KC Ventures to accelerate their efforts.  “These innovations were conceived after two years of the coronavirus pandemic revealed and ignited a need for…

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Angels in class: How Mizzou’s student-run venture course is investing up to $50K in real startups

By Tommy Felts / November 13, 2021

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. COLUMBIA,…

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