Tag: ULOM

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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NXTUS expands enterprise-focused program beyond Kansas; four KC-area startups selected

By Tommy Felts / August 13, 2025

WICHITA, Kan. — An ongoing initiative to demystify the relationship-building process between emerging entrepreneurs and potential enterprise partners just expanded deeper into the Midwest, welcoming 20 growth-minded innovators from Wichita to St. Louis. “For entrepreneurs whose success depends on forging relationships with ‘the big guys,’ this unique program is so valuable,” said Mary Beth Jarvis, president…

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UMKC pitch challenge awards $95K+ for ‘entrepreneur state of mind’ in and outside the classroom

By Tommy Felts / April 26, 2025

Winning $15,000 in Friday’s pitch competition at UMKC’s Regnier Venture Creation Challenge felt like the culmination of years of hard work and development, said Iyshia Sims. “Oh my gosh, I’m just so proud of myself,” said Sims, founder of ‘Amir’acle Body Butters and More. “I felt really good after the pitch, I have pitched a…

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KC-area startup nets $20K Kansas pitch tournament win with game-changing edtech

By Tommy Felts / March 22, 2025

WICHITA — The team at VU Scholarships left it all on the stage Friday, walking away as champions in the Gamechangers & Champions bracket bash — a high-intensity pitch competition running parallel to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Wichita. By outlasting 31 other Sunflower State companies, the Roeland Park-based edtech startup earned $20,000 in…

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Still in the game: 16 startups advance in Kansas pitch tournament; courting a new style of seed funding

By Tommy Felts / March 17, 2025

WICHITA — And then there were 16. Monday’s pitch competition announcement served up sweet news for more than a dozen Kansas startups as local founders learned they’re advancing in the Gamechangers & Champions “Bracket Bash for Innovators and Angels” — a tournament-style event set to end with a $20,000 grand prize. The just-released list of…

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