Tour the UMKC Entrepreneur Hall of Fame
July 10, 2015 | Bobby Burch
Startland News took the opportunity Friday to tour the UMKC Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, which opened in late 2014. The hall aims not only to educate visitors on remarkable Kansas City businesspeople, but also celebrate the area’s entrepreneurial spirit.
Enjoy!
- The entrance to the UMKC’s Henry W. Bloch School of Management, which contains the UMKC Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. The school was designed by Kansas City-based architecture firm BNIM.
- A large touchscreen greets visitors to the hall of fame. The screen provides information on each of the now 20 inductees into the hall of fame, including a brief video on each.
- The hall of fame includes multiple pillars showcasing Kansas City entrepreneurs that have made an impact on the community and beyond. Twenty inductees are now in the hall, including such Kansas City icons as Ewing Kauffman, Lamar Hunt, Henry Bloch, Barnett and Shirley Helzberg and others.
- Within each pillar features an “artifact” that shares a personal detail into the entrepreneur’s journey. This particular artifact is H&R Block’s first tax return, which reports a profit of $347.64. H&R Block now has a market capitalization value of $8.56 billion.
- This Barnett and Shirley Helzberg artifact relates to Helzberg Diamond’s “I Am Loved” campaign, which was conceived in 1967 by Barnett Helzberg Jr.
- This artifact from former Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt is a replica of the American Airlines’ stationary on which Hunt drafted the idea and budget for the first year of the American Football League.
- A ticker provides attendees real-time stock quotes on publically-traded companies. To schedule a tour of the hall of fame, contact Beverly Stewart at 816-235-1741 or stewartbj@umkc.edu.
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
What’s in a name? MindMixer gets new moniker
A year after its move to Kansas City, MindMixer is making a name change. Formerly based in Omaha, MindMixer now will go by the name of its new software product, mySidewalk, which engages communities to share ideas and stay informed of new initiatives. “Like all businesses, the more we learn about the people we serve,…
Event-staffing tech firm Pop Bookings opens seed round at $250K
Kansas City-based Pop Bookings is scoring local love from angel investors as it hopes to bolster its seed round to further develop its online event-staffing platform. A recent graduate of business accelerator SparkLabKC, Pop Bookings opened its round in April at $250,000, with lead investments from Kansas City-area angel investors. Pop Bookings CEO Erika Klotz said…
KCK tech firm RFP365 named ‘new small business’ of the year
The wins are stacking up for RFP365. Now weeks after scoring a contract with the City of Kansas City, Mo., the tech company was named the 2015 “New Small Business of the Year” Friday by the Kansas City Kansas Chamber of Commerce. A member of the Kansas City Startup Village, RFP365 created software that eases…






