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

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 Cà Phê on Instagram before I moved here,” said Katya Siddall, vice president of product development and innovation at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and presenter of two BlueKC Healthcare Innovation Awards — one of the returning categories in the newly retooled, multilevel competition and showcase of innovation. 

Jackie Nguyen, founder and owner of Cafe Cà Phê, records the announcement of the coffee shop’s first-place win in the James and Rae Block Kansas City Startup Awards at the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge

Siddall took the stage in the Bloch Executive Hall moments after the popular Columbus Park-ground, Asian-owned, woman-owned coffee shop secured the contest’s first-place win in the James and Rae Block Kansas City Startup Awards and its $15,000 cash prize. 

Jackie Nguyen, founder and owner of Cafe Cà Phê, has gained notoriety in the city’s startup and small business circles for her ability to use passion to overcome plight — vowing to open a brick-and-mortar space for Kansas City’s first Vietnamese coffee shop without taking on any debt. 

Friday’s win, if applied to the total of Cafe Cà Phê’s ongoing GoFundMe campaign, would put the small business a few shots over its $75,000 fundraising goal, all but confirming success for Nguyen who was unavailable for comment following the award announcement. 

Cafe Cà Phê’ previously won $20,000 in funding from AltCap during its Global Entrepreneurship Week-hosted AltCap Your Biz contest. 

Click here to read more about Nguyen’s plans or here to contribute funding. 

Risa Stein, founder of SeeInMe, accepts the second-place award in the James and Rae Block contest at the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge

Another woman-founded venture took second in the James and Rae Block contest. SeeInMe, a profile-based platform that helps the public connect with communication-diverse people of all ages, founded by Risa Stein, secured $10,000. 

While UMKC-launched ventures saw success in other categories, contenders from other parts of the community (and the state) continued to dominate the annual competition — which sought to dole out more than $88,000 in total prizes. 

Additional winners of the 2022 RVCC include:

BlueKC Healthcare Innovation Awards

First Place: Speak IT, $15,000

Founded by Julian Lu, Kai Skallerud, Ajla Salic, and Chris Callan, students at Washington University-St. Louis, Speak IT is a voice-enabled assistive technology for healthcare providers.

Second place: MiDoc, $10,000

Founded by Dr. Linda Wu, Washington University-St. Louis, MiDoc is an electronic stethoscope for use in telemedicine. 

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Regnier College Startup Awards

First Place: Farm Story, $15,000

An educational platform that connects farmers with consumers and offers insight on where food comes from. 

The contest also awarded a total of $750 in excellence in innovation prizes.

Second Place: Crib Coaching, $10,000

Founded by Jill and Justin Bertelsen, UMKC, Crib Coaching has gamified the experience of parenthood, offering new parents an educational outlet to level up their parenting skills. 

Third Place: Allter, $5,000

Founded by Michelle Gerschkovich, UMKC, Allter collects and analyzes customer data and produces sizing recommendations for online shoppers. 

Outstanding Undergraduate Venture: Sky Sprayers, $2,500

An agtech-focused drone replacement for self-propelled sprayers. 

Outstanding Social Venture: Hormonetopia, $2,500

Founded by ​​Najjuwah Walden, Washington University-St. Louis, Hormonetopia teaches women “how to have a better period,” aiming to create greater access to information on the experience of menstruation through an online platform. 

Outstanding Creative Enterprise: Tate Berry, $2,500

Berry, UMKC, founded a 17-piece progressive big band and coupled it with a content marketing agency and events company.