Vetrepreneur event Purple Connection taking flight in KC
March 20, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
An event connecting veteran entrepreneurs is making waves in Kansas City.
Led by the Veteran Leadership Network and other local organizations, the next the Purple Connection will be held April 12 at the GRID Collaborative Workspaces. Community organizer Jesse Beaudin said this is the third iteration of the event series, and he was surprised by the turnout — which exceeded 75 people last month.
A veteran himself, Beaudin is also the founder of Teir 1 Performance, a government sales resource firm. Beaudin said that veterans are taught leadership skills at a young age and he wanted to connect with a group of likeminded individuals.
“The cool thing about the veteran community is that if you meet another veteran, there is a common bond there,” Beaudin said. “It’s important for us to work together and help each other. Since we share common experience, we speak the same language.”
Beaudin has large visions for what the Purple Connection could turn into, but it initially includes networking, veteran entrepreneur expos and panel discussions.
The upcoming panel on April 12 will feature: Maj. Wade Abel, an administrator from the veteran student department at Park University, David Bann, vice president of sales and operations at StreetShares; Ray Dick, vice president of technology innovation programs at the National Security Technology Accelerator; Mark Naster, Bunker Labs consultant; and Jordan Svancara, a Microsoft startup technical evangelist.
Local firms including KC Drone Company, Veteran Community Project and Liberty Candles will be showcasing their business.
Beaudin said that the veteran entrepreneurial community currently exists in a silo. He hopes that events such as this one will help “vetrepreneurs” such as himself connect with the greater Kansas City startup ecosystem.
“We’re a part of the Kansas City fabric and we add value in our own colorful way,” Beaudin said. “We don’t want to be seen as different we don’t want special treatment — we want to show you that we’re a premiere group of people and we intend to try and give back to the city as much as any other group.”
To RSVP to the event, click here.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Moblico snags six-figure investment, announces hiring plans
Kansas City-based Moblico, a tech firm that creates software for mobile marketers, recently announced a $900,000 investment raise to hire additional staff. The investment came from Missouri Technology Corp. and a local angel investor — both of which are second time investors in the company. “We raised these funds to help the company grow,” Moblico…
Windhaven Farms, Chemistry take 1 Million Cups stage
The seemingly disparate industries of agriculture and marketing were on display this week at 1 Million Cups with startups Windhaven Farms and Chemistry. Windhaven Farms founder Kristen Wolf first presented her local meat distribution company, which delivers an assortment of locally-raised, organically-grown meat products, including beef, pork, chicken and rabbit. “The product is really, really…
KC among the best cities to find a job
The City of Fountains is apparently overflowing with job opportunities. Career data Glassdoor recently named Kansas City, Mo. as the No. 2 city to find employment. Kansas City currently has nearly 28,800 employment opportunities, a median base salary $46,000 and median home value of $138,500. Glassdoor determined the final rankings by looking at hiring opportunity…
Recap: Bill would gut Kansas Bioscience Authority
A bill in the Kansas legislature if passed would dissolve the Kansas Bioscience Authority, which has recently served as a venture capital organization investing in early-stage bioscience firms. The measure — SB 305 — would shut down the organization and transfer its funds and obligations to the Kansas Department of Commence. Proponents of the KBA say…