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VIDEO: Startup leaders talk KC Startup Foundation (plus bloopers)

August 10, 2017  |  Bobby Burch and Meghan LeVota

So, what exactly is the Kansas City Startup Foundation?

For one, it is a foundation. Secondly, it involves startups. And last but not least, it serves Kansas City.

If you have ever found yourself confused about what exactly the Kansas City Startup Foundation does and which programs it offers, then the video below is for you.

Since the foundation’s launch in 2016, it has undergone many pivots, shifts and changes.

As you may have read in the news earlier this week, the foundation has merged with Center for Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development, a for-profit community building organization spearheaded by Adam Arredondo. A former board member at the Kansas City Startup foundation, Arredondo will now serve as the executive director for the nonprofit.

It became clear to Arredondo that both organizations shared the same vision: “to create the most connected startup ecosystem in the world.”

And as Matthew Marcus, the Kansas City Startup Foundation’s director of operations, began to realize, “volunteer efforts alone were only going to take the foundation so far. We needed more resources and more support to champion our efforts.”

Former co-founders of the now-defunct local events startup Local Ruckus, Arredondo and Marcus have been through a lot with each other. The pair also served as integral community builders cultivating the Kansas City Startup Village since about 2012.

In the video below, Arredondo and Marcus share their entrepreneurial journey and detail what to expect from the foundation in the future.

Bloopers

 

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