LaunchKC Lifts Off This Afternoon in the Crossroads District

If you’re from KC, chances are, you’ve driven around downtown Kansas City and have noticed a bright orange and white building with a TWA rocket positioned for lift-off on its roof.  This is the Barkley building, and it is now the home of LaunchKC’s first-ever press conference.

LaunchKC is Kansas City, Missouri’s strategic initiative designed to attract and develop information technology entrepreneurs and professionals in the emerging digital communities within the Crossroads Arts District and throughout Greater Downtown Kansas City.  In other words, LaunchKC is to be the place where IT startups take off.

You can learn more about LaunchKC at a press conference this afternoon, September 10, at 3:00pm on the Barkley rooftop.  With appearances from Mayor Sly James, Peter Fullerton, Ron Coker, Mike Burke and Paul Vlahos, the press conference will provide more information about what LaunchKC is and what it aims to do.

For more updates, visit www.launchkc.com or follow the movement on Twitter at @LaunchKC!

Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig 

UMKC Ranked No. 1 in the World for Innovation Management Research

WRITTEN BY ALLISON WAY, SENIOR COPYWRITER & CHIEF EDITOR


MIT.  Harvard.  Stanford.  These universities scream success, prestige and innovation.  But according to the Journal of Product Innovation Management, one university stands out from the ivy-league crowd when it comes to creation, innovation and entrepreneurship; the University of Missouri-Kansas City.


UMKC was ranked number one in the world for innovation management research trumping universities such as MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Michigan State and Texas A&M.  UMKC has been honored for its research topics and current trends in the field of innovation management.  


The results were driven by the research of three UMKC faculty- Michael Song, Ph.D., Mark Marry, Ph.D., and Lisa Zhao, Ph.D. -in the Department for Global Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.  The three faculty were also listed among the top 50 innovation management scholars, with Michael Song ranking number one in the world.


This is just another step for Kansas City to become the City of Entrepreneurship...but it's not the first for UMKC.  In September, UMKC received a $32 million gift from Henry W. Bloch to fund a state-of-the-art building to house the Bloch School's graduate and executive programs, which will accommodate additional students into these programs.  In addition, the Princeton Review recognized the Bloch School's undergraduate and graduate programs among the top 25 entrepreneurship programs in the country.  


Congratulations UMKC! Now that's how you Think Big.  


Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig

Will KC Remain "The City of Fountains"? 5 New Ideas for the Kansas City Region

Kansas City has been known as The City of Fountains for many, many years.  But when your city is rumored to have more fountains the Rome (About.com counted up to 250 fountains!), it seems as if these statuesque water spouts are literally everywhere.  But will Kansas City remain The City of Fountains, or will it become something new?

Yesterday, the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce unveiled five big ideas for the KC region.  From animal health to urban core, Kansas City is being newly defined in a variety of different ways.  After an extensive whittling process, the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce approved the top 5 initiatives to be pursued in the next three to five years: 

Will Kansas City become...The City of Animal Health?
Championed by former Sprint CEO Gary Forsee, the World Symposium on Animal Health is an initiative that could lead Kansas City to becoming the center of the world in the animal health industry.

Will Kansas City become...The City of Entrepreneurship?
Championed by Peter deSilva, chairman and CEO of UMB Bank, this plan's goal is to leverage existing community assets like the UMKC's Bloch School of Management and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Will Kansas City become...The City of Translational Research?
Championed by Dr. Patrick James, CEO of Quest Diagnostics and chairman of Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute, Kansas City hopes to support area hospitals and research entities work together on the bi-state effort.  Click here to learn more about translational research.

Will Kansas City become...The City of a Bustling Downtown?
Championed by UMKC Chancellor Leo Morton, a new UMKC Conservatory in the downtown area will help put 1,000 more people in Downtown KC every day. 

Will Kansas City become...The City of Urban Core?
Championed by Terry Dunn, President and CEO of JE Dunn Construction, the urban core initiative (also known as "Journey to Hope") will identify a section of the urban core for an extensive set of programs such as public safety, education, transportation, job opportunities, youth recreation programs, health care and food access.

What's next for Kansas City?  It could be anything!  But keep your eye out on these five initatives and watch Kansas City get redefined. 

Written by Allison Way
@AllisonThinkBig