A long time ago (and we mean
a
long time ago) we developed a top
10 list of some of the best online and offline resources for entrepreneurs and
startups in Kansas City. Now that
almost three years have passed, it’s about time we update this list with some
of the newest and best entrepreneur and startup resources in the Kansas City
area. You may notice three years
ago, we had a list of just 10 resources.
This year, we are publishing 11—and you’ll also notice how different
these lists are from one another.
A lot of things have changed in the past three years—especially when it
comes to the progression and creation of new startup resources in the Kansas
City area.
All of the following resources have been created to help
entrepreneurs launch successful startups and businesses. So if you’re a serious KC entrepreneur
looking for some small business help, check out one (or all) of these resources
to determine which one is right for you (don’t feel like reading?
Listen
to our podcast episode instead!):
LISTEN NOW:
1. The Kauffman
Foundation
Back in 2010, The Kauffman Foundation was one of our top
picks as a KC startup resource—and the organization has remained on top to this
day. The well-known and successful
track record of the Kauffman Foundation is famous throughout the world. The organization provides education and
training (i.e. the FastTrac program) for entrepreneurs. In addition, Kauffman promotes
entrepreneurship-friendly policies to better facilitate the commercialization
of new technologies. In recent
years, the Kauffman Foundation has boosted its involvement in startups even
further by sponsoring Startup Weekend as well as 1 Million Cups.
2. Kansas and Missouri
Universities and Colleges
Three years ago, we also made sure to add various Kansas and
Missouri universities and colleges into our list of KC startup resources. Today, we continue to add them to the
top of our list because of their growing number of diverse programs for
entrepreneurs and startups. Below
are just a few of the schools that provide strong entrepreneurship programs:
3. Think Big Partners
We don’t mean to toot our own horns (or do we?) but Think Big
Partners has seen exponential growth throughout the past 3 years not just in
Kansas City, but across the nation.
Think Big Partners has gone from being known as a “business
incubator/startup accelerator” to more of an “idea factory”—providing essential
tools for local and nationwide startups.
With services and resources such as the Think Big Coworking (the
company’s
coworking space),
entrepreneur-focused events (i.e. Hackovate Health, The Gigabit Challenge and
iKC 2012 and 2013
—coming soon), the
Think Big Accelerator program, Think Big Ventures and many other initiatives,
Think Big is continuing to build Kansas City into a hub for startups, tech and
innovation.
4. Kansas City Coworking
Spaces
Entrepreneurs can collaborate, mentor one another and meet
other area-entrepreneurs at any of Kansas City’s many coworking spaces. It seems as if coworking spaces are
popping up all over town—and for good reason. Kansas City needs a place for the growing number of
entrepreneurs to go. Some of these
Kansas City coworking spaces include:
5. Startup Village
Perhaps Kansas City’s newest “startup resource” is Startup
Village, an entrepreneur-led, organic, grassroots initiative helping to bolster
the Kansas City entrepreneur and startup community. The mission of Startup Village is to create a concentrated
and collaborative area of startup centered around the
Google Fiber “fiberhoods”. Currently, KC startups such as Leap2, FormZapper, Pipeline,
CaddyX, EyeVerify, Handprint, SquareOffs and many others office in Startup
Village.
Homes For Hackers
is another startup that currently “offices” in Startup Village (and could be
considered an entrepreneur resource in itself!). Homes for Hackers provides 3 months of rent-free, Google
Fiber-connected startup space to area entrepreneurs.
6. Civic Leadership
There are many civic organizations and non-profits supported
by the City of KCMO to help entrepreneurs. Some of these organizations include:
- The Economic Development
Corporation of Kansas City (EDC): Collaborates with the City of KCMO and
other organizations to project a local identity and ensure a competitive,
vibrant and self-sustaining economy.
- The Greater Kansas City
Chamber of Commerce: The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce gives
entrepreneurs the voice and resources they need to operate successful
businesses within the region. For
small business owners in particular, the Chamber provides research and
forecasts, networking events, global trade resources and leadership opportunities.
- Kansas City Area
Development Council (KCADC): A private, non-profit organization that
represents the economic interests in the 18-county region of Kansas City. Under the KCADC umbrella is KCNext, the Technology Council of Greater
Kansas City, which focuses on growing the existing base of technology firms,
recruiting and attracting technology companies and aggregating and promoting
regional IT assets.
- KCBizCare:
KCBizCare is the City of Kansas City’s business customer service center. KCBizCare provides entrepreneurs with
information and assistance in understanding and complying with city, state and
federal requirements of operating a business. The entrepreneur-focused part of KCBizCare is LaunchKC, a strategic initiative
designed to attract and develop IT entrepreneurs and professionals to the
thriving information technology community throughout Kansas City.
7. Ennovation Center
In our previous list, the Ennovation Center rounded out at
#10. But we hear more and more
about the Ennovation Center every single day. Located in Independence, Missouri, Ennovation Center focuses
on three core areas for the development of new business: bio-tech, kitchen and
business & technology.
Ennovation Center provides professional facilities, administrative
services, business & financing assistance as well as a vast list of
resources. We recommend the Ennovation
Center for any food entrepreneurs out there!
8. KCSourceLink
If you’re a budding entrepreneur, be sure to visit
KCSourceLink before you get started.
This online (and offline) resource’s mission is to help small businesses
in the 18-county Kansas City region grow and succeed. With 170+ nonprofit resource organizations that provide
business-building services, KCSourceLink truly facilitates the linking of
resource organizations to one another and to established, emerging and startup
small businesses throughout the region.
9. The Enterprise Center
of Johnson County
The Enterprise Center of Johnson County (also known as ECJC)
has the goal of stimulating business creation and employment in the region by
providing resources and services to early-stage, high-return, high-growth
companies. Currently, ECJC boasts
31 current client and affiliate companies and has helped to create 904 new jobs
in the KC metro area.
10. OneKC for Women
Kansas City boasts some very powerful women-focused
entrepreneurial resources such as OneKC for Women (made up of the Women’s
Business Center, the Women’s Employment Network and Women’s Capital Connection). OneKC is made up of powerful advocates
for women and are committed to assisting women on their quest for personal,
professional and financial self-sufficiency.
11. Silicon Prairie News
Perhaps you’re not ready to make the entrepreneurial
dive—but you do want to read up on area startup news and attend entrepreneurial
events to dip your toe in. That’s
exactly where Silicon Prairie News comes into play. This online resource provides the top news stories for
what’s going on in entrepreneurship in the “Silicon Prairie” region (primarily
Kansas City, Omaha and Des Moines).
Read up on startup news and attend any Silicon Prairie event to learn
more about what KC-area entrepreneurs are up to.
We
would like to thank all of the above Kansas City resources for Thinking Big and
providing help for all of our entrepreneurs. Here’s to three more years of success in Kansas City!
* Think Big Partners
created this list to the best of our knowledge. If you think a Kansas City startup resource is missing on
this list, please add your thoughts to the comments section below.
