New Competition Awards $30K in Total Micro-Grants to 16 Alums of KC Business Program

Sixteen Kansas City, Missouri, entrepreneurs took home cash prizes May 7 as part of the new Dare to Venture Micro-Grant Competition. At a critical time when small businesses need funds the most, the program offered a total of $30,000 in microgrants to entrepreneurs who are starting or growing businesses in the city’s urban core.

Funded by the City of Kansas City, Missouri, and administered by the UMKC Innovation Center, Dare to Venture was open to any entrepreneur currently living or working in Kansas City, Missouri, who had completed one of the 30-hour-plus entrepreneurship classes offered as part of the Urban Business Growth Initiative. The Missouri Small Business Development Center at UMKC administers the UBGI courses and provides each participant with business coaching.

“This is the beautiful thing about collaborations: UBGI’s partner programs unite to offer many levels of support and expertise to UBGI businesses, helping them get the skills, expertise and learning to succeed,” says Carmen DeHart, senior director of entrepreneurial education at the UMKC Innovation Center and regional director of the Missouri SBDC at UMKC. 

“Thanks to funding from the City of Kansas City, Missouri, the UBGI suite of classes is helping our metro’s entrepreneurs and business owners discover the next great innovation, create new jobs, grow their operations and elevate the local economy. And now, these micro-grant awards are continuing to help them push forward during the most challenging time for any business.”

The 34 applicants to the grant contest were asked to create and submit a video about their businesses. Voting was conducted by their peers—fellow graduates of UBGI courses who’ve shared their journey of entrepreneurship and education. Here are the winners, who received the most votes from their UBGI peers:

Finalists for top prizes:

• 1st ($5,000) Reda Ibrahim – RK Contractors – CONSTRUCTION Venture [Watch the RK Contractors video]

• 2nd ($4,000) Tate Williams – CoBuild – CONSTRUCTION Venture [Watch the CoBuild video]

• 3rd ($3,500) Carlanda McKinney – Bodify – TECH Venture [Watch the Bodify video]

• 4th ($3,000) Erin Bopp – Lightwork DJ Mobilverse – NEW Venture [Watch the Lightwork video]

• 5th ($2,500) Juaquan Herron – 2923 Comics – TECH Venture [Watch the 2923 Comics video]

• 6th ($2,000) Brandy Archie – AccessAble Living – GROWTH Venture [Watch the AccessAble video]

Each honorable mention will receive $1,000:

• Maggie Bentley – Good Vibe Brows KC – NEW Venture [Watch the Good Vibe Brows video]

• David Biga – ParticleSpace – TECH Venture [Watch the ParticleSpace video]

• Jillian Carlile – TravelHive – TECH Venture [Watch the TravelHive video]

• Shelly Cooper – SureShow – TECH Venture [Watch the SureShow video]

• Kashif Hasnie – Air Traffic Awareness – TECH Venture [Watch the Air Traffic Awareness video]

• Patrick Hosty – Dynamhex – TECH Venture [Watch the Dynamhex video]

• Lydia Palma – Pirate’s Bone Burgers – GROWTH Venture [Watch the Pirate’s Bone Burgers video]

• Sheante Thornton – ASAP Neighborhood Resource – NEW Venture [Watch the ASAP Neighborhood Resource video]

• Karissa Todd – Sugar Cookie Bliss – NEW Venture [Watch the Sugar Cookie Bliss video]

Super Supporter Award

• A $1,000 prize awarded to the UBGI alum who voted in the most rounds: AY Young – Battery Tour

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Dare to Venture amplifies the already substantial commitment from the City of Kansas City, Missouri, to provide entrepreneurs with the tools, connections, education and coaching they need to build their business savvy, launch companies and create jobs in Kansas City’s economically distressed neighborhoods and beyond.

“The micro-grant competition is an idea generated through startup community participation in the City Budget Speakeasy public input sessions. It’s exciting to see this come to fruition through our partnership with the UMKC Innovation Center,” says Rick Usher, assistant city manager of the City of Kansas City, Missouri.

Apply for Upcoming UBGI Scholarships, Courses

Through UBGI, the city of Kansas City, Missouri, currently provides scholarships that cover nearly 90% of the tuition for UMKC Innovation Center’s multi-week entrepreneurship courses. To date, UBGI has issued 548 scholarships, and its graduates have created a total of 75 business, 455 jobs, $55 million in revenue and $18 million in capital investments.

Apply for the next round of UBGI scholarships (offered at a more than 88 percent discount), starting with NEW Venture, which kicks off July 28. Explore the course offerings below, and apply for a scholarship here to take the multiweek courses at an 88 percent discount.

• ELEVATIONLAB NEW Venture: July 28 – Aug. 25

• Entrepreneurial Mindset Training: Sept. 16 – Nov. 11

• ELEVATIONLAB TECH Venture: Sept. 17 – Nov. 12

• GROWTH360: Sept. 18 – Nov. 20

• Social Media Road Map for Business: Sept. 1

• Reading and Understanding Financial Statements: Sept. 8

Not sure if UBGI is right for you? Starting May 12, be sure to check out NEW Venture Nuggets, a free weekly series of five classes on Tuesdays from 9 – 10 a.m. that cover the important pillars of starting or pivoting a business, from getting customers, developing a proof of concept, marketing, sales and more.