In Kansas City, there are lots of resources for people looking to start a business. From coworking spaces to incubators to angel investment networks, enterprising entrepreneurs have many places to turn.
Accelerators are educational programs that entrepreneurs participate in over a somewhat short period. They usually end in a “demo day” event, where participants pitch to investors. There are several accelerators in the KC area, including SparkLabKC, Techstars at the Sprint Accelerator and BetaBlox.
In March, KCPT followed Wes Bergmann, co-founder and lead investor for BetaBlox.
BetaBlox accepts applications from entrepreneurs annually and, according to Bergmann, “denies them at a rate higher than the Harvard MBA program.” For context, BetaBlox accepted 10 out of 100 applicants for this past round — 10 percent. Harvard MBA accepted 12 percent of applicants for the class of 2016.
Those who do make the cut go through a rigorous curriculum to prepare them for Demo Day, where KCPT producers caught up with Bergmann. The event at Union Station included 3-minute “Shark Tank”–style pitches from twenty different start-ups.
Watch the demo day videos each Wednesday online at FlatlandKC.org and on KCPT Thursdays at 7:25 p.m., following Ruckus.
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