Entrepreneurship .

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Big 5: Progress Report on KC Chamber Initiatives

The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce launched its Big 5 initiatives to help reinvent Kansas City. We bring together some of the key decision makers to find out what progress has been made.

What began in the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Board room in July 2011 with 100 business, civic and elected leaders and 182 ideas for creating a greater Kansas City has become five initiatives which seek to to bring better health, improved education, more jobs, increased investment and a better quality of life to everyone in the region. The Local Show gathered key decision makers from each of the Big 5 initiatives to find out how much progress has been made.

Our Think Tank of Experts:

Jim Heeter, President & Chief Executive Officer, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
Russ Welsh, Current KC Chamber Chair; Chairman & CEO, Polsinelli Shughart
Greg Graves, Past (2011) KC Chamber Chair; Chairman of the Board & CEO, Burns & McDonnell

Big 5 Representatives:

Moving UMKC’s World-Class Arts Programs to a New Downtown Location
Leo Morton: Champion; Chancellor, University of Missouri – Kansas City

Revitalizing Our Urban Neighborhoods Through the Urban Neighborhood Initiative
(Champions Brent Stewart and Terry Dunn were unavailable.)
Mark Jorgenson: Chairman, Urban Neighborhood Initiative Board; President & CEO, US Bank, Kansas City Market
Dianne Cleaver: Executive Director, Urban Neighborhood Initiative

Making Kansas City America’s Most Entrepreneurial City
Peter deSilva: Champion; Chairman & CEO, UMB Bank
Cliff Illig: Entrepreneurship Steering Committee; Co-founder, Cerner Corp.

Hosting the Global Symposium on Innovation in Animal Health
(Champion Gary Forsee was unavailable.)
Robert Marcusse: President & CEO, Kansas City Area Development Council

Growing Kansas City’s Medical Research, From Discovery to Cure
Dr. Patrick James: Champion; Senior Managing Director, Quest Diagnostics- Kansas Business Unit.

Keep the conversation going:

Follow us on Twitter: @TheLocalShowKC

#Big5KC
#KCPT

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Future of the Foundation: Janice Kreamer and Tom McDonnell

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s new CEO Tom McDonnell and Board Chair Janice Kreamer sit down with Randy Mason to discuss what is ahead for one of the nation’s largest and most well-respected philanthropic foundations.

This time last year, Carl Schramm was pushed out the door as the head of Kansas City’s largest foundation, The Kauffman Foundation. Founded by former Royals owner, entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Kauffman, the foundation is not just the city’s largest, it is one of the 40 biggest foundations in the country.

It’s mission is centered on entrepreneurship and education and for the better part of the last year its board has been looking for a new leader to move the foundation forward into the future. They announced just a few weeks ago that the future best lies in the hands of former DST CEO Tom McDonnell.

He’s with us on the Local Show along with the new Chair of the Board, Jan Kreamer, who many may remember formerly ran the Community Foundation.

We also share the trailer from the documentary Something Ventured which was sponsored by The Kauffman Foundation and will be aired immediately following The Local Show on Thursday, January 10 at 8pm.

Graphic which reads Something Ventured: Risk, Reward and the Original Venture Capitalists

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Global Entrepreneurship Week: Kauffman Foundation’s Startup Demos

In conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Kauffman Foundation hosted a Startup Demo Day where local entrepreneurs had an opportunity to pitch their ideas.

This week marks Global Entrepreneurship Week in Kansas City as designated by the Kauffman Foundation. While there are around 40 different events across the metro designed to appeal to future entrepreneurs, last Monday at the Kauffman Foundation, two dozen of the area’s top start up businesses pitched their ideas in front of an audience of potential financial partners, mentors, and just plain interested folks. KCPT had its cameras there along with videojournalist Justin Bond.

Graphic giving thanks to Big 5 underwriters Burns & McDonnnell, UMB, Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute and Swope Community Enterprises

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We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat: The Fleming Brothers & Shark Tank

Kansas City brothers and inventors, Brian and Kevin Fleming, talk to Nick Haines about their appearance on ABC’s business-theme reality TV show, Shark Tank, and how they walked away with a $40,000 investment for their “BagBowl” invention.

Many of us, even if it was when we were just a kid, dreamt of inventing something that would make us rich and famous.

We may even have tinkered in our basements or garages on building a prototype that we were just so sure, that if was discovered by the right person, could be the next best thing.

That would describe our first guests on this week’s Local Show. They are Kansas City brothers Brian and Kevin Fleming who have spent their lives messing with consumer inventions with limited success. But just recently, they got their shot at taking their invention national on the primetime ABC entrepreneurial reality show Shark Tank.

Wide shot of the set of Shark Tank with Fleming Brothers making a pitch

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