Connecting Kansas City’s Startup Ecosystem
In Fall of 2024, as part of a class project, I led a team of three in researching and mapping the Kansas City startup ecosystem. The challenge: to create a comprehensive and accessible resource that helps founders navigate a fragmented and outdated ecosystem, while highlighting growth opportunities in the region.
The result was a fully organized spreadsheet of over 100 startups, organizations, accelerators, investors, and universities, paired with an interactive Kumu mind map and a builder’s guide to ensure sustainability and future updates.
Project Overview
Kansas City is an emerging hub for startups, particularly in ag-tech, but existing resources were:
Fragmented and scattered across multiple sites.
Outdated, making it difficult for founders to identify active support organizations.
Lacking a single, accessible tool for understanding the ecosystem and its players.
Founders, educators, and stakeholders needed a centralized, visual, and actionable resource to navigate the city’s growing entrepreneurial landscape.
The Problem
Research & Discovery
Collected data on 80+ startups, incubators, accelerators, investment firms, and universities in Kansas City.
Reached out to Becca Castro, an executive at KC SourceLink, to validate findings and ensure relevance.
Organization & Categorization
Developed standardized categories, tags, and descriptions for each entry.
Used Excel to create a master spreadsheet with sortable fields and clear labels.
Visualization & Mapping
Built an interactive Kumu mind map to visualize connections and categories across the ecosystem.
Created a builder’s guide for future updates, detailing how to maintain the spreadsheet and Kumu map.
Validation & Iteration
Presented the data and map to KC SourceLink for feedback.
Iterated based on input to ensure usability for founders and stakeholders.
Our Process
Master Spreadsheet – 100+ entries with categories, tags, and descriptive notes.
Kumu Mind Map – interactive, visual representation of ecosystem connections.
Builder’s Guide – instructions for maintaining and updating the resources.
Our Deliverables
KC SourceLink expressed interest in using our map and spreadsheet for ongoing founder support initiatives, giving them ownership of our assets.
The project demonstrated the value of structured research, visualization, and stakeholder collaboration in making data actionable.
Our Impact
Mapping Kansas City’s startup ecosystem taught me how to lead a team, structure complex information, and turn research into actionable resources that stakeholders can use in real-world applications. It reinforced the importance of combining data, design, and validation to create tools that have a tangible impact.