Looking back and moving forward
As we begin the new year — and the new decade — the Block Knowledge team has been focusing on telling our story and getting better at talking about what we do, who we are, and what we are passionate about so we can make a bigger impact on the community around us.
We can’t change the entrepreneurial space in Kansas City without amazing, determined people like you who have an idea or a product to create. In the spirit of fresh beginnings, we would like to take it back (like the old school) to where this started and how we’ve made it where we are today.
Block Knowledge began as the non-profit organization Project United Knowledge. The mission was one near and dear to our founders’ hearts — bring the knowledge and resources needed to launch a business to underestimated people in Kansas City.
Since the beginning, there has been an intentional focus on supporting minority and female founders — those least likely to have access to traditional sources of funding and business education. The vision was to create an ecosystem of founders that thrived after their time with us, and beat the daunting odds of failure that all startups face.
That mission has remained largely unchanged today. Project United Knowledge has been relaunched as Block Knowledge, a startup studio sponsored by JP Morgan Case, Kapor Center, Plexpod, DevOps Kansas City, Amazon Corporate, and the Kauffman Foundation.
In the past five years, Block Knowledge has worked to support, incubate, and launch more than 84 companies and helped 32 locate $3.5 million in funding.
There is now an expanded course offering, spanning from Product Development, UIUX Design, Technical Skills Development, and covering everything in between. The core of it all is still our Entrepreneur Program — an 11-week course that takes an idea or business through validation, build, marketing, launching and funding — all with the help of an amazing team and group of mentors that are with you every step of the way.
This course does more than educate — it motivates, creates a closely-knit group of leaders in Kansas City, and cuts the learning curve in half.
Instead of a great idea that may land in the graveyard of “almost greatness” — ideas that never actually get launched out of fear or inexperience — we are helping turn those ideas into sustainable, thriving companies that go on to impact the world.
Ready to finally launch that company you’ve been dreaming of? Applications are open here — https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-XlHrBzUfBDD_H2_TZgt2kSKQSIP5qGPDrMZwNlI3ra4LkQ/viewform.
What’s next for the growing Block Knowledge team?
In February 2020, the Block Knowledge team will launch its first-ever Product Development course. This 6-week course is packed with technical knowledge, UI/UX, wireframing, and technology team management and was created for either building out a product idea yourself or up-leveling your technical skill set to increase employability.
The best news of all?
The generosity of the Kapor Center has enabled us to offer full scholarships for applicants on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away.
Grab your spot in our next cohort for Product Development here — https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMWaUBI0MFdXQog8vX-wVNvHwStx-Oztjpeyz7A0UnSduUvQ/viewform.
Connect with us on Facebook to chat, or learn more about what we do to foster inclusiveness and drive economic growth at www.blockknowledge.co.
Do you have the valuable business experience you’d love to share? We’d love to have you! Get involved in what’s happening by applying here — https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScArOyqRzaCBLnLHcqoKEOiHKlBf9r78EahPNuILWAbnMIQjA/viewform.
All our best,
The Block Knowledge team
