We believe entrepreneurs can change the world.
Techstars was founded in 2006 to help entrepreneurs succeed. The Techstars Network connects founders with entrepreneurs, experts, mentors, alumni, investors, community leaders, and corporate partners to grow their companies.
Lesa Mitchell is a Managing Director of Techstars Kansas City. Lesa’s career has included roles as a corporate executive, entrepreneur and consultant to multi-national corporates expanding their innovation footprints. For ten years Lesa was VP Innovation & Networks at the Kauffman Foundation where she designed, implemented and scaled models focused on initiating new markets and recovering markets in support of economic growth.
Rachel Morris is the Program Manager for Techstars Kansas City. Formerly, Rachel spent 6 years at Cerner Corporation in Population Health and Community Engagement, working on projects to improve health indices across vulnerable populations. She also worked for Bumble as a Regional Marketing Manager, overseeing field marketing efforts across the Midwest.
Adam is an undergraduate student at University of Missouri–Kansas City studying business administration and entrepreneurship. He has two years experience working with The Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation's venture accelerator, E-Scholars. In 2018, Adam earned the Liberty, Missouri Chamber of Commerce 20 under 20 Award for entrepreneurship. Adam is pursuing a career in entrepreneurship education, venture accelerators, and venture capital financing.
Salem has three years of experience in marketing and project management. She led media + events at Fountain City Fintech and the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Salem was the former president of UMKC Enactus; a multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to solving socio-economic problems in Kansas City and around the world.
Arynn has more than 10 years of experience working everywhere from ad agencies to tech startups. She loves smart brand development, clever UI/UX design and a good surf sesh.