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MANHATTAN, KS – In a collaborative effort aimed at nurturing local entrepreneurship, $350,000 in new capital is now at the fingertips of area entrepreneurs for the upcoming year. This financial boost comes through the launch of two entrepreneurial funding programs—the Elevate Micro-Loan Program and the NetWork Kansas Empower Fund. A consortium of key entrepreneurial ecosystem partners, including the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, Spark, Black Entrepreneurs of the Flint Hills, K-State Innovation Partners, the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation, and NetWork Kansas, have joined forces to make this initiative a reality.
To complement these new initiatives, the Manhattan region also benefits from existing NetWork Kansas E-Community and GrowKS loan programs, ensuring a comprehensive suite of resources for local businesses. Interested entrepreneurs can find detailed information and check eligibility on the Spark website at funding.sparkmhk.com, where an online Inquiry Form is available to start the process.
Flint Hills Business Launch proudly presents the Fall 2023 class of current and future entrepreneurs who have successfully completed Spark’s core business fundamental class, a 9-week program. The graduation ceremony and pitch competition, featuring 15 participating entrepreneurs and 12 businesses, took place Thursday, November 9, 2023, at the Union Pacific Depot in downtown Manhattan.
This season’s cohort was comprised of entrepreneurs from across Pottawatomie, Riley, and Geary counties in Kansas, who engaged in the twice-annual, virtual class designed for entrepreneurs who are pre-launch through the first three years of operations. The class was facilitated by serial entrepreneur, owner of MHK Caravan Co and K-State Entrepreneurship Instructor, Tara Geiber.
During #HispanicHeritageMonth, we will feature the inspiring journeys, diverse backgrounds, and exceptional achievements of Hispanic entrepreneurs in the Flint Hills region who have left an indelible mark on their industries and communities. Join us as we explore the stories of resilience, creativity, and success that make up the spirit of Hispanic entrepreneurship. In this interview, we meet Yahaira Lorenzo-Jaime, aHispanic entrepreneur and co-owner of Ia’s Kitchen in Junction City, along with her husband, Luis Cubero. These features are written in both English and Spanish.
During #HispanicHeritageMonth, we feature the inspiring journeys, diverse backgrounds, and exceptional achievements of Hispanic entrepreneurs in the Flint Hills region who have left an indelible mark on their industries and communities. Join us as we explore the stories of resilience, creativity, and success that make up the spirit of Hispanic entrepreneurship. These features are written in both English and Spanish. This interview is with Yendi Gonzalez, a Hispanic entrepreneur who is forming a business around the translation service she has provided for years. “Ayuda Para Hispanohablantes” (Help for Spanish-speakers) offers services such as translating and interpreting from Spanish to English and vice versa, and everything that a non-English’s speaker would need,” Yendi says. Read her Hispanic entrepreneur story here.
During #HispanicHeritageMonth, we will feature the inspiring journeys, diverse backgrounds, and exceptional achievements of Hispanic entrepreneurs in the Flint Hills region who have left an indelible mark on their industries and communities. Join us as we explore the stories of resilience, creativity, and success that make up the spirit of Hispanic entrepreneurship. These features are written in both English and Spanish. The first interview in the series is with Oscar Montenegro, owner of OM Consulting. Oscar helps “high level leaders achieve complete clarity, alignment, and movement towards their most ambitious personal/professional goals. Read his Hispanic entrepreneur story here.
On Thursday, April 27th, Spark presented the Spring 2023 class of Flint Hills Business Launch. After an intense 8-week, virtual course, 14 entrepreneurs representing 11 businesses received certificates of graduation, and nine participated in a pitch competition with a $1000 award.
Pablo Diaz Carballo saw his neighbor’s beautiful flowers destroyed by a late snowfall last spring. Seeing the flowers destroyed felt symbolic to Diaz.
“The metaphor came to my mind about the beauty and fragility of the flowers like the beauty and fragility of freedom,” he said.
Diaz, who lived most of his life in Venezuela but now lives in St. Marys, spent years trying to upend the system in his home country through art and education. Some of Diaz’s recent work is on display at Manhattan Arts Center. He said creative minds working together can change the world.
Flint Hills Business Launch, an 8-week immersive course designed for entrepreneurs in their first three years of operations, kicked off this March with 15 participating businesses from Pottawatomie, Riley and Geary counties in Kansas. The course curriculum is built on the nationally-recognized, Kauffman FastTrac, with additional support for participating business owners in the form of small group discussions, expert Q&A, mentor matching and additional visibility and preparation for capital for their business during and after the course.
In this series, get to know the participating entrepreneurs committing to start and grow their businesses on strong foundations in the Spring 2023 Flint Hills Business Launch course.
To meet the critical need for business education and enhance the long-term success of emerging businesses in the Greater Manhattan region, Spark, a Manhattan, Kansas-based entrepreneur support organization, will host its fifth entrepreneur education cohort starting March 2023. The course, titled Flint Hills Business Launch, is an 8-week, immersive experience designed to provide foundational business education to entrepreneurs who are pre-launch through the first three years of operations.
The online course is hosted for two hours, one week night a week for eight weeks, and includes Q&A with regional service providers, small group breakout discussion and teaching on business fundamentals, as well as in person events, mentorship and peer support. Class size is kept small to optimize engagement and facilitator to student ratios.
For serial entrepreneur, Enrique Garibay, every problem he encounters is a potential business opportunity. He is the first to credit his entrepreneurial drive to his father, who immigrated in the United States during the Mexican Revolution of the early 1900s. “Our family has been in the Manhattan area for over 100 years,” Enrique says. His father pursued any opportunity presented to him. When he later became a welder, he experienced the barriers of racism when the other men in the shop threatened to quit if he was allowed to work with them as an employee. His boss nearly fired him, but Enrique’s father didn’t want to miss the opportunity and volunteered to work at night. The skill of welding later became the family business in which Enrique was raised.
To foster growth in the region, the Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation has worked with numerous minority-owned businesses to help them gain access to funds and other resources. By connecting entrepreneurs with the Small Business Development Center and NetWork Kansas, PCEDC has helped fledgling businesses get off the ground and established businesses expand. As an E-Community partner with NetWork Kansas, PCEDC can leverage the organization’s loan funds and training opportunities to assist local entrepreneurs and small businesses. Statewide, NetWork Kansas has granted 811 loans totaling $26.2M to 773 businesses as of March 2022. These have included minority- and women-owned enterprises and represented restaurant, retail and manufacturing sectors.
When Cesar Rodriguez moved back to Manhattan, Kansas, in 2011, he returned to the family business that gave him his start while he was in high school. Leaving an established position in third party logistics in Kansas City, he knew taking the role in his mom’s company, Marta’s Janitorial, meant he had to work hard to create new accounts and sources of revenue for him and his family. “When I started, I had to hustle,” he recalls. His hustle paid off. “I was able to generate the same amount of sales in four and a half years that my mom did in 30 years. A few years later, I told her, ‘Mom, I am ready to buy you out.’” He renamed the business Marta’s and Son to recognize the transition but keep the family name. “I chose to keep her name because of the reputation she built,” says Cesar.
Gisselle Feldkamp Rivera remembers when she first fell in love with human resources as a career. While living in Portland, Oregon in 2001, she interviewed with a local business and started working as a receptionist, but she was soon afterward promoted to a personnel coordinator, helping employees with job placement and seeing the impact their work made on every area of their lives. “The employees I worked with were so grateful, and the role was so fulfilling because I was able to see I was making a difference in their lives as they were treated with respect and able to provide for their families,” says Gisselle. After these experiences, Gisselle knew why she wanted to work in HR.
With all the momentum of her growing business and pitch award funds, as well as her community support system through Black Entrepreneurs of the Flint Hills and other resources, Nathania Anderson, founder of Winks by Thanie, started 2022 strong by expanding her product line. She attributes her growth, in part, to her willingness to listen, learn and implement good ideas from others. “In February 2022, we added magnetic lashes and a vibrant color collection. We are keeping up with key trends, which are constantly evolving, and we continue to work on offering a product that continues to be luxury and affordable. A lot of research goes into that, seeing trends and learning from my customer.”
While Hazy Haven offers a wide variety of products, what makes their business stand out is that they prioritize CBD companies and products based in Kansas. “We proudly carry five Kansas CBD companies to ensure high quality products for all of our customers. Our best selling CBD products are from a business called Quiet Trees, based out of Lawrence, Kansas, and they have an impeccable range of products, from pet supplements all the way to cream’s for skincare and salves for pain management.”
Their products were chosen in regards to local availability, quality, and the enthusiasm of their vendors for the CBD business. “Each of our CBD vendors were chosen not only based on the quality of product they create but also the passion in which they do it.” Megan adds, “ This makes us a local business working with other local businesses from across the state to try and grow and make information and high quality products available for everyone.”
