Growth Marketing Maven builds on family entrepreneurship, personal success to help growing companies looking to scale

For Amy Shaneyfelt, starting her own business was almost inevitable. As the daughter and granddaughter of entrepreneurs in a small town, her experience in business began as early as she can remember. “Growing up in a small Midwestern town, I was shaped by my lifelong involvement in my parents’ businesses,” Amy reflects.

Her family businesses were more than a source of income; they played integral roles in her community, shaping her views of entrepreneurship,, and specifically, marketing. “With multiple generations of my family preceding me as small business owners, I bring a different perspective honed through first-hand experience of watching my parents and grandparents build businesses that became central to my hometown,” Amy explains. “This perspective has been foundational in my career so it’s no surprise that I find myself drawn to working with start-ups,” Amy adds. Read Amy’s entrepreneur story here.

Woman-owned business, #ShopSmallMadi QuinnJanuary 15, 2024

Gifts by Natalie: Crafting Meaningful Connections Through Thoughtful Gifting

Natalie Barlett, the visionary behind the unique business, Gifts by Natalie and a graduate of the Flint Hills Business Launch cohort in Spring 2023, embarked on her entrepreneurial journey fueled by a passion for gifting and a natural talent for curating the ideal present. “I’ve always loved gifting. And I love finding the perfect thing. That’s such a great feeling for me, when I’m like, ‘I nailed it,’” she shares, reflecting on her path to entrepreneurship.

Her return to Manhattan one year ago from Pennsylvania, where she and her husband taught for 15 years, marked a pivotal transition that momentarily stalled her business growth. However, her commitment to make new connections and establish herself in the community became the catalyst for the resurgence of her business. “It was a slow-growing process, and then I felt like the move froze the growth for a minute. And now, a year and a half later, we’re growing a business,” Natalie states, symbolizing her business’s resilience.

Woman-owned business, #ShopSmallMadi QuinnDecember 22, 2023

New Loan Programs Launch in Manhattan Region to Propel Small Business Growth

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.

Women in Entrepreneurship 2nd Annual End of Year Celebration and Awards recognizes impact, contributions of women entrepreneurs in Greater Manhattan

Last night, the Women in Entrepreneurship community hosted the 2nd Annual End of Year Celebration and Awards, presented by Addair Law, at Arrow Cocktail Lounge in Manhattan, Kansas.

Women business owners and supporters from around the Greater Manhattan area gathered for an evening of dinner and networking. Executive Director of Spark, Sarah Siders, shared the history of the community and how it has evolved from a small Facebook group in 2020 to monthly events with over 225 women in attendance during 2023, and nearly 450 women entrepreneurs as a member of the online community.

The evening concluded with recognition of women entrepreneurs in four categories and a special Women in Entrepreneurship community award. Read more here.

Woman-owned businessSarah SidersDecember 15, 2023

Flint Hills Business Launch Celebrates Fall 2023 Graduation, Pitch Competition

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.

Ia's Kitchen brings authentic Puerto Rican cuisine and culture to Junction City, central Kansas area

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, a Hispanic 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.

Ayuda Para Hispanohablantes aims to empowering Spanish speakers and bridge cultures through service

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.

Manhattan’s only rage room adds stress relief, adult activities to the downtown area

Get to know Nikita Razo, serial entrepreneur and owner of Manhattan’s only rage room. Nikita was motivated to open a rage room in Manhattan when she heard people complaining that there aren’t enough adult activities in Manhattan. “So I decided, why not help with that and bring something a little more outside the box into town. So far people are loving it and having so much fun smashing things and throwing paint around.” Read her Office Space Rage Room business story here.

Woman-owned business, Black-owned businessMadi QuinnSeptember 11, 2023Downtown Manhattan

Downtown boutique hopes to unite faith and community with unique product offerings

In downtown Manhattan, Kansas, a unique and faith-driven business has emerged to bring together a community of believers and offer a distinctive shopping experience. In this feature, we meet Kyra Vanderbilt, the entrepreneur who owns Twelve A Fellowship Boutique.

With a background in apparel marketing and a deep sense of calling, Kyra embarked on a journey to create a space where Christians from diverse denominations could come together for fellowship.

In this interview-styled feature, we hear from Kyra about the inspiration behind her store, also known as Twelve AFB, about its products and services, and her vision for the future. Read along as we explore how this boutique is not only a retail destination but aims to be a beacon of faith and unity in the Manhattan community.

Woman-owned businessMadi QuinnSeptember 5, 2023Downtown Manhattan

K-State students bring comfort and care directly to pets with mobile grooming service

In honor of #NationalPetMonth, we’re featuring some of our regional, animal or pet-focused businesses in the Greater Manhattan area. Get to know these local businesses that bring humans and animals together for a variety of unique purposes. In this interview, Spark’s team talked with Emily Oravetz, K-State student entrepreneur and co-owner of mobile pet grooming business, Bravepawzzz, to tell us more about her business.

Woman-owned businessMadi QuinnMay 25, 2023

Hunting dogs trained to hound bed bugs, reduce spread, offer early intervention

John and Jina Kugler always had dogs and enjoyed hunting for sport, but it wasn’t until John worked with canine bed bug detection as a facilities manager that he and Jina saw a new opportunity for dogs who love to hunt. They started small but quickly proved the unique idea of dogs hunting bed bugs was an effective one. In November 2020, Bug Hounds won the Non-tech business award in the StartUp MHK Pitch Competition in November 2020. They also won the hearts of their customers and community with the People’s Choice Award, earning them a combined $13,000 for their business.

Woman-owned businessSarah SidersMay 19, 2023

14 Flint Hills area entrepreneurs recognized at Business Launch graduation and pitch competition

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.

Flint Hills Business Launch, an 8-week immersive course designed for entrepreneurs who are pre-launch or in their first three years of operations, kicked off this March with 14 participating entrepreneurs from Pottawatomie, Riley and Geary counties in Kansas. In addition to Spark, program sponsors for the course include NetWork Kansas, Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, and Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation (PCEDC), with representatives from NetWork Kansas and PCEDC in attendance.

TheraPie collaborates with health-focused salad shop, opens new retail location in downtown Manhattan

Since starting her pie business in 2019, entrepreneur and self-labeled “pie lady”, Tiffany Oppelt has made significant strides in her entrepreneurial journey with the growth of her business, TheraPie, with a recent opening of a retail location in downtown Manhattan. The storefront is an addition to the two other collaborative retail locations in which her pies are sold: Brothers Coffee and Galaxy Girl Coffee, located at Manhattan Town Center mall.

For the past three years, TheraPie gained rapid traction in the Manhattan community, becoming a unique, local favorite for desserts. “We were to the point where people were Googling ‘best dessert in Manhattan’ and our home bakery address would show up. They would knock on the door and be very confused since it was our home.” says Tiffany.

#ShopSmall, Woman-owned businessSarah SidersApril 10, 2023

Local children’s author opens shared workspace in Junction City, aims to help working parents with affordable office space

Looking ahead, Jonna has many aspirations for The Junction City Workshop. She would like to add more space, host more trainings and meetups, and support working parents with a family-friendly workspace. As a working mom, Jonna understands the hardships that working parents face when caring for their children. “My target is working parents because eventually I want to have a space for the kids to do arts and crafts or have a quiet time, and even partner up with one of the local daycare providers so it would be part of the membership.”

Jonna sees shared workspace as solving two problems, not just affordability but also community. “When I published my first children’s book two years ago, it was such a struggle because I didn’t have any community or any place to test it out. And I feel like I want to provide that to other parents or military spouses that might be feeling alone or like they don’t belong.”

Woman-owned businessMadi QuinnMarch 27, 2023

Meet the Entrepreneurs of the Flint Hills Business Launch Class of Spring 2023

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.

Manhattan High School entrepreneurship students participate in annual Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, compete for $1750 award funds

Last week on March 9th, student entrepreneurs from Manhattan High School participated in the annual Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, a tradeshow and pitch competition sponsored by Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, NetWork Kansas, K-State Extension, Riley County, Rockin' K’s and Spark.

The event featured business tradeshow booths where community members and professionals had the opportunity to meet student entrepreneurs, hear a receive a pitch of their business and ask questions about their product or service. While many of the students were still in the concept phase with their business, some had already launched a product or service and were operating.

Youth entrepreneurship, Woman-owned businessSarah SidersMarch 13, 2023

Flint Hills area-based Black doula works to prevent birth trauma for Black mothers through representation, advocacy

Mentoria discovered doula work in a roundabout way, after suffering from postpartum depression after the labor and delivery of her daughter, who is now five years old. On her healing journey, she searched for specific stories and representation from other Black women who had experienced and healed from postpartum mental health disorders. The stories she found were only mildly relatable, and Mentoria observed there was a massive gap in not only support and representation for Black mothers. Mentoria’s own path toward healing took multiple turns before she really found her way, and she hopes to be an educating advocate who can help mothers, especially Black women, avoid her painful journey.

Despite experiencing prolonged, severe postpartum depression symptoms after the birth of her daughter, she was reluctant to seek treatment beyond medications. But it was the representation of other Black women in the medical field that led her to take the steps she truly needed to take.

Black-owned business, Woman-owned business, Health and wellnessSarah SidersFebruary 28, 2023

Makeup artist and entrepreneur 'follows her plan' as she grows beauty business, inspires confidence in others

When Jessica Andrews, owner of J’s Makeup Artistry, reached out to Hy-Vee in October 2022 to ask them about carrying her skincare and makeup line in their store, she got an answer she didn’t expect. “I went to Hy-Vee here in Manhattan, and I said, ‘What do I need to get into your store?’ I told them what I did, along with my credentials,” she explained. “And they said, ‘Jessica, we would love to have you in our store.’ I said, ‘Really, that easy?’ and they said, ‘It is that easy’,” she recalls.

For Jessica, an entrepreneur who was used to working hard for her dreams, it had not always been easy. Growing up, Jessica spent a lot of time with her father, going to the gym and doing other activities with him. Although she thought of herself as a ‘tomboy’, she also had an early interest in the beauty industry. “I always wanted to be a model, but then I ended up doing makeup instead,” says Jessica.

Black-owned business, Health and wellness, Woman-owned businessSarah SidersFebruary 20, 2023

Spark hosts fifth entrepreneur education cohort, adds mentorship and pitch competition to improved 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.

Backyard Backcountry brings luxury camping experience into town

Outdoor recreation has catapulted in participation numbers during the pandemic era as record numbers of Americans have flocked to the outdoors for their mental and physical health. Local entrepreneurs Jessica Voos Peterson and Brian Peterson are determined to get more people to experience a night under the stars by bringing luxury camping, known as glamping, to their customers’ homes.

The newly married couple who reside in Wamego and work in Manhattan, launched Backyard Backcountry, a service where the Petersons set up an entire backyard campground on their customers’ properties. The event service includes a spacious circular canvas tent, memory foam beds, tables, chairs, Solo bonfire stoves, movie projectors, s’mores kits and a list of luxuries to make an evening with friends and family memorable and comfortable.

Woman-owned businessMadi QuinnJanuary 20, 2023

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