A 15-Year Retrospective
on IT and ED in the Region

Almost 15 years ago, I was in the process of starting a new venture capital company and had helped start the Silicon Prairie Technology Association when I wrote of efforts by Kansas legislators to pull the state out of an economic slump by passing aggressive economic development legislation. Little did I know that I would become intimately involved in the product of that legislation—KTEC, the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation. As I prepare to leave KTEC and Kansas City in 2002, after 30 years in the community, I look at how the landscape has changed for emerging businesses.

Kansas City is well-positioned and offers a favorable business climate today just as it did in 1987, but new resources dedicated to helping entrepreneurs have sprung up in the past 14 years. These resources have come through educational institutions, business incubators, venture capitalists, and local and state governments.

Higher education has supported new businesses through such assets as the entrepreneurial courses at UMKC and the FastTrac program at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurial Leadership. Businesses at all stages can benefit from Entreworld, an online information center. Life-long learning opportunities and meeting industry’s needs for skilled workers, however, remain a challenge today. Kansas City also needs more world-class scientists in its research institutions and a technology research center.

In 1987, the Center for Business Innovation was the only true incubation program in the Kansas City region, but since then several organizations offering business assistance services have emerged, such as the Enterprise Center of Johnson County and KTEC’s Kansas Innovation Corporation. Despite the growth of these organizations, there is room for more incubation on both sides of the state line. Maybe KCCatalyst and the Metropolitan Entrepreneurial Community Alliance can encourage greater bi-state cooperation in this area.

A greater problem, though, is the Kansas City region’s lack of access to capital for new and emerging technology companies. We have seen some new funds sprout, such as Kansas City Equity Partners and the Bi-State Investment Group, but despite these efforts, we still have lost major battles, including the failure of Kansas to support the defunct Sunflower Technology Ventures fund. And, while Missouri has facilitated private investments through Capco, there is still little seed capital, or capital for early-stage investments. Kansas, meanwhile, is still struggling to find consensus among state leaders on stimulating venture capital in the state.

In economic development, we have seen support from the local and state governments in such efforts as the Bi-State Initiative that helped renovate Union Station. The Initiative is also supporting the Stowers Institute and helped catalyze the Life Sciences Institute. We must continue to gain bi-state support for economic initiatives, and we need greater commitment from Topeka and Jefferson City.

In the late ‘80s, I wrote that Kansas City had most of the necessary elements for success as a high-tech community, but that greater collaboration was necessary among business, government and academic communities. Today, I see significant collaborative efforts by key players like those mentioned above that are helping propel Kansas City in the new economy. A visible example of these efforts is the Life Sciences Initiative. A reward for these efforts is the Stowers Institute, a world-class research center that will pay far- reaching dividends to the region.

Kansas City’s heritage is that of the American West—a “can do” attitude and the frontier spirit. Business, government and academic leaders on both sides of the state line need to come together to ensure that the city is a vibrant participant in the new economy.

“The business climate in Kansas City is ripe and needs to reposition itself now so that it can capitalize in the 2000s.” That was my message in 1987, and, although we have made significant strides, that is my message today.

Richard Bendis is president and CEO of Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation. He may be reached by phone at 785.296.5272 or by e-mail at rbendis@ktec.com.