Kansas City has a long history of successful entrepreneurships.  Stop just about any citizen on the street and ask for the names of successful KC entrepreneurs and they will name at least one of these names: Ewing Kauffman, Henry Bloch, J.C. Hall, Neal Patterson, Ollie Gates, John McDonald, Bill Dunn or Kate Spade.

One of Kansas City’s greatest entrepreneurs was Walt Disney.  Although his ultimate success came after he left Kansas City, it was what he learned as a young start-up entrepreneur in Kansas City that laid the groundwork for his company to become one of the most successful and admired in the world.

Today, Kansas City has many entrepreneurs pursuing business success in the digital media industry.  What are the challenges they face?  Does Kansas City offer a welcoming business support system?  What does it take to succeed as a start-up in KC?  These and many other questions will be answered in a panel discussion on “Digital Media Entrepreneurship in Kansas City” during the January 12^th KC IMAGINE: Creating the Future of Digital Media in KC Conference at the Westport Commons Plexpod. Registration information is available at this link:

The panel is moderated by Gerald Smith, Founder/CEO of Plexpod.  Joining him on the panel are: Cindy Augustine, Owner of Kazoo Marketing; Kelsie Lauck, Owner of Wayfarer Creative; Kevin McGinnis, CEO of Keystone Community Corporation and Jasmine Nastasi, Co-Owner & Producer of Stellar Image Studios.  These entrepreneurs will share their insights on what it takes to be a successful digital media business owner.  Gerald Smith and Kevin McGinnis will share their extensive experience in supporting entrepreneurial growth for new businesses and they will share tips on how Kansas City resources can help start-ups succeed in our city.