In efforts to pump up the Kansas City community prior to its launch, WeWork announced KC Connected, an event series at its new Corragain Station coworking space.
The first event is May 10 and aims to get local entrepreneurs prepared for the coworking giant’s global grant competition, the Creator Awards.
“Our goal is to help the people of Kansas City make a life not just a living by connecting them to the local and global community of entrepreneurs, elected officials, philanthropists and artists,” Adam Wacenske, general manager of WeWork’s southern region, said in a release. “The purpose of this journey is to showcase the city’s jewels and offer a glimpse into the future.”
WeWork is an international coworking firm with offices in 37 cities and 12 countries around the globe. In March, it announced plans to occupy four floors in Kansas City’s Corrigan Station for a new 40,000 square feet space in the Crossroads Arts District.
WeWork’s Creator Awards gives away more than $20 million annually to entrepreneurs, non-profits, artists and more. Applications from all over the world may qualify for the Incubate Award ($36,000 to $72,000), the Launch Award ($72,000 to $180,000) or the Scale Award ($180,000 to $360,000). Select finalists will be invited to present at a regional event in Austin, Texas. From there, the Creator Awards Global Finals will be held in Brooklyn, New York on Nov.30, 2017.
The KC Connected event on May 10 will be pitch practice for the Creator Awards, in which three Kansas Citians will pitch to a panel of Kansas City experts — venture capitalist Keith Harrington, KCRise Fund managing director Darcy Howe and VideoFizz founder Laura Steward.
All applicants for the Kansas City pitch practice event will receive a We Membership. The winner of the pitch practice will receive a free dedicated desk membership for one month.
WeWork plans to host similar KC Connected events in the months of June, July and August. The grand opening of WeWork Corrigan Station will be August 1.
To learn more about WeWork Corrigan Station, click here.