Editor’s note: New in KC is an ongoing profile series that highlights newly relocated members of the Kansas City startup community, their reasons for a change of scenery, and what they’ve found so far in KC. The series is sponsored by C2FO, a Leawood-based, global financial services company. Click here to read more New in KC profiles.
This feature spotlights Julie Leonhardt, the new executive director for Startland, the parent organization of Startland News.
Exposure to an organization like Startland early in Julie Leonhardt’s career could’ve been life-changing, the nonprofit’s new executive director said, noting it took her years to realize the possibilities unlocked by entrepreneurship on her own.
Julie Leonhardt, Startland
“I grew up in an environment where the parents around me were teachers, nurses, and policemen — not entrepreneurs. So I didn’t really know you could do that,” said Leonhardt, a former educator and Wall Street lawyer-turned-startup entrepreneur who moved to Kansas City in 2022. “But something in me was always kind of a maker in some ways. I’ve created new programs and processes — even a new company — but it took me a long time before I thought of myself as an entrepreneur.”
Startland’s news and education programs — which focus on making innovation accessible and approachable — would’ve given her a world of confidence, she said, adding that hearing stories of success and even failure are vital, especially for women and other founders who are frequently underrepresented in the space.
“Entrepreneurship can be lonely. It can be discouraging, painful. I entered into it not knowing how hard it would really be,” Leonhardt said. “There’s something about having a community behind you, to support you, and acknowledge that ‘Yes, this might be the hardest thing you’ve ever done.’”
Leonhardt, who previously served in executive leadership positions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, began her role as Startland’s new executive director June 26.
“Julie is an experienced leader who likes to question the status quo, unleash creativity and human potential, and lead teams to push the limits and grow influential organizations,” said Matthew Mellor, interim executive director at Startland since December 2022. “She has led organizations through disruption and transition to come out the other side stronger.”
“In everything she does she works to bring recognition to women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, people of diverse backgrounds, and others traditionally underrepresented in business — and help create opportunities to help them thrive,” he continued.
Click here to connect with Julie Leonhardt on LinkedIn.
Leonhardt’s varied experience will be key to her role at Startland, she said. The position is expected to serve as enterprise leader and executive community-ambassador for Startland’s mission, vision and strategic initiatives.
“I know how to operate in the corporate and nonprofit worlds; what moves people, what drives people,” Leonhardt said. “It allows me to identify gaps and build bridges, going into situations ready to really understand what each person or party needs and wants to accomplish — then finding mutually beneficial solutions.”
Katie Kimbrell, Startland Edu
Austin Barnes, Startland News
Austin Barnes, executive editor for Startland News, continues to lead strategy, development and operations for the nonprofit newsroom. Katie Kimbrell, chief education officer for Startland Education, spearheads the organization’s efforts to teach entrepreneurial mindset and human-centered design to educators, young people, and systems leaders.
A through line for Leonhardt’s careers so far, she said: putting the humans at the center of the work first.
“As a lawyer on Wall Street or working in a corporate environment, I’m familiar with places that can be lifesucking sometimes,” Leonhardt said, laughing. “But I’ve always felt like as long as I focused on people — developing the leaders around me, creating great teams and cultures, making the work fun no matter what we were building — that I was making lives better.”
Wider slice of experience
Leonhardt’s previous transition from the corporate world to startup life came amid global upheaval, she said.
“We announced the start of our new company on March 18, 2020,” Leonhardt detailed. “It was basically the day everything shut down because of COVID and we were like, ‘Oh, man. What have we done?’”
Julie Leonhardt, Startland
The startup — Vuse — was developed by Leonhardt and Leanna Creel, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, to provide a video and photography solution for real estate agents struggling with their storytelling. With the app, users are guided through shot-by-shot visual real estate listing prompts to create their own affordable, professional sales media.
Click here to learn more about Vuse.
“We knew it could help more than just the company I was working on, and ripple across the industry,” Leonhardt said.
Despite pandemic challenges, the startup proved a good fit for the co-founders — providing them the ability to build the business from opposite coasts: Leonhardt in New Jersey; Creel in L.A.
More than three years later, Leonhardt is now wrapping up her involvement with Vuse, making the move to Startland well-timed, she said. The experience also offers her additional insight into Startland’s work and potential, Leonhardt continued.
“Being a woman coming out of the tech startup space, it’s really obvious to me that if you only define ‘entrepreneur’ in rigid terms, you’re only going to get a very narrow slice of the story,” she said.
Matthew Mellor and Julie Leonhardt at the 2023 Startup Crawl in June; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
One of Leonhardt’s first forays into the local startup scene was attending Startland News’ Startup Crawl June 9 at Power & Light — an evening she said served as a welcome discovery event for her and other attendees on the Crawl.
RELATED: Rebooted Startup Crawl reconnects entrepreneurs with a curious Kansas City (Photos)
“Showing someone that there’s another way is the first step in lighting a fire for a lot of young people — or even adults — who don’t yet see the options out there,” Leonhardt continued, noting the range of demographics Startland seeks to reach through its work; across social and economic to geographic backgrounds. “It’s interesting that we see a lot of similarities between rural and urban communities, for example, when it comes to a lack of exposure to entrepreneurship, so it’s important to look at all the gaps that exist.”
‘Feels like home’
Leonhardt officially relocated to Kansas City in 2022, ahead of her mid-summer 2023 wedding to a hometown Kansas Citian. The two met in their 20s, went their separate ways, then reconnected a few years ago when Leonhardt came to Kansas City to open a local Sotheby’s office.
“I guess love brought me to Kansas City, and I’m glad to be here,” she said.
But moving to the center of the country to be with her soon-to-be-wife wasn’t Leonhardt’s first experience living in Kansas City.
Julie Leonhardt, Startland
She stayed in the City of Fountains for a year in her early 20s on her way from L.A. to New York, working for a youth organization, she said.
“Kansas City was the easternmost city I’d ever been in,” the Southern California native recalled. “Having grown up on the West Coast, it felt like much more of an eastern city than a western one. That was really exciting to me, and really helped to push me further east.”
Then, as now, Leonhardt was struck by Kansas City’s racial divide, she said, noting she perceives only incremental progress has been made since her previous stay. Still, the city is making obvious efforts to become more accessible across the board, Leonhardt added.
“Kansas City has a lot of newness to it now — in terms of sports and new development. It feels intentional and really helps to make the city a leader in the middle of the country,” she said. “It’s hard to be the cool city in between the coasts. And that takes Kansas City’s sophistication and innovation.”
Startland is already doing amazing work to keep that ball rolling, Leonhardt said, noting she’s looking forward to helping the news and education teams create even greater impact.
“When I learned about Startland, I got really excited about the opportunity for me personally to be more grounded in the community; to stop traveling, dig in, grow my roots deeper,” she said. “I’ve gone from a corporate executive for a global company to a startup entrepreneur, and now I’m moving into a career that really feels like home.”
C2FO, a Leawood-based, global financial services company that provides cost-effective access to working capital — bringing fairness, transparency and, above all, opportunity to the world’s growing businesses. C2FO believes that when every business has a fair chance to thrive, we all benefit.
