1 Million Cups celebrated a milestone this week: It’s been four years since the entrepreneurial meetup opened up the stage to startups here in Kansas City! To mark the occasion, there was a doughnut wall━yes, a doughnut wall━and plenty of coffee to caffeinate all the out-of-town visitors who came in for this week’s event.
This week’s presenters included 21 Reasons to Say Thank You and 2020 Adventures.
21 Reasons to Say Thank You
Owner LaDonna Greiner started her business in Springfield, Mo., after she was laid off from her corporate job of more than a decade. The purpose of her company, 21 Reasons to Say Thank You, is to produce toolkits that help people apply gratefulness in their lives. There are different toolkits for business owners, nonprofit organizations, even for kids. The toolkits come with a series of notecards, a pen, a journal and a guidebook that walks you through how to format a thank-you card.
Greiner shared some statistics about how gratefulness can improve your life, and of those around you. On average, she said, people who practice gratefulness have blood pressure that is 12 percent lower than those who do not, and people who practice gratefulness earn up to 7 percent more annually.
21 Reasons to Say Thank You is still in its early stages, and Greiner shared that one of her struggles has been pinpointing her target audience. She said she’s also looking into expanding the product line to be more marketable for the future.
2020 Adventures
This local company aims to connect international travelers with travel advisers all over the world. Owner Spencer Carlson said he wants to be like the Airbnb of international travel.
The company currently connects customers with travel advisers in about 40 countries. Carlson said the company is not really a travel agency, but is a way for travelers to explore off the beaten path in a safer way while abroad.
2020 Adventures’ travel advisers must go through a three-part vetting process that includes an application, a Skype session with Carlson himself so he can confirm the person applying is who they say they are, and a background check of their social media and professional accounts, as well as a look into their reputation as a leader in their community, whether that be via a blog or elsewhere.
Carlson said his biggest challenge will come as the company continues to grow. He’s looking for help using more robust technology to scale up the vetting process of travel advisers.
