ScaleUP! Kansas City, an elite, transformative — and free — four-month program that teaches driven small business owners how to propel their company to the next level of success, seeks entrepreneurs who are ready to grow and scale their operations. This intensive class for Kansas City entrepreneurs teaches established small business owners how to strategize and manage growth, forecast revenue and expenses, retain quality employees and more. The program targets…

Marketing agency Sullivan Higdon & Sink announced it will move from the Crossroads Arts District to Westport in November 2019. “We’ve outgrown our space,” said Ali Mahaffy, SHS co-CEO. “But calling an iconic Kansas City neighborhood home was important to everyone in the agency. Westport’s unique personality and convenience make the area a perfect fit for us.” The firm has grown from 87 employees in 2015 to 124 in 2018…

Seasoned Kansas City investors have started a new venture capital firm to meet an underserved need in the startup ecosystem. Target Hill Capital focuses on early-stage funding for entrepreneurial companies past the “friends and family” stage — typically $50,000 to $100,000, but not yet ready for seed funding ($1 million or more). “We are interested in companies with products or services that are ready to fill a need in the…

A packaging and display company based in Lee’s Summit has expanded its digital printing capabilities. Two years ago, Bennett Packaging of Kansas City Inc. invested in the first large-format, single-pass, direct-to-corrugate digital printer in North America. This year, it installed its second Barberan Jetmaster digital press. Over the past two and a half years, the company reported, Bennett clients have benefitted from efficiencies from the digital process, and Bennett has…

A manufacturer based in Kansas City, Kan., received a visit from Gov. Jeff Colyer on Oct. 15 after being named as 2018 Kansas Exporter of the Year. Schroer Manufacturing, doing business as Shor-Line, manufactures animal care products including surgery tables, scales, kennel runs and cages. The exporting award recognizes a Kansas business for exceptional international marketing success. “The animal health industry is a major driver of the Kansas economy, and…