As Kauffman FastTrac celebrated its 20th anniversary on Tuesday, organization president Alana Muller reminded the audience of FastTrac’s “origin story.”
“It was a snowy day in 1993 when Mr. Kauffman brought FastTrac to Kansas City,” Muller told a crowd at The Roasterie. The organization, which provides entrepreneurial training to new entrepreneurs around the world, hosted a networking event in honor of Global Entrepreneurship Week.
More than nine inches of snow fell in Kansas City the day before FastTrac’s kickoff event—enough that organizers asked Ewing Marion Kauffman if we wanted to cancel. No, he said, because he was sure that people were going to turn out despite the bad weather.
And he was right. About 900 aspiring entrepreneurs braved the bad weather. Since then, FastTrac has helped more than 300,000 people.
The venue was very appropriate for the 20th anniversary celebration. The Roasterie’s founder, Danny O’Neill, was one of the first people to participate in FastTrac training.
For more about Kauffman FastTrac, visit the organization’s website.
Learn more about Global Entrepreneurship Week at www.kcsourcelink.com/gew-kc.
