Business growth expert Verne Harnish—the author of “Mastering the Rockefeller Habits” and founder of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization and Gazelles—is launching a new initiative to help high-potential, middle-market companies scale up.

It’s called ScaleUpU, and the first global location of the program will be here in Kansas City. Organizers are looking for companies that currently make $5 million to $50 million in annual revenue and have the potential to achieve 3x or 10x growth—or even hit $1 billion in revenue.

Companies selected for ScaleUpU will pay $5,000 per month for 25 months—$125,000. During that time, they will receive training for the entire firm, one-on-one coaching, access to online resources and admission to an annual three-day learning session.

The first three-day learning session will be held Nov. 15-17 here in Kansas City. The opening session is open to the public and will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 15 at the Kauffman Foundation, 4801 Rockhill Road. While admission is free, reservations are required.

Harvard professor Dr. David Ricketts and sales and marketing expert David Meerman Scott are among the speakers scheduled for the three-day program.

ScaleUpU is similar to the Enterpreneurial Masters Program that Harnish created and still leads at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

ScaleUpU is designed to run for 10 years. Each year, 15 companies will be welcomed into the program. Harnish is planning to expand ScaleUpU to London, Moscow, Helsinki and Raleigh next year.

(ScaleUpU is not affiliated with the ScaleUP! Kansas City program operated by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Innovation Center and the U.S. Small Business Administration.)