Pipeline Inc. has opened the door not only for its well-respected fellowship program, but also to a new pilot program for underserved entrepreneurs.
The Kansas City, Kansas-based entrepreneurial fellowship organization is launching Pipeline Pathway, which will cover similar topics to the traditional Pipeline fellowship, but the majority of its programming will take place virtually in the evenings.
Pipeline Pathway is designed exclusively for underserved entrepreneurs who identify as a woman or minority, or are leading a business in a rural community.
To be in the regular Pipeline program, entrepreneurs need to be working on their companies full time and can't have a second job.
"By the very nature of that, there's an uneven playing field because not everyone has the ability to financially say, 'I'm not going to do both,'" Executive Director Melissa Vincent told the Kansas City Business Journal in April. "We need to make it to where there's an easier path, or we're helping people get an even playing field where they can be in their startup full time."
Pipeline Pathway doesn't require entrepreneurs to be working on their startup full time. However, their plan should be to transition to full time in the next one to two years, Vincent told KCBJ. Candidates also need to have a startup positioned for high growth, not a lifestyle business.
The new program aims to help entrepreneurs transform their part-time business into a full-time job, which makes them eligible to apply for the traditional Pipeline fellowship program.
"Our motivation is to help us get more people who would make amazing entrepreneurs with Pipeline," she said. "As Pipeline focuses on serial entrepreneurs, we would love to see entrepreneurs who want to build, scale and grow or exit their companies in the future and reinvest back into their communities in the Midwest."
Applications for both programs are open now and will close on Oct. 27. (Click here to learn more about the programs and the application process.)
Interviews will take place in November and December. Both programs will start with an orientation on Jan. 26 and be followed by four modules at various dates throughout 2022. For these classes, Pipeline's annual capstone event, The Innovators Gala, is scheduled to take place in 2023 on either April 29 or May 20.
The Pipeline Fellowship's current 2021 class consists of 13 entrepreneurs, including six from the Kansas City area. The organization accepts applications from individuals who reside or have their principal place of business in the states of Kansas or Nebraska, the Kansas City area (including the Missouri side of the metro) and those in St. Louis.
To date, more than 160 entrepreneurs have graduated from the yearlong business development program, which includes workshops, mentorship and networking among Pipeline members.
