More than two dozen area entrepreneurs gathered Wednesday morning at The Linc wellness center on the Lincoln University campus for the first 1 Million Cups Jefferson City meeting.
Organizers said they hope the organization can provide support to small business owners and prospective entrepreneurs around the Jefferson City area over the next several weeks, months and years. Two entrepreneurs who recently opened new businesses in Jefferson City shared their experiences with the crowd.
Organizer and entrepreneur Chris Harbert told the crowd the purpose of the monthly meetings is to support budding startup, small businesses and tech communities in Jefferson City.
"Entrepreneurs don't have a lot of the support networks of bigger companies," Harbert told the crowd at the beginning of the event. "This isn't about selling your company. This is about talking about how you got here."
Created by the Kaufman Foundation in 2012, 1 Million Cups started with the goal of allowing entrepreneurs to network with each other over coffee. The free sessions typically last one to two hours and are designed to give entrepreneurs feedback about how they can launch startup businesses and improve existing startups.
After its launch, the organization quickly grew from only two chapters in Des Moines and Kansas City to chapters in 145 communities across the country.
Six months ago, Harbert started Testery, which tests websites to make sure they work. His background is in information technology, and he previously worked at Carfax's Columbia office.
Seven local entrepreneurs including Harbert helped organize the Jefferson City chapter. Often, 1 Million Cups meetings focus on tech companies and startups. Harbert said after the event though, the goal in Jefferson City is about developing startups and small businesses in all industries.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be tech focused," Harbert said. "We do have some organizers who are interested in the tech side, but really it's more about just making Jefferson City a better place to live, realizing that startups are an important part of creating a thriving economy."
Since 2013, 1 Million Cups' Columbia chapter has met at the Innovation Hub at 500 E. Walnut St. Many people at Wednesday's event also previously attended meetings at the Columbia chapter.
Harbert said the startup community may be small here, but there's still several people interested in entrepreneurship. The local 1 Million Cups chapter may connect more of those people with each other.
Harbert said startups can thrive in this part of the country. Carfax, which provides vehicle history reports to individuals buying used cars, was created in Columbia in 1984. Zapier, which provides web automation services to individuals and businesses, was founded in Columbia in 2011 and has founders who hail from Jefferson City.
Jefferson City native Alex Vetter co-founded Cars.com, which allows buyers to shop for cars online, in 1997. In June, Cars.com spun off from its former parent TEGNA and went public in an initial public offering that opened at $25.64 per share.
Harbert said the area offers advantages to startups, like the low cost of living, while they're in their earliest days.
"Because we're not Silicon Valley and we're not dripping with venture capital, you look at those companies and what they did because of the cost of living and the nature of online business, you don't have to have a physical presence (to reach customers on the East Coast and West Coast)."
Each 1 Million Cups Jefferson City meeting will from 8:30-10:30 a.m. on the first Wednesday of every month. At least through December, the meetings will be at The Linc.
Two entrepreneurs per month present their idea for six minutes each, with 20 minutes saved for a question-and-answer session.
Damian Bunting, owner of Pyramid Principal Fitness and Development at 120 E. Dunklin St., told the crowd he sees his new gym as a boutique fitness center that fills the need for people looking for an intimate workout in a setting smaller than the YMCA, The Linc or bigger gyms.
Laurel Dunwoody, owner of Love2Nourish at 202 E. High St., sold her dream home to get the capital needed to start her business. Dunwoody moved into a home formerly used as a bakery and lived in a loft in the attic while her meal prep and prepared-home food business grew roots.
In April, Dunwoody moved Love2Nourish from the house at 712 Jefferson St. to its High Street location. Since opening the new location, Dunwoody added a walk-in cooler full of pre-prepared meals for people who wanted to take home pre-prepared meals but hadn't placed orders.
She's also started offering weekly lunch from a menu on select weekdays.
In recent years, businesses like hers became trendy in larger cities. She said Jefferson City was slow to understand the concepts though.
"As a city, we need to think outside the box," Dunwoody said. "We need to think outside the Jeff City box."