Introducing Maker City KC’s newest contributor, Lauren Conaway, founder of InnovateHER KC
When Maker City KC approached me to see if I was interested in writing a monthly article to highlight the makers, doers and dreamers that make Kansas City so great, I got really excited. Passionate individuals who think entrepreneurially have always fascinated and inspired me and getting to tell their stories is a privilege I take very seriously. By delightful happenstance, promoting and elevating the work of awesome people is what I do every day and I love every second of it.
I have been involved in the entrepreneurial community of Kansas City for years, first as an entrepreneur, then as a volunteer and advocate, parlaying that into a position as Director of Operations for Startland and finally, as founder and CEO of InnovateHER KC, a 1700+ member virtual womxn’s leadership community that seeks to amplify the work being done by female, non-binary and female-identifying individuals across the KC area. I think I was tapped for this opportunity because as founder of IHKC, I have a close-up view of so many amazing womxn doing awesome things in our city.
Organizationally, InnovateHER KC membership is wide-ranging and diverse. Our member-leaders are startup founders. Educators. Civic leaders. Creatives. Community activists. They work for small businesses, large corporations, non-profits and everything in between - you name it, and we probably call them innovatehers. Their one unifying trait? They believe that radical, positive change is possible in their communities at the macro and micro levels - and they aren’t afraid to take the lead to enact change.
Our mission is to help our members become better leaders through meaningful connections, a supportive community and professional development and we do this through networking events, mentorship, championship and leadership instruction.
We create tools like the KC Diverse Speaker Directory, the IHKC Holiday Gift Guide and the Womxn-Led Business Directory so we can easily promote our members. Each week, through The InnovateHER Podcast and our member social media spotlights every Sunday, we tell the stories of womxn changemakers and through our Sunday Member Spotlights on social media. Our virtual community is active and engaged; due to the passionate members and our in-person meet-ups are just as fun and inspiring. We’ve even partnered with Plexpod to offer a beautiful physical space for collisions and collaboration to happen through InnovateHER KC @ Plexpod. We do this all with a priority on “low barrier to entry” so we can welcome as many womxn as possible to our community.
If there’s one thing that my years in the entrepreneurial community have taught me, it’s that Kansas City is full of people who are moving the needle and pushing the envelope. Our city is populated by artists hustling to produce and market their creations, educators finding inventive methods to teach our youth, civic leaders who approach old problems with new methods and founders who identify pain points for customers, citizens and constituents - and then solve them. Ensuring that womxn achieve in all of these areas is InnovateHER KC’s highest primary concern, and one I hope you’ll appreciate.
Moving forward, I am honored to help Maker City KC spread the word of these womxn leaders doing incredible things in Kansas City. Each week, I will highlight womxn who are working to transform our community for the better in creative, entrepreneurial ways. These womxn are amazing and it’s an incredible honor to be able to meet them, learn from them and share them with you. I’m so, so grateful and I cannot wait to get started.
This story was originally published January 9, 2020 at 9:37 AM.