The Porter House KC

What The Porter House KC does

The Porter House KC is a Kansas City-based nonprofit entrepreneurship support organization (ESO) founded in 2017 by Daniel Smith and Charon Thompson to serve underrepresented entrepreneurs — particularly women-owned, Black-owned, and minority-owned businesses disproportionately impacted by the 2020 pandemic — in the Kansas City urban core. The organization delivers three core programs: a 15-week Small Business Development Program ($250 per participant) covering entrepreneurial mindset, core business components, and life beyond the classroom; an 811 Retail Incubator at 811 E 31st Street, Kansas City, MO 64109, which leases eight retail pods (seven at $300/month and one Pod+ at $400/month) to early-stage main-street retail entrepreneurs alongside shared productivity hubs, coffee bar, storage, and high-speed internet; and a newly launched 6-week Retail Ready Bootcamp ($350 per participant, capped at 20) focused on category management, retail packaging, supply chain, and e-commerce readiness for shelf placement at major retailers.

The organization runs no proprietary technology platform; delivery relies on in-person instruction at the 811 E 31st Street hub, online application/survey forms hosted at joinsourcelink.com, and a WordPress-based website with annual Impact Reports (2022, 2023, 2024) as the primary content-marketing instrument. Revenue is generated from participant tuition, monthly pod leases, and philanthropic grants — most notably a $175,000 award from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation in October 2021. GTM is community-led and direct-to-consumer: cohort-based application cycles recruit via Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, phone, and referral, with alumni testimonials anchoring credibility. The leadership team comprises co-founders Daniel Smith and Charon Thompson, Director of Operations Miranda Schultz, and Lead Facilitator James Bryant, with total headcount in the 1-10 range.

Name

The Porter House KC

Legal name

The Porter House KC

Website

https://theporterhousekc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Porter House KC is a Kansas City nonprofit founded in 2017 that delivers entrepreneurship education, mentorship, and a physical retail incubator to underrepresented small business owners in the urban core through cohort-based programs and shared retail pods.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entrepreneurship Support Services

NAICS

Business and Secretarial Schools (611410), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Computer Training (611420)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship & Small Business Workforce Programs (EDAAAOAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC), Financial Literacy, Budgeting & Personal Finance (EDAMAHAE), Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB), Career Exploration & Industry Exposure (Guest Speakers, Company Visits) (EDAMAHAJ)

Keywords

• Entrepreneurship education programs
• Small business development
• Retail incubator space
• Business mentorship services
• Community-driven coworking

Headquarters

HQ city

Kansas City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Small Business Development Program tuition: Tuition-based program fee of $250 per participant for the 15-week cohort program; cohort-based intake with limited participant capacity.
2. Retail Ready Bootcamp tuition: Tuition-based program fee of $350 per participant for the 6-week intensive retail-focused cohort; limited to 20 participants per cohort.
3. 811 Retail Incubator lease revenue: Monthly lease income from retail pods in the incubator: $300/month per 5x6 pod and $400/month for the larger 5x12 Pod+, with short-term leases targeted at early-stage retail entrepreneurs.
4. Grants and philanthropic funding: Nonprofit funding model supplemented by philanthropic grants (e.g., $175,000 from JPMorgan Chase Foundation in 2021) to scale operations and programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Porter House KC delivers cohort-based entrepreneurship education and a physical retail incubation facility to underrepresented entrepreneurs in Kansas City's urban core. Its core offerings include a 15-week Small Business Development Program, a 6-week Retail Ready Bootcamp, and the 811 Retail Incubator providing eight short-term leased retail pods with shared infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 811 Retail Incubator: Retail-focused incubator program located at 811 E 31st Street, Kansas City, MO, providing low-lease short-term retail pods and shared resources to early-stage 'main street' retail entrepreneurs.
• 811 Retail
• Small Business Development Program
• Retail Ready Bootcamp Program

Products and services

• Small Business Development Program A 15-week in-person cohort-based program with three parts (Foundations, The Core, Really Real) designed for existing product- and service-based small businesses 6 months to 3 years old seeking to overcome stalled growth and expand operations. Priced at $250 per participant.
• 811 Retail Incubator A physical retail incubator offering eight short-term leased retail pods (seven 5x6 pods at $300/month and one 5x12 Pod+ at $400/month) with shared amenities including productivity hubs, coffee bar, high-speed internet, storage, and digital displays for early-stage main-street retail entrepreneurs in Kansas City's urban core.
• Retail Ready Bootcamp Program A 6-week intensive retail-focused cohort program covering nine critical retail skills including Category Management, Quality & Compliance, Pricing & Financial Modeling, Retail Packaging, Consumer & Trade Marketing, Supply Chain Management, Selling to Major Retailers, Ongoing Sales Management, and E-Commerce Mastery. Priced at $350 per participant with cohort limited to 20.

Quantifiable outcome

• $175,000 grant from JPMorgan Chase Foundation in 2021 enabled Porter House KC to scale its operations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Lillian James CreativeminorOthersWebsite designed by Lillian James Creative; a vendor relationship rather than a strategic alliance. Lillian James Creative delivered the Porter House KC website (footer attribution: 'Website designed by Lillian James Creative').
• Sourcelink (joinsourcelink.com)coreTechnology or IntegrationSourcelink powers the online application/survey forms used by The Porter House KC to collect applications for the Small Business Development Program, Retail Ready Bootcamp, and 811 Retail Incubator (e.g., my.joinsourcelink.com survey URLs embedded across the site).
• University of Kansas School of BusinessminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-Founder Daniel Smith is also a Professor at the University of Kansas School of Business, providing an academic affiliation that supports strategic leadership and potential programmatic collaboration for The Porter House KC.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• SCORE: National nonprofit providing free mentorship and education to small businesses; broader in geographic scope but directly comparable in the mentorship/education model that PHKC's Small Business Development Program delivers at the local level.
• Missouri Small Business Development Centers (SBDC): SBA-affiliated statewide network providing no-cost business advising and education to small businesses; directly comparable in the small-business training and advising mission but operating as a publicly funded incumbent across Missouri.
• ICIC (Initiative for a Competitive Inner City): National nonprofit focused on economic development in under-resourced urban communities, including inner-city small business support; comparable urban-core revitalization thesis but operating at a broader research/policy and capital-allocation level.
• Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation: Kansas City-based national philanthropy focused on entrepreneurship and education, including support for underrepresented founders; comparable KC-rooted mission and funder role for the same entrepreneurial-ecosystem targets PHKC serves.

Direct peers

• Bunker Labs: Nonprofit supporting veteran and military-spouse entrepreneurs through community, education, and access to capital; comparable 'for-us-by-us' underserved-entrepreneur model with cohort-based programming and an entrepreneurship support mission.
• Start Small Think Big: Nonprofit providing free business education, mentorship, and resources to underrepresented entrepreneurs; directly comparable mission (serving women and minority-owned businesses excluded from mainstream funding) and similar program-based delivery model.
• Grameen America: Nonprofit microfinance organization providing small-dollar loans, financial education, and peer support to women entrepreneurs in underserved U.S. communities; closely comparable target demographic (women-owned, minority-owned micro-businesses) and place-based delivery.
• KC Source Link: Kansas City-based entrepreneurship support organization also focused on connecting local small businesses to resources; PHKC uses its Sourcelink survey platform for applications, evidencing close ecosystem overlap in the KC ESO community.
• AltCap: Kansas City community development financial institution (CDFI) supporting underserved entrepreneurs with capital and technical assistance; PHKC homepage features an Alt-Cap endorsement, indicating overlapping target market and mission in KC urban-core small business support.
• KC Startup Foundation: Kansas City-based nonprofit supporting early-stage and minority entrepreneurs through education and resource access; directly comparable regional ESO with a similar underrepresented-entrepreneur mandate cited in PHKC testimonials.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ThePorterHouseKC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-porter-house-kc
• Instagraminstagram.com/theporterhousekc
• Xx.com/porterhousekc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Porter House KC