How AltCap Your Biz put one of World Cup’s biggest KC small biz winners in the driver’s seat

A $35,000 grand prize helped EZ Pedicabs place its foot on the pedal months before the FIFA World Cup; by the time tens of thousands of visitors arrived, the company was ready with more bikes, more drivers, and the capacity to serve more of downtown Kansas City than ever before, its founders said.

E-Z Pedicabs co-founders Atticus Sloan and Mark Manning pose with Brant Stacy and the AltCap team after winning the 2025 AltCap Your Biz pitch competition during Global Entrepreneurship Week-Kansas City at Union Station; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

EZ Pedicabs’ expansion was powered by a November 2025 win at the AltCap Your Biz competition, which gave the transportation company the resources to grow rapidly as the metro prepared for one of biggest sports events in its history.

With applications set to close Sunday, Aug. 9 for this year’s AltCap small business competition, its most-recent winners serve as an example of what long-term investment in entrepreneurs can achieve, said Brant Stacey, community partnership manager at AltCap.

“It’s not just to take the money and be done with this. They’ve taken that money so much farther,” he said of EZ Pedicabs co-owners Mark Manning and Atticus Sloan. “They’ve built communities around it, built programming around it, built marketing around it. That’s what we’re looking for.”

EZ Pedicabs leaders knew what the investment could mean for the company when Manning and Sloan stood on stage and pitched the company last fall, they said, recognizing they weren’t yet prepared for the opportunity ahead.

“It allowed us to grow in a way we wouldn’t have been able to, at a time when we needed it most,” said Manning. “That growth was absolutely needed for the demand of all the big events that were coming up, in particular the World Cup.”

ICYMI: E-Z Pedicabs expands routes with KC, World Cup visitors along for the ride

Mark Manning and Atticus Sloan pedal onto stage at Union Station’s City Stage to pitch E-Z Pedicabs during the 2025 AltCap Your Biz competition; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

The company entered AltCap’s Your Biz competition twice. Its first appearance earned the Fan Favorite award in 2024, helping fund weatherproof covers that allowed drivers to operate through the winter. The next year, Manning and Sloan returned with a stronger business plan and took home the top prize.

Winning brought more than funding, Sloan added. It also opened the door to coaching, mentorship and relationships that helped shape the company’s next phase of growth.

“It was a blessing altogether,” he said. “Aside from the funding, the coaching, networking, finding resources and learning from others who had been through the program was just as beneficial.”

The team immediately ordered additional pedicabs, knowing the specialty e-bikes would take time to build before the World Cup.

“There’s a building process involved with the bikes, so we put the order in as soon as we got that check,” said Sloan. “We put it to work right away.”

An EZ Pedicabs driver carries visitors to the FIFA Fan Festival down the hill from Liberty Memorial in June; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Growth meets the moment

Once crowds of international and local fans hit the streets this summer, EZ Pedicabs had enough drivers and bikes to operate in multiple parts of downtown simultaneously. The company partnered with Liberty Memorial and FIFA Fan Fest organizers, staffed longer shifts and spent weeks helping visitors navigate one of the busiest periods Kansas City has ever hosted.

“It was incredible,” said Sloan. “We had the ability to staff beforehand, so we were able to put a team together for the extra-long shifts and multiple shifts.”

The expanded fleet allowed the company to serve more riders while also reaching neighborhoods it hadn’t regularly operated.

“The visibility with additional bikes is great for business because two bikes are in one area, two bikes are in another area, and we were able to reach other parts of the city that we hadn’t before,” he Sloan.

The tournament also gave the founders a front-row seat to Kansas City’s biggest international moment. Riders climbed aboard from across the globe, asking where to eat, what to see and how to experience the city beyond the stadiums and Fan Fest.

Atticus Sloan navigates Southwest Boulevard on one of EZ Pedicabs’ electric-assisted pedicab bikes, pointing out local landmarks on a tour of the Crossroads Arts District; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

“We’re really ambassadors,” said Manning. “It’s like a concierge experience. ‘What’s going on? Let me tell you. Let me show you.’”

Instead of simply dropping visitors off, drivers pointed them toward local neighborhoods, helping spread visitors beyond the busiest crowds while introducing them to local restaurants and businesses.

“We’d say, ‘Let me show you some place over off Oak Street or go into the Westside,'” said Manning. “It gave them a chance to explore the city.”

Watching visitors experience Kansas City firsthand became one of the most rewarding parts of the tournament, they said.

“It was very special to see the city’s growth in that way and be growing ourselves along with the city,” said Manning.

The experience also reinforced how the company fits into the city’s growing transportation network.

“We’ve always considered ourselves a support to the KC Streetcar,” said Sloan. “When the streetcar is at capacity or there’s traffic, we can help move people. We can be the east-to-west solution on top of that.”

Ecuador fans jump aboard an EZ Pedicab wrapped with City of Entrepreneurs branding near Union Station; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Persistence pays off

This year’s AtlCap Your Biz competition adds professionally produced pitch videos, a new AltCap-led curriculum and expanded financial coaching designed to help entrepreneurs access capital beyond the competition, while also creating more time for networking and relationship building.

Brant Stacey, community partnership manager at AltCap

“We’re not only teaching people how to be a good pitcher,” said Stacey. “We’re also teaching ways to access capital and making sure business owners know about all of those resources.”

The EZ Pedicabs founders credit that guidance with helping them return to the competition with a stronger business plan and a clearer pitch.

“Our overall presentation was the biggest difference,” said Sloan. “We were able to better explain our business plan, the impact the funding would have, and the financial side of our business.”

“Clarity was definitely the biggest thing we did differently,” said Manning. “Doing it two years in a row helped us better communicate our vision.”

That persistence is exactly what Stacey hopes this year’s applicants will embrace.

“If you keep that determination and perseverance, and you’re willing to take those critiques and learn, you can take this thing,” he said.

Manning urged entrepreneurs to measure their success by the moment, not just whether they’re victorious on stage.

“Even if you don’t win, you still do win,” he said. “You come away with an experience that you wouldn’t get in any other circumstance.”

That same perspective still shapes how the founders define success, they said.

“The best compliment we get is when someone comes back from a match or a concert and says, ‘Oh my gosh, this has been the best part of my night,'” said Manning. “Whenever somebody tells us it’s been their favorite experience of their day, their week or their time in Kansas City, it always feels very special.”