Critical hire: Founder-turned-VC scout joins Technology Venture Studio as senior director
October 6, 2026 | Startland News Staff
Kela Ivonye, Technology Venture Studio; photo courtesy of UMKC Innovation Center
Kela Ivonye’s arrival at UMKC’s Technology Venture Studio couldn’t have come at a better time, said Maria Meyers, touting the award-winning startup founder’s lived experience as a tech leader, venture scout and ecosystem builder.
“Kela brings such depth and understanding of the industry and this is an exciting time in Kansas City as we see growth in digital healthcare, continued momentum with Digital Sandbox KC, and the Critical Materials Crossroads,” said Meyers, executive director of UMKC Innovation Center, which houses Technology Venture Studio. “Kela is going to help our entrepreneurs achieve great things.”
Ivonye joins the Technology Venture Studio team as its senior director — a position focused on helping local entrepreneurs excel and potentially receive funding.
“Entrepreneurship is life-changing work. It makes me excited to do this work,” said Ivonye. ”UMKC’s Technology Venture Studio brings together the areas where I’ve spent the last decade: venture creation, commercialization, founder development, university innovation and ecosystem partnerships.”
Click here to learn more about Ivonye’s background in innovation.
“I’m excited to help researchers, students and entrepreneurs turn promising technologies into successful ventures here in Kansas City,” he continued.
Ivonye is a two-time Vogt Award winner and SXSW Pitch Competition winner, and has served as a judge for the Vogt Awards and UofL’s Cardinal Challenge. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Geography from the University of Louisville.
During his time as special projects manager and Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Louisville, Ivonye designed and launched the university’s first student-only startup pre-accelerator and helped distribute more than $1.5 million in grant funding through a commercialization grant.
The founders he has supported have gone on to raise more than $55 million in follow-on funding. Ivonye has also facilitated more than $40 million in capital introductions and helped ventures advance to Y Combinator, Techstars, the ACC InVenture Prize and Kentucky’s Governor’s Cup.
“When mankind first made fire, when they first developed the wheel, it set humans on a positive trajectory toward abundance. Creation is one of the highest acts of people,” Ivonye said in a UMKC profile piece. “My motivation is helping people find that opportunity, to make something, to have more people creating which changes lives and leads to a better world.”
RELATED: Digital Sandbox KC awards $160K+ to eight emerging tech startups
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