Charlotte A. Clark

I am on a mission to energize and strengthen startup ecosystems through knowledge, collaboration and foundational programming.

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Early Career: 2014 - 2020
In 2014, after graduating MIT with a Computer Science degree, Charlotte relocated to Kansas City to work as a software engineer at a large healthcare technology company.In 2018, Charlotte became inspired by entrepreneurs in her community and started to learn more about client-facing work, including consulting and product management. In 2020, she decided to use her passion for product by starting a consulting business.

Startup Founder Support: 2020 - 2021
In July 2020, Charlotte launched a consulting company focused on helping non-technical founders build their MVPs. Most of that time was spent meeting 1:1 with founders and learning more about their pain points and providing advice.
In November 2020, Charlotte transitioned away from software engineering, by getting a job as a CTO for an early-stage HealthTech startup. For a few months, Charlotte worked with the founders to create functional & technical documents in preparation for the MVP build. In July 2021, the startup went into fundraising mode, which opened her up to new part-time opportunities.

Community & Ecosystem Builder: July 2021 - Present
In August, Charlotte worked as a program manager for a KC-based accelerator that focused on InsurTech startups. This role allowed her to learn more about the supportive resources in KC for startups.In November, Charlotte started work as a contractor within the UMKC Innovation Center, working alongside the Technology Venture Studio department, with her focus on identifying twenty founders for the Comeback KC Ventures Program, a 24-month initiative funded by the EDA. In partnership with KC Digital Drive, Charlotte and Tech Venture Studio worked with founders building scalable tech companies that stemmed out of pandemic-related problems.When the program wrapped up in April, her work pivoted into product development services for founders in and out of the Tech Venture Studio community. Which includes teaching a Product Development Sprint and providing dedicated office hours.

2023 and Beyond
Although Charlotte's career so far has been enmeshed in technical products and business strategy, her future vision has shifted to identifying strategic initiatives and operationalizing the efforts to benefit local entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Charlotte has learned so much from founders and startup support organizations in the last three years. The more she learns, the move she believes that her skills and passions can be leveraged to make a strong and lasting impact on entrepreneurs and their communities.