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 fractional CTO. 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: August 2021 - February 2024
In August, Charlotte worked as a program manager for an InsurTech accelerator, which allowed her to learn more about the KC-based supportive startup resources in KC.In November, Charlotte started work as a contractor alongside Technology Venture Studio, a department of the UMKC Innovation Center, an entrepreneurial support organization (ESO). Charlotte initially helped with 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 2023, her work pivoted into product development services for founders in and out of the Tech Venture Studio community.

Economic Development Fellow: March 2024 - Present
At the end of 2023, Charlotte was selected as one of 65 Fellows participating in the Economic Recovery Corps (ERC) program, funded by the EDA and in partnership with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and other national economic development organizationsThe 2.5 year fellowship has started with Charlotte relocating to Baltimore, MD and collaborating on a project focused on amplifying the work of the BASE Network, a collaboration of ESOs that work to support BIPOC-owned micro-businesses in Baltimore City.