A climbing wall gym and a nonprofit to prevent senior thefts at 1 Million Cups

The founder of a climbing wall gym and the founder of a nonprofit to prevent theft from the elderly made presentations at Wednesday’s 1 Million Cups ICT event.

1 Million Cups ICT is a weekly gathering designed to aid entrepreneurs by making contacts in the community and gaining awareness. It meets from 9 to 10 a.m. on Wednesdays. Next week’s event will be at Wichita State University’s Old Town offices, 238 N. Mead.

Bliss Bouldering and Climbing Complex

Founder: David Kortje

Pitch: Bliss, 11114 E. 28th St. North, near K-96 and Greenwich, is a gym almost exclusively devoted to rock climbing, which Kortje describes as building core strength, self-confidence, creativity and community.

Status: It has been open seven months, and he said he is 70 percent of the way to reaching profitability.

Need: More climbers; co-marketing partners.

Contact: www.climbbliss.com

Stop Senior Thefts

Founder: Jeffrey Westeman

Pitch: Westeman is trying to build a nonprofit organization to educate and advise older people and their families on how to avoid scams. He said that one in five seniors is a victim of theft or fraud.

Status: He is paying for his own time, at this point, but is urgently seeking funding to expand the effort.

Need: Funders; legal help.

Contact: www.stopseniorthefts.org

Next week: The next 1 Million Cups ICT will feature Kansas Leadership Center and McCurdy Auction.

This story was originally published July 6, 2016 at 5:55 PM with the headline "A climbing wall gym and a nonprofit to prevent senior thefts at 1 Million Cups."