X-celerate growth.

Co-Founder, CEO

Melea is an entrepreneur, marketing strategist, business connector and adjunct professor with 30 years of experience elevating brands, amplifying missions and fueling business growth for B2B and B2C clients.

In 2016, Melea made the entrepreneurial leap and founded Crux KC, a fast-growing WBE headquartered in KC. Known as the “un-agency,” Crux is a full-funnel outsourced marketing solution customized for organizations of all shapes, sizes and verticals, combining the expertise of fractional CMOs who build the marketing strategy with a deep bench of experts in each marketing discipline to deliver on that strategy. She co-founded Crux-Xcelerate in 2019, focused on sales coaching and development, aligning sales with marketing to positively impact revenue growth.

Co-Founder, Advisor

As co-founder and advisor to Crux-Xcelerate, Rick Kahle brings 30 years of sales, consulting and leadership experience to benefit clients.

The first 27 years of Rick’s career were spent in executive sales and leadership positions in the commercial insurance brokerage and consulting industries—initially with the Kansas City office of Gallagher, then for nearly 15 years with Lockton Kansas City. His primary responsibilities included growing his own book of business (20%+ average/year), organically growing local office revenue (14%+ average/year) and collaborating with national peer leaders to grow the national practice (13%+ average/year).