10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2022

Innovation in Kansas City knows no age or industry. From pre-seed stage startups to firms with dozens of employees, the leading edge of tech in the Heartland has taken root — and grown in unexpected forms.

The future newsmakers showcased as part of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2022 list each are focused on making lives easier — for small business owners, corporations, friends, pet lovers and even livestock. They’re bridging the worlds of on-demand services and niche industry solutions, urban living and the animal health corridor.

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Jan 20

An in-depth interview special with the Startups to Watch founders will stream online Jan. 20 in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Spark Kansas City, KC BizCare, Evergy Ventures, Husch Blackwell and Bank of America. 

Click here for access to the online broadcast.

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Nearly two years after a global pandemic rocked every vertical in every industry, as supply chain challenges linger, and consumers, investors and partners evolve — these companies are poised to make some of the new year’s biggest headlines.

Choosing only 10 companies to highlight wasn’t easy. If an ongoing pandemic has shown us anything, it’s that tenacity and perseverance have never been stronger in Kansas City. As always with this annual look ahead — now in its seventh year — the final result isn’t a declaration of the “best of the best.” The Startups to Watch list is intended to pointedly represent the momentum the Startland News editorial team sees in the newsmakers we cover every day.

The 2022 list was compiled through more than six months of on-going research and countless (in-person and virtual) conversations with community experts, funders and support organizations. Ultimately, curation of the list relied heavily on the honesty, openness and track record of founders. 

The Startland News editorial team culled about 35 semi-finalists from nearly 300 nominations and newsroom-generated leads, narrowed that list to 20, and finally to the selected Startups to Watch class of 2022. We’re confident these founders and companies will be shaping the narrative of Kansas City’s tech and innovation progress and strength in the year to come.

Keep scrolling to discover Startland News’ 10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2022, listed in alphabetical order. 

Click here to check out Startland News’ 2021 list, or look back at our original predictions in 2016, 2017,  2018, 2019, and 2020.

The Kansas City Startups Watch in 2022 list is made possible by presenting sponsors Husch Blackwell and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, though independently produced by Startland News.

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Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2022

• Founders: Sarah-Allen Preston, Laura McKnight, Olivia Lynn
• Founding year: 2020
• Current employee count: 7
• Amount raised to date: Undisclosed 
• Noteworthy investors: Undisclosed
• Programs completed: Techstars Kansas City

Click here for a full profile on afloat.

Sarah-Allen Preston, afloat

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• Founders: Luke Lim, Andrew Potter 
• Founding year: 2017
• Current employee count: 13
• Amount raised to date: Just over $1.7 million
• Noteworthy investors: Crux Collective, Accelerate Venture Partners, Wichita Technology Ventures Capital Multiplier Fund, Kansas Angel Tax Credit Program
• Programs completed: Pipeline Entrepreneurs, programming offered by Accelerate Venture Partners

Click here for a full profile on Approach.

Luke Lim and Andrew Potter, Approach

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• Founder: Jonaie Johnson
• Founding year: 2019
• Current employee count: 1
• Amount raised to date: $60,000
• Noteworthy investors: Digital Sandbox KC, bootstrapped
• Programs completed: AfroTech Young Founders pitch competition, Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization pitch competition, Center for Black Innovation accelerator

Click here for a full profile on Interplay.

Jonaie Johnson, Interplay

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• Founders: Heidi Lehmann, Nora Levinson
• Founding year: 2016
• Current employee count: 15
• Amount raised to date: $4.3 million
• Noteworthy investors: Digitalis Ventures, Royal Street Ventures, Working Capital Fund, Manifold Group, Signal Peak VC, Sofia Fund, KCRise Fund, Examinetics
• Programs completed: Plug and Play Topeka, Plug and Play Japan

Click here for a full profile on Kenzen.

Heidi Lehmann, Kenzen

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• Founders: Bo Lais, Will Parrish
• Founding year: 2016 (went to market in 2017)
• Current employee count: 11
• Amount raised to date: Just under $1.2 million
• Noteworthy investors: Undisclosed
• Programs completed: Pitch Perfect at the Enterprise Center in Johnson County, Pipeline Entrepreneurs, programming offered by KC Collective

Click here for a full profile on Lula.

Bo Lais, Lula

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• Founder: Shekhar Gupta
• Founding year: 2021 
• Current employee count: 5
• Amount raised to date: Undisclosed
• Noteworthy investors: Harry Campbell, Nathan Leiker, Juan Ramos
• Programs completed: Techstars Kansas City

Click here for a full profile on MyAnIML.

Shekhar Gupta, MyAnIML

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• Founder: David Biga
• Founding year: 2015 
• Current employee count: 5
• Amount raised to date: $650,000
• Noteworthy investors: Undisclosed angel investors
• Programs completed: Pitch Perfect at the Enterprise Center in Johnson County, Digital Sandbox KC, ELEVATIONLAB programming with the Missouri Small Business Development Center at the University of Missouri-Kansas City

Click here for a full profile on Particle Space.

David Biga, Particle Space

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• Founders: Wyatt Cobb
• Founding year: 2017 
• Current employee count: 15
• Amount raised to date: Just under $10 million
• Noteworthy investors: Senior Execs at RBC, IBM, CrowdStrike
• Programs completed: Global Alliance Partner to Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, Dell, ISO 27001 self-certified, DoD accredited CMMC Registered Provider Organization

Click here for a full profile on SOFTwarfare.

Wyatt Cobb, SOFTwarfare

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• Founders: Juaquan Herron, Rodney McDuffie
• Founding year: 2020
• Current employee count: 5 (3 independent contractors)
• Amount raised to date: $36,000 (grant programs)
• Programs completed: Venture Noire Accelerator, Pure Pitch Rally (bootcamp and pitch competition), Goodie Nation, Canadian Wealth Startup Pitch Competition, Spark Tank Pitch, Digital Sandbox KC

Click here for a full profile on Venboo.

Juaquan Herron, Venboo

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• Founders: Chris Hoke, Jeff Rice, Brian Kellogg
• Founding year: 2015
• Current employee count: 50
• Amount raised to date: $6 million
• Noteworthy investors: Matt Watson (VinSolutions), Cypress Capital, locals Bob Green (Backlot Cars) and John Mitchell

Click here for a full profile on VinCue.

Danny Zaslavsky and Chris Hoke, VinCue

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Check out previous lists of Kansas City Startups to Watch

• 2021
• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016