Brad Feld contest offering a startup free rent in KC
July 7, 2015 | Bobby Burch
A prominent venture capitalist is launching an international competition in Kansas City that will offer a startup free office space in one of the area’s tech hotbeds.
Brad Feld’s ‘FiberHouse’
Brad Feld, co-founder of the Boulder-based Foundry Group, kicked off a contest Tuesday that will allow a startup to live in his Kansas City, Kan., home for one-year rent-free. Feld — who’s also co-founder of Techstars, which operates the Kansas City-based Sprint Accelerator — purchased the home in 2013 as Google Fiber first deployed its gigabit network in the area.
Feld said that the aim of the competition is to foster more innovation in Kansas City.
“I’m a huge believer that you can build startup communities anywhere,” Feld told Startland News. “I have a long relationship with Kansas City around entrepreneurship as a result of my work with the Kauffman Foundation going back to the mid-1990s. … (Kansas City) is growing and developing nicely.”
Applications to the competition are now open to companies from around the world, Feld said. Tenants are responsible for utilities at the home, however, Feld will cover the cost of Google Fiber’s connection. Feld said he will also offer mentoring to the startup that wins the competition.
Already two companies have lived in Feld’s so-called “FiberHouse” rent free, including Kansas City-based Leap.it and 3-D printing company Handprint. The house is a part of the Kansas City Startup Village, a community of entrepreneurs that serendipitously formed after Google’s installation of its fiber network.
Feld said the idea of purchasing the home came about when he bumped into Ben Barreth, founder and owner of Kansas City’s Home for Hackers program.
“I ran into Ben Barreth at the ‘Thinc Iowa’ conference and he breathlessly told me about what he was doing in Kansas City around Google Fiber and the Kansas City Startup Village,” Feld said. “I loved the idea and figured I’d participate in the KC Startup Community by buying a house in the KCSV and giving it rent free for startups.”
Applications for the contest will be accepted through Aug. 30, at which point a panel of judges will review the pool of applicants and narrow the field to five finalists.
Featured Business
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Chronic Cow uses big data to attack pain: ‘I can still live a good life,’ founder with MS says
Half of all Americans have a chronic illness, said former TeraCrunch co-founder Dr. Kevin Payne. That somber reality, paired with uninvolved physicians, makes quality of life difficult for patients and the focus of Payne’s new venture, Chronic Cow, he said. “From a medical perspective, all I can do as a patient is what my physicians…
Mommy Meals designs simple dinner kits for delivery to new moms
KC-cooked startup Mommy Meals aims to serve impact — not just dinner — attempting to tackle a growing mental health experience one hot plate at a time, said its co-founders. “I truly believe if you’re in a tough spot — you’re down on your luck, you’re in a dark spot — I always tell people ‘Go…
FlipSwitch VR visualizes scaling its active, multiplayer gaming concept from Crossroads
Kansas City could be the virtual reality hub of America, said Michael Eichenseer, predicting Crossroads-located FlipSwitch VR will jumpstart the movement with the help of First Fridays foot traffic. “The owners [KC natives Jim and Jamie Mahoney] definitely want to expand,” said Eichenseer, host and marketing manager for the “epic scale, free-roam, multiplayer virtual reality”…
PHOTOS: Startland’s biggest event yet celebrates 2019 future newsmakers
Founders, investors and audience members were treated to a glimpse of their potential futures Thursday night during Startland’s Startups to Watch in 2019 celebration. The premier event — presented at the Copaken Stage by Kansas City-grown and headquartered H&R Block — showcased 12 companies featured on Startland’s recent list of the most anticipated newsmakers for…