And then there was one: Blooom the sole local firm left in national pitch contest
November 17, 2015 | Bobby Burch
Financial tech startup Blooom is the lone Kansas City-area company to advance in the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s “One in a Million” pitch competition
Out of an initial field of more than 350 companies, the Leawood-based firm advanced to the final round of five in the foundation’s pitch contest. The competition, which will conclude the morning of Nov. 18 during Global Entrepreneurship Week, will award $10,000 to one startup that previously participated in the foundation’s 1 Million Cups program.
The other four startups to advance in the contest are: SwineTech of New Sharon, Iowa; Upsie of Minneapolis, Minn.; DryBox of San Antonio, Texas; and My Solar of Los Angeles, California. Two other Kansas City-area companies — Idle Smart and AEGLE Palette — failed to advance to the final round of five.
A star-studded lineup of businesspeople from around the nation will be judging Blooom and the other four startups. Judges in the competition’s final round of five startups are: Marcelo Claure, CEO of Sprint; Nicole Glaros, chief product officer of Techstars; and Paul Kedrosky, managing partner of SK Ventures.
Kansas City Mayor Sly James will present the first-place team the grand prize of $10,000, while second- and third-place winners will receive $5,000 and $1,000, respectively.
The Kauffman Foundation will be providing a live stream of the competition 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Featured Business
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
TEDxKC speaker Shantanu Bala: Tech moves communication beyond words
Editor’s note: Startland News is exploring a few of the most impactful quotes from speakers at Friday’s TEDxKC event at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. “The blind cannot only lead the blind, but lead any of us who can see to experiences that we’ve never seen before.” — Shantanu Bala Think about the…
TEDxKC speaker Robert Hernandez: Future of fake is already upon us
Editor’s note: Startland News is exploring a few of the most impactful quotes from speakers at Friday’s TEDxKC event at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. “We can be persuaded by what we see, even though we know it’s fake.” — Robert Hernandez Prepare for disruption like you’ve never seen before, Robert Hernandez warned media…
TEDxKC speaker Cathi Hanauer: Hope starts with working marriage reality
Editor’s note: Startland News is exploring a few of the most impactful quotes from speakers at Friday’s TEDxKC event at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. “Break the rules from your parents’ generation. Your father kept an immaculate garage. Your mother made a home-cooked meal every night. But in your family, with two full-time…
TEDxKC speaker Louis Rosenberg: Hive mind key to battling alien threat
Editor’s note: Startland News is exploring a few of the most impactful quotes from speakers at Friday’s TEDxKC event at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. “Here we are: the most intelligent species on the Earth. Congratulations. Unfortunately, things are about to change.” — Louis Rosenberg An alien intelligence is headed toward humanity at…