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
Show Me Jobs report: Young firms created 44,000 jobs, drove majority of Missouri hiring in 2018
Startups created more than 44,000 jobs in Missouri in 2018, accounting for nearly 80 percent of all new jobs in the state, according to a new report from MOSourceLink. The Show Me Jobs report is a broader version of a similar report focused on the Kansas City market. MOSourceLink, a nonprofit resource provider for entrepreneurs…
Techstars Kansas City returning in 2020, fully funded by globe-spanning seed accelerator
Techstars believes in Kansas City’s potential because of its proven track record, said Lesa Mitchell, announcing the 2020 return of the seed accelerator to the City of Fountains following a brief hiatus. “I am the luckiest person on the face of the Earth because I’m again going to run what we call a horizontal program,…
Party for the payoff: Fountain City Fintech sets Oct. 15 demo day, KC celebration
Kansas City’s ongoing fintech momentum deserves more than a nod from analysts and trend watchers, said Zach Pettet, announcing plans for an Oct. 15 demo day that’s already taking shape as a community celebration. “We need an excuse to rally together and celebrate everything that’s happened over the past few months — especially in the…
Renewed Kauffman support expected to fuel ECJC’s ‘Pitch Perfect’ through 2021
Hungry entrepreneurs could be the leading reason behind the return of Pitch Perfect bootcamp at the Enterprise Center in Johnson County. “[We heard from the community that] it was one of the best programs in the city for [early-stage founders],” Kathryn Golden, ECJC programs manager, said of a growing appetite for resources provided by the…