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
KCultivator Q&A: Lauren Conaway finds passion in womxn-led InnovateHER KC
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The KCultivator Series is sponsored by Plexpod, a progressive coworking platform offering next generation workspace for entrepreneurs, startups, and growth-stage companies of all sizes. Kansas City’s female entrepreneurs are begging for the opportunity to champion each…
Forget the war on drugs — Marijuana is a war on chronic pain, says founder in ProjectUK cohort
Don’t look at marijuana through a societal lens, said Jessica Sanders. Instead view the natural substance as a potential life-saving measure. “My mother had multiple sclerosis and seeing her suffer really changed a lot about me,” explained Sanders, founder of Lisa’s Gifts — a high-quality THC extraction facility named after Sanders’ mom, expected to provide and…
We Grow KC investment summit aims to harness opportunity zones to empower neighborhood social fabric
Investment is a two-way street that can have a positive impact on both investors and community residents, said Dianne Cleaver. A new gathering — the June 26-27 We Grow KC Opportunity Zones Investor Summit — aims to bridge the potential divide between such neighbors with the back of Cleaver’s Urban Neighborhoods Initiative, the Ewing Marion…
USDA moving two key agencies to KC, expected to bring 568 new jobs to the animal health corridor
Corporate and government leaders agree: Kansas City is positioned at the hub of innovation in the animal health space, they said Thursday, announcing the metro has been chosen as the new home of two federal agencies. “Kansas City is a city with a small town feel, which makes it a great place to build a…