Regional Roundup: VC valuations, bootstrapping
December 3, 2015 | Kat Hungerford
Welcome to our new series called Regional Roundup.
Every couple weeks we’ll pull together compelling articles, podcasts, videos and more related to startups and innovation in the region.
Let us know what you think, and send us any ideas or content that you’d like to share.
Sit back and read (or listen or watch) some of the latest stuff the Internet has to offer.
Silicon Prairie: Mercury Fund’s Blair Garrou predicts a “soft landing” for Midwest venture capital as valuations fall — What’s going to happen for the Midwest after the unicorns fall? Garrou tells us in this article.
Inside/Outside: “Bootstrapping” with Rafael Corrales, partner at CRV — There’s raising capital, and then there’s bootstrapping. Which one is best? The Inside/Outside team discusses in this podcast.
TechCrunch: How Early Exit Disease Stunts The Growth Of Midwest Startup Communities — We’ve talked a lot about challenges facing Kansas City’s startup community. This article takes a look at how the “end game” of going public too soon and too small impacts the “start game” of new startups in the Midwest.
Kauffman Foundation: Dept. of Labor Announces $100 Million TechHire Competition — This article highlights that Kansas City isn’t the only place feeling the tech labor crunch: Silicon Valley might be doing just fine on filling tech jobs, but the rest of the U.S. is hurting for talent.
Computerworld: Just what is a Smart City? — With all the news surrounding the Kansas City streetcar/smart city project, we thought it might be helpful to take a step back and explore what the concept means and how far it can go.Read more in the article.

2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
It’s a ‘movement, not just a moment’; H&R Block audits impact of Black excellence, businesses
Reading is among the best way to learn about Black history, said Willa Robinson, the founder and owner of Willa’s Books & Vinyl. “I’m grateful to be able to educate people about what’s going on in the Black community through books. There’s so much history on what we have experienced, what we have accomplished,” said…
Final capital push expected to bring $13M rebuild to Troost, replacing building held together by ‘duct tape, plaster, and prayer’
Decades of dreaming are coming to an end, said Father Justin Mathews, announcing the final phase of a $13 million capital campaign that’s expected to realize a long-held plan to magnify the impact of Reconciliation Services. “We’ve been in the building since 1987 — and its been held together with duct tape, plaster, and prayer,” Mathews,…
Trees might fall, but this duo’s salvaged, custom hardwood pieces are crafted to stand the test of time
Jay Norris and Nick Bianco witnessed an unexpected sight when dropping off debris from the remodel of their KCK warehouse — a discovery that would add new rings of life to their budding custom hardwoods business. “We see a bulldozer pushing trees into the dump, and we were like, ‘What the heck is going on over…
New bobblehead set replicates one of KC’s most iconic museum experiences for Black History Month
A new collection of bobbleheads is calling attention to the impact made by legends of the Negro Leagues — and offering fans and local enthusiasts the opportunity to recreate a Kansas City historical attraction at home. “These are the first bobbleheads to replicate the iconic Field of Legends,” explained Phil Sklar, co-founder and CEO of the…
