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
KC-based Contract Canvas earns finalist slot for WeWork Creator Awards in Nashville
Returning to WeWork’s Creator Awards to pitch Contract Canvas was a defining moment for Chris Brown, as well as the year-old legal startup, he said. “I worked harder on this pitch than perhaps any pitch I’ve ever given,” said Brown, hours after a flight back from meeting with Creator Awards judges in New York City…
LaunchKC nets 32 percent gain in tech startups vying for $500K in prizes; selection under way
LaunchKC is off to the races toward its fourth annual, national grants competition for tech entrepreneurs. The program attracts hundreds of tech entrepreneurs each year – including a 32 percent increase and a near-record 586 applicants this year — to compete for up to $500,000 in grants and an opportunity to build and grow their…
First down for Healthy Hip Hop: Roy Scott teams with Champ for game-changing reboot
If it’s making money, don’t give up on it, said Roy Scott, rapper-turned-founder of Healthy Hip Hop. A new partnership with Champ System — a growing Kansas City sports apparel company with a popular hip hop-inspired mascot — will keep the performance- and tech-based startup in school gymnasiums and beyond as Scott’s company continues a…
SquareOffs public polling pilot with Oregon TV station could be a new niche
Opinions are constant, said Jeff Rohr, CEO of the Kansas City startup SquareOffs. As social media consumers look for new ways to voice a plethora of differing views, Rohr said he and his company have inked a major deal with News-Press and Gazette Co. (NPG), that could overhaul the public polling conducted by local news…
