Google Fiber, KC entrepreneurship takes stage at White House
January 22, 2016 | Bobby Burch
In a special event at the White House, Kansas City Mayor Sly James exalted area entrepreneurship and a startup community that grew as a result of the metro’s access to Google Fiber.
Joining mayors from Boston and Fresno, Calif., for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, James stood at a White House podium touting the gigabit service and the Kansas City Startup Village as examples of innovation in the heartland. The Kansas City Startup Village is located on the Kansas-Missouri border in the first neighborhood to receive Google Fiber in 2012. It hosts more than 20 startups in a three-block-radius and has served as a hub for entrepreneurial growth.
James poked fun at Boston Mayor Marty Walsh for the startup village’s success in luring away a few Bostonians.
“As a matter of fact, mayor, there were three kids that showed up at a reception for Code for America,” he said. “They came in off the street, I asked them where they came from. They said they had just driven in from Boston to go live at the Startup Village where they started their business that deals with software for home 3D printers and they moved to Kansas City. They’re still there.”
“They must have left their Red Sox hats in the car,” Walsh replied.
“They did because now they’re all wearing Royals jerseys,” James joked. “We have a tremendously active entrepreneurial population with a lot of startups.”
James also shared with press at the meeting that Kansas City drew an impressive turnout to its inaugural Techweek conference in the City of Fountains. Techweek came to Kansas City in September, hosting dozens of tech related events, including networking meetups, lectures, parties and more. After a strong showing in Kansas City, it committed to coming back to the area for five more years.
The mayor also noted the success of LaunchKC, a grant competition in which the city and other organizations awarded 10 firms $50,000 each.
“We surprised Techweek,” James said. “They brought Techweek in on kind of an experimental basis expecting 1,500 people. 4,000 showed up. And during the time of Techweek, we had LaunchKC that we use and we gave away $500,000 in $50,000 blocks to 10 selected entrepreneurial enterprises which have now grown and are getting secondary and third level funding.”
To watch the mayor’s speech, click here.
Featured Business
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Fund Me, KC: KCGeoLab is bringing geographical science, open data to the mainstream
Editor’s note: Startland News is continuing its new segment to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to share their stories to gain a little help from their supporters. If you or your startup is running a crowdfunding campaign, let us know by contacting news@startlandnews.com Who are you?…
KC mom turns entrepreneur to help kiddo’s kidney condition
In 2013, Tamra Johnson’s daughter faced a life-or-death situation. After contracting an E. coli bacterial infection, Johnson’s daughter, Maleena, lost function to both of her kidneys. Fortunately, a kidney transplant from Maleena’s father, Jamie, saved her life, but it created a new problem: hydration. Maleena was expected to drink over four liters of water per…
Focused on KC, the Lean Lab welcomes five new ed tech startups
The Lean Lab, a Kansas City-based education tech accelerator, is returning for its fourth year with a new approach that aims to be more community focused and sophisticated. During a Tuesday event, the Lean Lab announced the five new startups in its 2017 cohort at a breakfast at the recently renovated Corrigan Station. Katie Boody,…
Innovation coach Diana Kander: Failure is an option
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Yes, you could fail, and it would be embarrassing. People would talk about it. People you know. But let’s be honest, they’re only trying to reassure themselves about the risk-averse choices they’ve made. Yes, you could fail, and it could get you fired. I’m…