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
Mother-daughter businesses connected by sustainability, faith, yearning for community
Quoleshna Elbert wants to get — and give — the most bang for her buck, she said. “I’m the person who wants to kill three birds with one stone,” explained the founder of Community Local, an eco-friendly T-shirt brand based in Kansas City. Such drive is hereditary. “We want to be able to go deeper…
17-year-old entrepreneurs find financial, moral support for My Social Gain
Entrepreneurship brought Jaden Evans and Benicio Baeza together, they said. The two juniors at Truman High School in Independence, Missouri, started the social media marketing company My Social Gain in early 2018 after realizing the power of social media for companies. Though the company is only a few months old, My Social Gain already has…
‘We’re a big damn deal!’ KC is an underground fintech hub, says Zach Pettet
Editor’s note: Zach Pettet is the Fintech Strategist at nbkc bank, with which Startland News has partnered on an upcoming Innovation Exchange event. Opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Kansas City is the United States’ underground financial center. Over the years, many financial juggernauts have been born and grown up in Kansas…
Traditional marketing tactics fail to wow consumers, Boomn startup says
If an idea doesn’t prompt a “Heck yeah!” response from the team at Boomn, it gets an “Um, no” verdict, said Ryan O’Connell. A data-driven and performance-based digital marketing company, KC-based Boomn works primarily with ecommerce brands. Such clients range from food and beverage companies to TV and YouTube personalities, said O’Connell, Boomn’s chief operating…