Startland News hits the road to SXSW
March 10, 2016 | Bobby Burch
Load up the clown car — Startland is going down south.
Kansas City’s source for entrepreneurial and tech news is venturing to arguably the nation’s top conference for innovative ideas: South-by-Southwest Interactive.
The Startland team has a jam-packed schedule while at SXSW, mingling with techies, early-adopters and thousands of Austonians. Make sure you follow along on our social accounts — Twitter and Facebook — for all the updates.
There’s a strong Kansas City contingent that will be traveling to Austin, including folks from LaunchKC, the Kansas City Chamber, KC Digital Drive, the Kauffman Foundation and more. We’ll cover their presence there, in addition to other events such as President Obama’s chat with The Texas Tribune’s Evan Smith.
Kat and I are SXSW newbies, but have heard many stories about the revelry and serendipity that the conference affords. Just this morning, we RSVPed to an exclusive event with Coolio. I’ll be listening to the CTO of Amazon discuss innovation within his company. And I’ve a catalog of breakfast taco and pub recommendations.
We’ve been told that our plans will likely be demolished by the calamity that is SXSW. Apparently, Austin transforms into an amalgam of chaos and congestion. Regardless, we couldn’t be more excited to relay back to you some of the Kansas City-related news from SXSW.
Featured Business

2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
This top maker got his start with a social push; but the real influencers behind the Craft E brand: his wife and family
Enrique Hernandez, the creative force behind Craft E. Embroidery, proved that dedication and creativity can transform a hobby into a thriving business — earning him the title of Made in KC’s top maker for 2024. “It hasn’t really settled in yet,” Hernandez said about winning the award in mid-December. “But it feels good.” ICYMI: Made…
Go BTS of a new KC-filmed reality TV series with the entrepreneurs who matched competitors with their style
ULAH founders get second chance to put their business (and Kansas City) on the national stage One of Kansas City’s best-known fashion duos — married entrepreneurs Joey Mendez and Buck Wimberly — recently stepped back into the fast-paced world of reality TV as stylists for a new series featuring another KC personality who commands screen…
KC hat maker’s sales soar after national news spotlight, capping year with validation: Made-in-the-USA still sells
Santa came early for Sandlot Goods — in the form of an ABC World News producer, said Garret Prather. On Dec. 13, Kansas City’s only local hat manufacturer was featured on the “Made In America Christmas” segment on ABC World News Tonight with David Muir. “Forty-five workers, 10 new hires, and 115,00 hats this year,…
Stand out and stand tall: Father of Tech N9ne, two of KC’s favorite chefs inspired their drive from his Kansas City hair salon
Hassan Khalifah only had to look to his elders for entrepreneurial inspiration, he said. They were a family of bakers, moonshiners, salvagers, restaurateurs, grocers, pool hall operators, and nickel-and-dime candy shop owners. After a short time working for the city, Hassan opened several small businesses before a three-decade career as a salon owner. Four of…
