Video: Foosball and whimsy are integral to the RFP365 ethos
April 4, 2016 | Bobby Burch
Kansas City foosball virtuoso Stuart Ludlow knows his way around the fútbol table.
With a strike rivaling a Black Mamba’s, Ludlow’s instincts and supple wrist on the foosball pitch puts to shame most any adversary. But perhaps equally as cunning is Ludlow’s savvy to integrate the table game into the workplace culture of RFP365, of which he’s a co-founder.
Founded in 2012, RFP365 created a software platform for issuers and receivers of requests for proposals — an often onerous process for organizations to solicit bids for commodities, services or assets. The company’s technology helps eliminate redundancies in the RFP process by providing streamlined tools to enable collaboration and improve workflow. It also allows RFP issuers to compare, track and monitor RFPs from respondents.
In 2015, RFP365 snagged the City of Kansas City, Mo. as a client, was named the 2015 “New Small Business of the Year” and raised $950,000 from regional angel investors.
As a small but quickly growing tech firm, RFP365 faces an ever-growing list of demands to juggle, creating stress that Ludlow and his co-founder, David Hulsen, aim to allay with foosball and a whimsical workplace. The company — which has seven employees and more than 200 customers in North America, Europe, Africa and Australia — recently moved to Kansas City’s Waldo District as part of an office expansion.
Check out the video below to learn more about the firm.

2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Café Corazón sold KC on her alfajores and empanadas; now meet the Argentine chef behind these legendary, handcrafted treats
In a space that serves as a crossroads of identities, trays of Silvia Miguel’s now-iconic savory and sweet dishes find a welcome home alongside bold pieces of art, sips of coffee and wares from a vibrant community of Latin and Indigenous entrepreneurs. Miel Castagna-Herrera, co-founder of Café Corazón, started carrying Miguel’s Pan Caliente products soon…
LISTEN: How this musician-turned-startup veteran is scaling with a Kansas assist
Startland News opens its new Plug and Play Topeka founder podcast series with a startup that’s making recovery easier — one pup at a time. Meet Medipups, a company combining canine compassion with real innovation in animal health, and its co-founder Sebastian Doyle. Recorded live at the Plug and Play Animal Health & AgTech Expo…
Kansas company beefs up natural qualities of meat, tallow with tech, not enhancements
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. WAKEENEY, Kan. — Plainview Beef is more than just a name for the western Kansas direct-to-consumer company, CEO Gabe Orr shared. It’s a nod to a mission rooted as much in…
Radar’s new pitch: How this Kansas sports tech startup spins data into speedier fastballs
When speed is the name of the game, data can be nearly as important as talent, said Jarrod Nichols, emphasizing the role his startup’s radar technology can play in helping baseball and softball athletes measure fastball performance, improve their stats, and swing for the fences. “Pitch speed has been captured since the early ’70s,” said…
