Video: Foosball and whimsy are integral to the RFP365 ethos

April 4, 2016  |  Bobby Burch

David Hulsen, left, and Stuart Ludlow, co-founders of RFP365.

 

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.

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

Tagged , , ,
Featured Business
    Featured Founder

      2016 Startups to Watch

        stats here

        Related Posts on Startland News

        KCMO is building a skate park under the Buck O’Neil Bridge (and tagging artists for the blank canvas)

        By Tommy Felts | July 9, 2025

        Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. Local artists can have a hand in creating public art to accompany a planned skate park between River Market and the…

        Culinary Center cooking with plans to expand from Overland Park into Northland shops

        By Tommy Felts | July 9, 2025

        After nearly 30 years in downtown Overland Park, The Culinary Center of Kansas City is expanding with a second location. It plans a late 2025 or an early 2026 opening in the former Ombra small plates + librations spot in The Village at Briarcliff, 4161 N. Mulberry St. in the Northland. The space will be…

        Small Biz to Watch: Chick-In Waffle scales its cleverly KC-sauced identity, tapping Gen Z soul, God’s blessings

        By Tommy Felts | July 9, 2025

        Editor’s note: Startland News is showcasing five Kansas City small businesses this week through the newsroom’s first-ever Small Biz to Watch series, presented by Bank of America. The following highlights one of the 2025 honorees, curated by editors from Kansas City’s wide array of hard-working entrepreneurs and business owners. Selection criteria is based on factors…

        Small Biz to Watch: Someday Sunday opens the door to me-time without guilt (or toxins)

        By Tommy Felts | July 8, 2025

        Editor’s note: Startland News is showcasing five Kansas City small businesses this week through the newsroom’s first-ever Small Biz to Watch series, presented by Bank of America. The following highlights one of the 2025 honorees, curated by editors from Kansas City’s wide array of hard-working entrepreneurs and business owners. Selection criteria is based on factors…