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

        UMKC pitch challenge awards $95K+ for ‘entrepreneur state of mind’ in and outside the classroom

        By Tommy Felts | April 26, 2025

        Winning $15,000 in Friday’s pitch competition at UMKC’s Regnier Venture Creation Challenge felt like the culmination of years of hard work and development, said Iyshia Sims. “Oh my gosh, I’m just so proud of myself,” said Sims, founder of ‘Amir’acle Body Butters and More. “I felt really good after the pitch, I have pitched a…

        InvestMidwest returns to St. Louis May 6-7 for Midwest venture capital forum’s 25th year

        By Tommy Felts | April 26, 2025

        ST. LOUIS — About 50 startups — including some of Kansas City’s most high-profile emerging companies — are expected to pitch to more than 100 investors May 6-7 when the InvestMidwest conference turns St. Louis into the gateway to innovation.  “On the 25th anniversary of InvestMidwest, it’s great to be back in St. Louis where it…

        Family’s Japanese-inspired fabric gift wrap hits a home run with new fans (and an iconic American baseball team)

        By Tommy Felts | April 25, 2025

        At the intersection of heritage and innovation, a Kansas City family business is pitching a new way to gift, through vibrant fabric package wraps that carry both meaning and intention — even catching the attention of an unexpected collaborator: Major League Baseball. Keiko Furoshiki — a Kansas City brand crafted at the creative fingertips of Japanese-American…

        Tech veterans launch startup studio to back next-wave SaaS products with founder-led thinking

        By Tommy Felts | April 24, 2025

        Backed by years of entrepreneurial wins, the team behind Full Scale and the exited Stackify just announced a new product studio and startup lab concept — purpose-built for what founder Matt Watson called the post-playbook SaaS era. “Founders today are facing a new set of realities,” said Watson, serial entrepreneur, podcast host, and co-founder of…