And the winners of Startland’s $3,000 giveaway are …
May 24, 2016 | Bobby Burch
In case you didn’t already know, Kansas City startups are a generous bunch.
Last week, Startland News asked if any area businesses wanted to participate in a giveaway for those attending the Kansas City Startup Crawl. In true startup fashion, our idea for a giveaway came at the last minute — three days before the crawl — which added an extra dash of chaos to the pandemonium that is event preparation.
Expecting a tepid response, we were blown away by entrepreneurs’ enthusiastic benevolence. Startland received a torrent of interest, offering everything from longboards and coffee to Techweek passes and cooking classes.
In total, startups served up more than $3,000 worth of products, services and experiences. We can’t thank you enough, Kansas City startups! And another big thanks to those interested enough to explore the early-stage business community by attending the crawl; we hope you had as much fun as we did!
But getting to the reason why most of you clicked into this story, below is a list of the winners from the random drawing. The winners will be hearing from us in a separate message regarding prize pickup.
Congratulations!
- Techweek KC | All-Access Passes (4 prizes) – valued at $250 per pass
Winners: Caleb Loya; Paul Lenzen; Jon Kot; Sheila Seck - FitBark | Dog activity monitors (2 prizes) – valued at $95 per monitor
Winners: Matt McCollum; Kirk Lakebrink - WYCO Apparel | Sunglasses (3 prizes) – valued at $25 per sunglasses
Winners: Joe Miller; Fredrick Francises; Derron Black - Maps Coffee Roasters | 12 oz. bags of coffee (12 prizes) – valued at $12 per bag
Winners: Kylie Fatino; Nicholas Allen; Tom Shanahan; Kyle Fitzgerald; Laura Gowans; Marc Dangerfield; Vin Yuldashev; Lauren Conaway; Andrew Wu; Samuel Gahm; Sri Praneeth Iyyapu; Tracy Thomas - The Sundry | Cooking class for two people ($90) and three produce bundles (4 prizes) – valued at $165
Winners: Mary Meyer Sandoy; Jack Diemer; Emily Newton; Chase Blackwood - Young Guns Longboards | One longboard (1 prize) – valued at $65
Winners: Morayo Bakare - The Handy Camel | $50 gift cards (2 prizes)
Winners: Diana Watt; Zach Pettet - Whobaloo | One $50 gift card (1 prize)
Winner: Irit Gillath - Lifted Spirits Distillery | Pair of cocktail glasses & $25 gift card (1 prize) – valued at $45
Winner: Lisa Douthit - Blooom | A 1-year membership (1 prize) – max value of $180
Winner: Sara Gorjestani - Village Square Coworking Studio | 12 drop-in passes (1 prize) – valued at $100
Winner: Ryan Arthur - Gr8box | Allergy-free snack boxes (3 prizes) – valued at $20 per box
Winners: Bob Reynolds; Tim Carmann; Alicia Poole - Thou Mayest | $20 gift card (1 prize)
Winner: Jennifer Rivas - Kansas City Developer Conference | Two tickets (2 prizes) – valued at $350 per ticket
Winners: Chris Cooley; Matt Watson - Flavor Trade | Food baskets (2 prizes) – valued at $50 a piece
Winners: Germaine Halegoua; Regina Wagner - Ramshackle Wood Co. | One barn wood tray (1 prize) – valued at $30
Winner: Rudar Manning - Normal Human | Framed print and t-shirt (2 prizes) valued at $15 and $28, respectively
Winners: Jon Page; Anne Hochstein
Featured Business

2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Entrepreneur of the Year honorees stepped through a wormhole of fate: Here’s what they found in KC
The ultra successful all share one common influence, said Peter Mallouk: luck. And for the president and CEO of Creative Planning, good fortune has revolved around Kansas City. It all started when his parents left Egypt and ended up in Brookside, he told a crowd Wednesday evening during the 39th University of Missouri-Kansas City Entrepreneur…
How UMKC’s top student entrepreneur found shelter (and a path forward) as a founder
Shapree Marshall’s path began with shared struggle, re-routed to survival — and ultimately made a stop Wednesday evening at H&R Block’s World Headquarters where the startup founder was honored as UMKC’s 2025 Student Entrepreneur of the Year. “My journey into entrepreneurship did not begin with a business plan or a class project,” said Marshall, founder…
First look: Made in KC’s new Union Station shop boasts all the trimmings (and World Cup timing)
An influx of holiday shoppers is just the start for Made in KC’s newly-opened store inside Union Station — positioned to take advantage of coming FIFA World Cup traveler traffic — years after the local-first retailer’s owners first envisioned making the quintessential Kansas City destination a home for one of their shops. “We’ve been wanting…
KC Tech Council reboots its visual identity, teases plans to open new downtown HQ
It’ll be new year, new look for KC Tech Council as the regional tech advocate relocates to a collaborative headquarters space in downtown Kansas City, as well as embracing a bold brand update — all coded to better reflect a modern, tech-driven ecosystem. “As KCTC powers initiatives that further establish Kansas City as a premier,…
