‘Kansas City Startup House’ aims to be smart home incubator
June 9, 2016 | Bobby Burch
A local tech founder is transforming his Kansas City, Kan., home to eventually become the area’s next incubator program.
Sports Photos founder Brandon Schatz recently launched the “Kansas City Startup Home” to host entrepreneurs and innovators from around the world. While it’s now serving as an Airbnb destination for techies, Schatz said in the next two months his house will become an incubator for those developing smart home technologies.
“It’s budding up now,” Schatz said. “Smart home technology is a huge market and also a personal interest. I love this stuff. … There are so many more things that companies can put together for smart homes. It’s an enormous industry.”
The program is located in the Kansas City Startup Village — near 45th and State Line Road — and adopts an idea from one of its neighbors, the Homes for Hackers program. Homes for Hackers welcomes techies from around the world to stay at the home rent-free for three to six months to work on projects.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for entrepreneurs who want to come to Kansas City to build connected-home technologies.” – Matthew Marcus
But instead of working on their own and staying for free, Schatz’s program will negotiate an equity swap in exchange for rent, mentorship and tech consultation. Schatz also would put an application process in place to select candidates for the incubator. Schatz has spent $15,000 on renovating the six-bedroom, two-bath house and plans to host up to six founders for the incubator. The home also has access to Google Fiber’s gigabit internet plan.
Schatz is already working on smart home technology called “Fridge Share.” Geared toward those in the home-sharing economy with services like Airbnb or VRBO, the tech would allow hosts to easily track and charge tenants for food in their refrigerators.
The incubator would become the latest asset for the Kansas City Startup Village. Founded in 2012, the village is a community of entrepreneurs that serendipitously moved to the first neighborhood to receive Google Fiber. It now serves as a home to more than 25 startup firms.
Matthew Marcus, a co-leader of the Kansas City Startup Village, said that the community is thrilled to see the idea.
“We’re super excited to hear about these types of innovative initiatives that continue to make Kansas City a fantastic place for entrepreneurship and tech,” Marcus said. “For the village itself, it’s fun to see the transformations that happen over time. … It’s an exciting opportunity for entrepreneurs who want to come to Kansas City to build connected-home technologies.”
Featured Business
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Compute Midwest named top national tech conference
Consistently attracting futurists and tech leaders from around the U.S., Compute Midwest recently was named a national tech conference that shouldn’t be overlooked. Inc. Magazine included the annual, Kansas City-based conference on its “Top Tech Conferences You Can’t Miss This Fall” list, noting the event’s traditionally strong lineup of speakers. Presented by the Disruption institute,…
Dozens of skyrocketing KC firms break into the Inc. 5000
Kansas City held its own on Inc. Magazine’s annual ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing, private companies. The Wednesday unveiling of the Inc. 5000 featured 44 metro firms — including several area tech firms, like k12itc and Rhythm Engineering. K12itc, which in January made Startland’s 2016 top 10 startups to watch, delivers cloud-based IT services to…
Backstitch wants to fix a billion-dollar communication dilemma
With the cost of poor business communication climbing as high as $37 billion a year, Backstitch founders Jordan and Stefanie Warzecha saw an opportunity to clear the air. The married couple — who say communication has never been a problem for them — founded their corporate communications platform in 2012. Backstitch aims to mitigate the…
Google Fiber names local duo as digital inclusion leaders
After a successful first year, Google Fiber — in partnership with the Nonprofit Technology Network — has announced its second round of Digital Inclusion Fellows. As part of the program, fellows will create and lead digital literacy efforts in the 11 metro areas with Google Fiber, including Kansas City. Initiatives include assisting adults with high…