Photo gallery: Techweek’s LaunchKC Top 100 Expo
September 15, 2016 | Bobby Burch
Hundreds of Techweek Kansas City attendees converged on Union Station Thursday afternoon to explore dozens of startups part of the LaunchKC grants contest.
Now in its second year, the popular grants competition LaunchKC was again met with an enthusiastic response by applicants in 2016, drawing more than 400 applicants. The competition — which will distribute $500,000 via 10, $50,000 non-dilutive grants — will allow the top 20 applicants to pitch their firms Friday during a live presentation at Techweek KC. The grant competition is led by the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City and the Downtown Council of Kansas City.
The expo Thursday featured the top 100 firms that applied in the contest. Below is a gallery from the event — enjoy!
Featured Business

2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Vegan spell falls over West Bottoms restaurant as this trio’s plant-based potions ring in a new year
Every witch needs a coven, said Olive Cooke, Sylvia Metta and Kim Conyers; so they conjured a community in the West Bottoms to serve their vegan bites. Cauldron Collective — a plant-based, comfort food venture co-founded by self-proclaimed “cooking witches” Cooke, Metta and Conyers in January 2021 — made its mark in Kansas City through…
Topeka is building its own startup hub; a new group is pushing those left out from survival mode to creation
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. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. The…
Trade to troubadour: Ben Chaverin finds his hook, but just sampling KC’s music scene might not be enough
Entering the job market amid a global pandemic isn’t ideal, Ben Chaverin admits, but its challenges can become opportunities for those creative (and willing) enough to turn adversity into a new playlist. “I’ve learned so much in the last couple of years — and grown so much as a human being,” Chaverin said, recalling his December…
Why the ‘best cold brew you’ve ever tasted’ (and it’s brewer) are found only in KC
Tucked in your neighborhood grocer’s cooler waits an otherworldly cold brew — the smoothest this side of the twilight zone. And it can only be found in Kansas City. For now. “I take my craft really seriously and I taste every batch. If it’s not right, it doesn’t go out. It’s really important to me…
