Idle Smart earns $125K in national clean energy program
December 1, 2016 | Bobby Burch
Idle Smart recently was dubbed a top clean-energy firm and won some substantial investment capital for its technology.
Based in Kansas City, Kan., the company was voted by its peers as the top firm in the Energy: US 2016 program, nabbing $125,000 for its smart thermostat device for fleet vehicles, such as semi-trucks. The company’s device only kicks the truck on when necessary to maintain the temperature of the cabin, recharge batteries or create engine warmth, thus saving fuel and mitigating environmental impact.
To win the program, nine startups ranked each other in a peer-selection process and named Idle Smart as the top firm. The Autonomous Tractor Corporation won second prize and $100,000.
Village Capital, the New Belgium Family Foundation and Sustainable America awarded Idle Smart the funds. As part of the program, Idle Smart also received mentoring from industry experts and potential investors.
Founded by CEO Jeff Lynch in 2012, Idle Smart is based in the Kansas City Startup Village and owns a patent on its smart thermostat tech. In July, Startland News named the company as one of its top under-the-radar startups in Kansas City.
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Combat to capital: Vetelligence founder secures NMotion investment, accelerator deployment
A Kansas City-based startup focused on guiding military service members into tech careers is among the latest companies selected for a top regional accelerator — strengthened by its founder’s own background as a veteran-turned-entrepreneur. Vetelligence — led by Zachary Oshinbanjo, who served nearly four years as an indirect infantryman and specialist in the U.S. Army…
Bird ridership soars during NFL Draft amid exclusive e-scooter partnership with KCMO
Daily rides in Kansas City increased by 724 percent during April’s NFL Draft weekend, Bird reported, following the three-day series of events that brought more than 300,000 fans to festival grounds at Union Station. “We’re thrilled to have partnered with Kansas City and the NFL to support the 2023 NFL Draft by providing efficient, affordable,…
First he got the park clean, then his brother; New theater explores how Chris Harris played through the hazards
Five years after opening a golf course in the Ivanhoe neighborhood to help revitalize his community from within, Chris Harris is taking a swing at the east side’s theater desert. Harris — the owner and operator of Harris Park Midtown Sports and Activity Center and lifelong neighborhood resident — has now built an indoor theater…
Former KC startup acquired by Atlanta-based banking platform, uniting two of the largest Black-owned fintechs
ATLANTA — Greenwood, a digital banking platform for Black and Latino individuals and businesses, announced this week its acquisition of Kansas City-founded Kinly — a neobank building generational wealth for Black America. The deal will help grow Atlanta-based Greenwood’s ecosystem of more than 1 million members and provide Kinly’s community of more than 300,000 with…