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
This 11yo kidtrepreneur is skipping past lemonade stands, taking Nelson’s Flavorades straight to the store
A shot of flavor is headed for Hy-Vee as the grocer gives a KCK-raised kidtrepreneur the chance to stock his sellout product in a limited run. “It’s amazing,” Nelson McConnell, the 11-year-old owner of Nelson’s Flavorades, said of the opportunity to sell his lemonade blends on store shelves. Beginning Saturday, customers can visit the Mission…
One of KC’s top emerging founders joins cast of new reality TV show for startups; see who else is competing
Twenty startups picked to live in a house — competing in a series of entrepreneurship games for a reality TV show — could’ve been a nightmare, said Jonaie Johnson. But the bootstrapped creator of a KC-built smart dog crate was up for the challenge, she said. “Spending a week in a mansion with a bunch…
MTV veteran’s new docu-series crowns ‘greatest startup on The Blox,’ evolving reality TV beyond ‘messy’ sensationalism
The premiere of a 17-episode, gamified entrepreneurship challenge marks a pivot in reality TV — as “Shark Tank meets Top Chef” within a competition show that focuses more on startup development than sensational conflict. “We weren’t prepared to go down a ‘messy’ reality TV path, because we don’t want to exploit or hurt entrepreneurs. But,…
As book banning spreads across US, one KC media company calls out specific threat to diverse creators
The Kansas City publishing powerhouse behind many of the nation’s most-beloved newspaper comics — from Calvin & Hobbes and The Far Side to Garfield and Peanuts — this week raised its voice amid a growing push to condemn book bans flaring up across the country. “Books are safe harbors, where the freedom of expression and…