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
Eyeing added impact, AltCap expands its KC service area
AltCap — a Kansas City-based community development financial institution that focuses on underserved populations — is expanding its footprint. In response to small businesses’ growing demand for capital, AltCap will now serve the entire Kansas City metro, including the Kansas counties of Wyandotte, Johnson, and Leavenworth. The move will allow AltCap to finance more small…
KC comic book creator Juaquan Herron refuses to wait on Hollywood any longer
Juaquan Herron has been to LA and back. The 32-year-old got tired of waiting. “I couch surfed, had a child who was not with me, but a supportive wife, and every day I was like, ‘What in the hell am I doing?’” said Herron, an actor and filmmaker who returned to Kansas City after being…
Brood of Bird electric scooters land in Kansas City
Birds of a feather scoot together. Joining more than 20 cities across the U.S., Kansas City became the most recent community to welcome a flock of Bird electric scooters. The Los Angeles-based firm dropped off dozens of black, lithium-ion-powered scooters throughout Kansas City, allowing users to rent the vehicles and zip across town with a…
Photos: Kauffman’s ESHIP Summit sees strength in numbers, diversity
Despite a living legacy of ongoing entrepreneurial support, even the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation doesn’t have all the answers, Wendy Guillies told a 600-strong crowd at Wednesday’s ESHIP Summit kickoff in Kansas City. “We approach our work with a great deal of humility,” said Guillies, Kauffman Foundation president and CEO. “We need to listen and…