Listen: Leaders analyze KC’s entrepreneurial milestones, assess challenges

June 22, 2017  |  Meghan LeVota

EyeVerify CEO Toby Rush adresses the IXKC crowd

To say that Kansas City’s entrepreneurial community has matured in the last 15 years would be an understatement.

Many leaders say that if you lived in the metro during the early 2000s and were to return now, you may not even recognize the place.

Taking a moment to reflect on how far Kansas City has come, Startland News and Think Big’s June Innovation Exchange used a historical lens to analyze Kansas City entrepreneurship.

Panelists shared their analysis on the metro’s entrepreneurial ecosystem — including growth, future opportunities and areas to be improved.

In the conversation, you’ll hear from entrepreneurial community leaders including:

  • Joe Reardon, CEO of Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
  • Toby Rush, CEO of EyeVerify
  • Darcy Howe, Managing Director of the KCRise Fund
  • Joni Cobb, CEO of Pipeline Entrepreneurial Fellowship
  • Herb Sih, Think Big Partners
  • Maria Meyers, Executive Director of KCSourceLink

A recording of the event is below, and photos are beneath that. Hope you enjoy!

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

2017 Startups to Watch

    stats here

    Related Posts on Startland News

    How KC transformed entrepreneurship from counterculture into a model for the mainstream

    By Tommy Felts | July 25, 2025

    Veteran ecosystem builders returned to the Heartland this week, urging a new generation of entrepreneur advocates to embrace Kansas City’s style of experimentation and its uniquely collaborative startup culture. “Entrepreneurship is not spreadsheets and business plans,” said Jonathan Ortmans, who founded the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) — the nonprofit parent of Global Entrepreneurship Week —…

    They didn’t want to go corporate; how AI gave brothers the tools to forge their own path, together

    By Tommy Felts | July 23, 2025

    Tyler and Garrett Amundsen are using AI to help insurance brokers spend more time on relationships and less time on data, the duo shared. Inspired by conversations around their family’s Kansas City dinner table, as well as the latest tech developments, the brothers launched LightDoc in early 2023 to automate and streamline repetitive tasks that…

    He retired after an exit; now this govtech veteran is back in a CFO role for KC-scaled PayIt

    By Tommy Felts | July 23, 2025

    As Kansas City-built PayIt scales across North America, a new financial leader is expected to help guide the company in its game-changing efforts to help government agencies modernize, serve their residents, and improve operating efficiency. Steve Kovzan, a nearly 30-year veteran of leadership across government technology and finance spaces, is now chief financial officer at…

    KC Tech Council celebrates tax fix in Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ that boosts growing businesses

    By Tommy Felts | July 23, 2025

    A tax fix included in the recently signed “One Big Beautiful Bill” — sprawling legislation meant to overhaul taxes in the United States — marks a major win for Kansas City’s tech and innovation economy, said Kara Lowe. At issue: a long-awaited change to Section 174 research and development expensing that now allows businesses to…