2017 Under the Radar: TradeLanes eyes Midwestern Ag as future clients
August 29, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
Editor’s note: Startland News picked 10 early-stage firms to spotlight for its annual Under the Radar startups list. The following is one of 2017’s companies. To view the full list, click here.
A recent graduate of the 2017 Sprint Accelerator program, TradeLanes is a newbie in Kansas City and showing significant movement.
The TradeLanes platform automates global trade focused on agriculture firms, lowering costs and removing days from the supply chain. To date, more than 90,000 cargo units have been shipped using the platform, said co-founder Vijay Harrell.
Digitizing documents, tracking shipments, notifying shippers of supply status, online bookings and detailed reports, the TradeLanes platform aims to make trade more efficient, Harrell said.
Thanks to its participation in the Sprint Accelerator, Trade Lanes (formerly of Miami, Florida) developed a beneficial working relationship with Kansas City-based Dairy Farmers of America. Harrell said the firm hopes to continue a partnership with the Ag giant, as well as other Kansas City area corporations.
The Sprint Accelerator is the third accelerator program for TradeLanes, since the firm launched in 2015. It also participated in the FedEx Logistics Accelerator and Venture Hive Miami.
Following the Sprint Accelerator program, Harrell has made a Kansas City hire and plans to open an office in the Crossroads this fall. Harrell believes that Kansas City is the best place for the firm to do business thanks to its central location and abundance of potential corporate partners
TradeLanes is in the middle of raising a seed round, which has yet to be announced publicly. Harrell is excited to focus on snagging as many Kansas City-area customers as possible, he said.
Featured Business
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Family-owned US Toy sells to Chicago-based novelty retailer; new owner pledges continued innovation
The strategic acquisition of a 70-year-old Grandview company that has become a household name for its novelty toys is expected to fuel its new owner’s ability to meet the evolving needs of modern-day customers. Chicago-based Windy City Novelties, Inc. announced the deal with US Toy this week, though financial details were not disclosed. Founded in…
Financier of the Year: Worlds’ biggest financial leaders applaud C2FO for job-creating capital access
C2FO would’ve been profitable in the US alone, CEO says; how solving for global needs made it an even stronger fintech leader The impact of one Kansas City-built fintech company is being felt far beyond the borders of the U.S., said Sandy Kemper, detailing how C2FO’s strategy to go global is creating hundreds of thousands…
Nelson-Atkins plans $170M new expansion, with an international contest to design ‘a museum for all’
Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is launching an ambitious expansion project that will transform its Midtown campus with a dynamic, open…
Storytailor pivots its AI-infused storytelling tech into therapy tool to combat childhood traumas
Kansas City-built Storytailor has a new pitch for parents facing a world of screen time: using its tech platform as a key resource for children’s mental health via therapeutic storytelling. “As adults, we often turn to comedy, satire, or metaphorical fiction to process our emotions,” shared JQ Sirls, founder and CEO of Storytailor. “Children do…