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
Social venture’s pet grooming grads now empowered to earn microloans thanks to trio of KC backers
Graduates of Kansas City-based Pawsperity’s pet grooming training programs are now eligible to apply for RISE Microloans to launch or grow their businesses — an opportunity boosted by an economic equity initiative to provide microloans to fledgling entrepreneurs. The Plaza Rotary Club program, RISE Microloan (short for Rotary Investing & Supporting Equity), is offered through AltCap,…
KC housing tech startup builds momentum, refines business model in Nashville accelerator
As Shapree’ Marshall prepares her final pitch for Twendé 2024’s demo day in June, the Kansas City founder and Pipeline Pathfinder already is seeing results from the six-month Nashville-based program. Her startup, A Traveled Path Homes, was among 56 companies led by founders of color that were named to the Twendé cohort in January. The…
Mid Coast Modern closing Westport shop, relocating Bear Soap brand to west coast
After nearly a decade as a local retail staple, Mid Coast Modern is closing, founder Matt Bramlette confirmed. The Westport Road gift shop — which opened in 2015 and supports makers/artists and indie businesses — is expected to shut its doors at the end of the month. Sales have declined since the pandemic — especially…
NMotion accelerates Its 100th startup with plans to invest $3 million in 30 more through 2026
OMAHA — A Kansas City startup was among the six cohort members that pushed the NMotion Accelerator past its 100-company mark, showcasing its AI-infused storytelling platform this week alongside innovations from across the Midwest. NMotion powered by gener8tor on Tuesday celebrated the cohort — along with the impact from its $100,000 investments in each member —…