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
Next-gen threats loom: Cybersecurity veteran weaves solution for businesses of all verticals, sizes
Short-handed and dispersed teams face growing risks as they amass technology, said Chuck Crawford, detailing how technology debt and sprawl lead not only to underutilized tech and siloed environments — but open the door to cybersecurity threats. Such next-generation challenges require the expertise of an industry veteran like Crawford, who launched Loom Security in April…
Leave KC better than you found it: How matching growth to city’s needs is paying off
Editor’s note: The following is the first in a four-part series exploring the verticals and impact of initiatives within the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City through a paid partnership with EDCKC. Wrong tool can wreck a neighborhood; Precision development key to avoiding gentrification’s negative impacts Homegrown startups can redefine KC; they just need help…
Brothers bringing Jerusalem Cafe, Chick-In Waffle, sober bar mashup to Power & Light
The Kansas City Power & Light District is getting a new flagship venue that will combine two popular local restaurant brands and a new mocktail bar/coffee shop concept. Brothers and second-generation restaurateurs, Dennis and Adam Alazzeh, are taking a 6,300-square-foot space at 131 E. 14th St. and — after a major renovation — plan to…
Chicken footstools gain fine art foothold through collaboration with no pecking order
A pair of two-dimensional designers at Ampersand Design Studio and their three-dimensional collaborators at The City Girl Farm just flocked together to release a new collection of two-foot-tall fiber-feathered fowl “footstools.” “Birds of Feather” — a 19-piece assortment of sculptural chickens crafted by the two women-owned businesses (inspired by Ampersand’s bold and colorful brand; translated,…