Techstars Kansas City accepting startups for second accelerator class
January 26, 2018 | Startland News Staff
One of the Midwest’s most competitive accelerator programs is looking for technology enabled startups with global potential.
Techstars Kansas City is now accepting applications for its three-month, mentor-led 2018 class. The program is set to begin July 16, culminating with an Oct. 11 demo day event in which participating startups will pitch to the community and investors. Applications close April 8.
“The goal of Techstars is identifying first-in-class tech companies,” said Lesa Mitchell, Techstars KC managing director, in July 2017, when the inaugural class was announced. “We always have a goal of identifying companies that have a serious long tail and have a huge opportunity with lots of different products down the roadway.”
In exchange for 6 percent equity, Techstars KC startups receive $120,000, participation in the accelerator program and access to Techstars’ global network of alumni and mentors.
“In the heartland of the U.S., Techstars Kansas City is building new global companies. Home to one of the largest Design + Build, Agriculture and Animal Health hubs in the world, Kansas City is fast becoming a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship,” Techstars says in its application.
The inaugural Techstars KC class was a diverse hodgepodge of industries, including ed tech, artificial intelligence, law, virtual reality, food and more. Mitchell also pulled the firms from a variety of U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Austin, Phoenix, Wichita, Kansas City and more.
Based in Boulder, Colorado, Techstars is a global accelerator firm with 32 programs across the globe, in such cities as Los Angeles, New York City, London and Paris. (Applications to many of those programs also now are open.) Kansas City is the second smallest city in which the accelerator firm operates after Boulder.
Check out scenes from Techstars Kansas City’s 2017 demo day here.
Featured Business
2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
‘Prognosis is pointless’: Journey Pro KC wrestling owner forces cancer statistics to tap out
Story and photos by Channa Steinmetz, Startland News | Video by Catherine Hoffman, Flatland Two years after his diagnosis, DJ Stewart still has never googled “glioblastoma.” “I have Grade 4 glioblastoma — meaning the highest, most aggressive grade. If you go down that rabbit hole on the internet, it’s a terrible thing to do.…
Pantry Goods brings wall-to-wall organic, European-style shopping to Midtown micro market
The expansion of Pantry Goods from an online service into a Midtown micro market has brought with it a bushel of changes — all organic — for Marcelle Clements as she continues her mission to grow support for small businesses and sustainable living. “It was a great move,” said Clements, founder of Pantry Goods, recalling her…
He wanted to post his pronouns on LinkedIn sooner, but first this startup founder had to come out to himself
The word was simple — sprinkled into a potentially impactful email introduction last week with little fanfare — but for Lee Zuvanich, reading it felt like Christmas morning. His. “When I came out on LinkedIn this summer — with my pronouns and everything — it wasn’t really a choice,” said Zuvanich, a trans man who now…
LaunchKC’s latest: a Social Venture Studio to tackle social, racial, environmental issues
A new Kansas City-based social venture studio is expected to help social entrepreneurs avoid grant starvation — and depending too heavily on financial gifts — in lieu of models that focus on innovative steps toward sustainability, said Father Justin Mathews. “I got very excited about social venturing — this idea of being able to harness…