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
Just-launched retail hub gets first tenant, battling ‘blight of the heart’ on Troost corner
‘We are each other’s bootstraps’ Transforming a long-vacant building along Troost into a space for neighborhood small businesses is about empowering the entrepreneurs already living and working in the east side community, said Father Justin Mathews. The newly unveiled RS Impact Exchange — built within the renovated, 1920-built Baker Shoe Building at 3108-3116 Troost Ave.…
Hog Island to Parkville: Justus Drugstore owners docking new seafood concept in historic Parkville
The Parker Hollow builds on Chef Jonathan Justus’ mission to put small town Missouri on the menu PARKVILLE, Mo. — A bright yellow, nearly 150-year-old former Italian restaurant could become Kansas City’s go-to seafood destination with help from the world-renowned hometown culinary team behind Justus Drugstore and Black Dirt. Chef Jonathan Justus and his wife…
You can’t plan for this: ‘Mr K’ finalists wary of another ‘wrench into the face’ from Washington
An upended national political and economic climate has rippled down to Main Street, acknowledged leaders of this year’s Top 10 Small Businesses, bringing concerns about racism, DEI backlash, tariffs, and supply chain disruptions to Kansas City’s front door. “We’ve had people come into the shop and harass our employees, our customers,” explained Dulcinea Herrera —…
Hyde Park coffee space reopens with family vibe fitting historic neighborhood’s roots, owners say
A newly opened neighborhood coffee shop in Hyde Park hopes to bring a fresh, family-friendly vibe to Kansas City’s bustling coffee scene, its owners said. “We created 1888 Coffee to be something different — not just another café, but a welcoming hub for our community,” said Christine Kehoe, co-owner and operator of 1888 Coffee with…