Photos: Innovation Exchange returns with Top KC Startups to Watch celebration
February 28, 2018 | Startland Staff
So … What’s your spirit animal?
Eleven startup founders and leaders joined Startland News and the Kansas City Startup Foundation on stage Tuesday for a rebooted Innovation Exchange experience — complete with casual conversation, jazz and few unexpected queries.
Saluting the Top Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2018, the rapid-fire, Q&A-style event showcased the innovative ideas behind the firms Startland thinks will be the year’s biggest newsmakers. Among the honorees were Plexpod, PayIt, Bardavon, Rx Savings Solutions, Swell Spark, Mycroft, Super Dispatch, Made in KC, RFP365, Ruby Jean’s Juicery, and Cambrian.
Plexpod’s Westport Commons coworking community literally set the stage for Innovation Exchange, with Startland and KCSF also tapping top startups Ruby Jean’s Juicery for food and drinks for about 175 guests, and Swell Spark for commemorative plaques for the honorees.
Huge thanks to our sponsors of the Innovation Exchange, including the Brain Family, NBKC, Polsinelli, GXP Investments, Plexpod and Think Big Partners.
Watch for details on the next Innovation Exchange, coming in March! In the meantime, enjoy photos from Tuesday’s event below.
Cheers!
Featured Business

2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Revamped Sprint Accelerator graduates its first cohort of agriculture, digital tech startups
Now in its fourth year, the Sprint Accelerator on Tuesday held a demo day showcasing the seven companies in its 2017 cohort that recently graduated its program. The cohort represents the first graduating class for the corporate partnership-based accelerator program since it parted ways with Techstars, with which it conducted three years of programming. Thanks…
Steve Case to KC entrepreneurs, investors: You can’t sit back now
To nudge more Kansas Citians off of the sidelines and into its budding entrepreneurial ecosystem, former AOL founder Steve Case spoke Friday to a group of local investors at a luncheon. KCRise Fund managing director Darcy Howe hosted a fireside chat with Case for a crowd of investors, potential investors and entrepreneurs. Case told the…
Ginsburg: Fundamental — but routinely botched — elements of a winning pitch
Editor’s note: A five-year mentor at UMKC’s Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Byron Ginsburg has heard and counseled many entrepreneurial pitches as an attendee and a judge. His current UMKC mentees, Emily Moon and Kelsey Carlstedt of By Grace Design, won first place and $20,000 in the 2017 Regnier Venture Creation Challenge. While…
Events Preview: Sprint Accelerator Demo Day, TechHire KC
There are a plethora of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter, or curious community member — we recommend these upcoming events for you. Are you hosting a relevant community event? Feel free to add it to the FWD/KC calendar for increased exposure. Once your event…










































































