Photos: Innovation Exchange returns with Top KC Startups to Watch celebration

February 28, 2018  |  Startland Staff

IXKC TSW 2018 (28 of 76)

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!

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

2018 Startups to Watch

    stats here

    Related Posts on Startland News

    Cowork Lee’s Summit to revamp old post office for entrepreneurs

    By Tommy Felts | February 17, 2017

    Lee’s Summit is set to receive a large, new coworking space to serve as the city’s entrepreneurial hub. The founder of Community Buying Group, Ben Rao said he will soon close on purchasing the old Lee’s Summit Post Office to convert it into a 13,000 square-foot coworking space named Cowork Lee’s Summit. Without any nearby…

    CNN features Kansas City and St. Louis’ resilient growth

    By Tommy Felts | February 17, 2017

    Kansas Citians are already familiar with the perks of calling the metro home — the friendly people, innovative culture and affordability to name a few. The City of Fountains, as well as its neighbor to the east, St. Louis, received validation of those facts Thursday via a lengthy CNN feature on their “bounce back” from the…

    K-State LAB offering Kansas startups free growth resources

    By Tommy Felts | February 17, 2017

    A Kansas State University business development program is awarding more than $100,000 in grants to Kansas startups. Through K-State LAB  — which stands for “launching a business” — participants will receive business lessons, face-to-face mentoring and access to market research. Launched in 2014, the program aims to connect entrepreneurs with the right people so that they…

    Kauffman Foundation launches initiative to topple startup barriers

    By Tommy Felts | February 16, 2017

    During an annual trip to Washington D.C., Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation CEO Wendy Guillies urged the U.S. Congress to take action to eliminate barriers for entrepreneurs to launch new businesses. In her 2017 State of Entrepreneurship address, Guillies said that millions of Americans are being left out the U.S. economy and that trends of dwindling…