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
College entrepreneurs match their student-athlete peers with NIL brand-building business
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures (EGV), a business unit of NetWork Kansas supporting innovative, high-growth entrepreneurs in the State of Kansas. WICHITA — Player Card’s young…
KC-based public service news outlet selects longtime nonprofit leader as its new CEO
A nonprofit news source focused on public service journalism for Kansas City and Wichita has selected a new CEO with more than 15 years of nonprofit leadership experience. Stephanie Campbell, a former executive team member at Leanlab Education, will lead the online Kansas City-based publication, The Beacon, tapping into her expertise in operations, marketing and…
No sugarcoating it: Motherhood is tough; this breastfeeding, diaper tracking app uses tech to guide moms past stigmas
Women’s health remains a taboo topic in American culture, said Vanessa Jupe, sharing why the mother-turned-tech founder is on a mission to provoke conversations and provide resources for women — starting with nursing infants. “Breastfeeding was not at all what I expected it to be. It was a very challenging, confusing time that showed me…
K-State wants to bring 3,000 jobs, $3B to Kansas; here’s how a new urban-rural plan will help it reach all 105 counties
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures (EGV), a business unit of NetWork Kansas supporting innovative, high-growth entrepreneurs in the State of Kansas. TOPEKA — Kansas State University…










































































