Tech First: Bank’s new pitch event aims to connect investors, startup founders
August 24, 2018 | Austin Barnes
Roots of growth and prosperity are being planted in Kansas City, furthering the advancement of the metro’s tech sector, said Rob Barker.
Rob Barker, President – Kansas City Region of First Business Bank
“One of the biggest challenges for these tech companies is finding those investors to speak to,” said Barker, president – Kansas City Region of First Business Bank.
First Business, locally based in Leawood, is set to introduce its Tech First pitch day Sept. 14 — an event that will give 12 budding tech startups 15 minutes to pitch their investment opportunity to potential KC area investors and those who hail from outside the state.
A list of potential investors and the inaugural group of 12 presenting companies is expected to be released by First Business in the coming weeks.
“Our whole goal for the event is to try and make that connection between those two groups,” Barker said, as he further described the company as a conduit of community.
A chance for blossoming startups to gain valuable resources and potential access to capital, Tech First could be likened to an accelerator program, Barker said — although in an untraditional sense. Despite its design, the day-long event shouldn’t be thought of as a competition either, he clarified.
With bridge-building deemed the driver behind the inception of Tech First, First Business hopes to make its pitch process an annual event in Kansas City, Barker said.
Featured Business
2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Wonka of Wax: Dark times melt into quirky joy for Brandon Love’s Crumble Co
With scents as varied as “Lavender Lemonade” and “Drunken Unicorn,” Brandon Love’s Crumble Co. burns in a unique — Love would say “joyful” — space within the candle market. A wide grin spreads across the 21-year-old founder’s face as he notes the name of the wax melt spreading aroma throughout his loft apartment at One…
Football tech startup Lazser Down scores big with NCAA championship game
When two out-of-state foes face off Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park, the NCAA Division II Championship game will still host a hometown team. The title game — between West Florida University and Texas A&M University-Commerce — features local tech created by Lazser Down, a Kansas City-based startup that created a new down marker system that uses…
Plexpod acquires Think Big Coworking, expanding KC footprint
Plexpod isn’t playing. Amid Kansas City’s competitive coworking market, Plexpod is doubling down with the acquisition of Think Big Coworking’s 1712 Main Street location, Plexpod founder Gerald Smith said. The acquisition adds more than 30,000 square feet of space to Plexpod’s already large footprint in the area and forges a new partnership between the two…
Raaxo takes shape after pivot from Aphrodite Bra Co’s body scan concept
Despite its use of body-mapping technology, Aphrodite Bra Company wasn’t the right fit for customers’ needs, said Carlanda McKinney, founder of the newly rebooted custom intimates company Raaxo. “Aphrodite had been stuck in the starting-up space,” she said. “We’d never really gotten enough sales or enough traction to say, ‘We’re launched,’ or, ‘We’re in business.’…