Pure Pitch Rally winner says local investment will push Fast Democracy toward focus on KC politics
October 23, 2018 | Austin Barnes
Offering voters a crystal clear look at the legislative process is winning support for Fast Democracy within the Kansas City startup ecosystem, said Jill Kline, the CEO behind the evolving bill tracking platform.
“This was always the roadmap. We started out with some of these basic features, wanting to help the general public get their foot in the door to Jefferson City, statehouses, and Congress,” Kline said of the company’s first-year growth that has recently produced a slew of new tools to its more than 800 users.
The non-partisan web platform allows users to instantly track and react to legislation, review the voting history of lawmakers, and connect with their legislators in real time. Additions to the Fast Democracy cabinet of offerings include instant notification of bill actions, amendment notifications, and a first of its kind bill comparison feature, Kline explained.
“With our new, advanced analytics, we’re not only giving subscribers the ability to follow what’s happening in the legislature, but we’re also giving them the ability to predict outcomes and showing them the pathway to success,” Kline said.
Upgrades to the company’s platform come hot on the heels of a Pure Pitch Rally competition that landed Fast Democracy a $7,000 investment during Techweek Kansas City, said co-founder Sara Baker.
“To have so many people stand up and say, ‘I’m giving my investment to Fast Democracy because I believe in the values,’ that ‘government should be transparent,’ It was wonderful to see that and hear that,” Baker said.
Anatolij Gelimson, Sara Baker, and Jill Cline, Fast Democracy
The company was also awarded a Digital Sandbox investment of $25,000 this summer.
Participation in the Pure Pitch Rally has also rallied the company dozens of new supporters, in the form of networking and investment opportunities, Baker further elaborated.
Upgraded tools aren’t the only innovative additions to Fast Democracy, Baker revealed. The company will now offer in-depth tracking of local politics with Kansas City and St. Louis named the rollouts flagship cities.
“[Tracking] will be down to a very granular level,” Baker said. “We’re really looking towards how we can bring on the team who can help us achieve that.”
Additional tools could be made available before the start of the 2019 legislative session, Kline said. Local users will be able to track city council and community politics in early-November.
Featured Business
2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
$1.6M grant will create incubator for low-income, minority entrepreneurs
A large federal grant will help reanimate an older industrial building in Kansas City to serve as a small business incubator. The U.S. Economic Development Administration recently awarded a $1.6 million grant to the Hispanic Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri. The Kansas City organization said that the grant should create about 90 new…
Kauffman report: KC ranks 28 out of 40 in entrepreneurial growth
Fewer Kansas City companies are growing to become medium- or large-sized firms, according to a report released Thursday by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. It’s a common story across the U.S., as the nation rebounds from the slump of the Great Recession, the report says. The 2017 Kauffman Index of Growth Entrepreneurship report suggests the…
Housing trends show young professionals don’t care about Troost’s stigma, UC-B says
Lance Carlton initially was skeptical of developing east of Troost Avenue, he said. “But the mentality of the market has changed,” said Carlton, co-managing partner of UC-B Properties, which brought its offices to the 4300 block of Troost in August 2016. The company helped prove an appetite for residential development on the corridor with 19…
Mac Properties plans four-corner food startup village at Armour and Troost
Mac Properties’ Kansas City arm wants to turn a “sleepy intersection” on Troost into a four-corner incubator for thriving residential and restaurant activity. The vision is to create a “food startup village” as the foundation of the development, which would bring 400 new market rate apartments to Armour Boulevard and Troost, said Peter Cassel, director…