SafetyCulture executing fireproof growth strategy from new Crossroads US HQ
January 17, 2019 | Elyssa Bezner
A recent move placed SafetyCulture into the largest fireproof building in KC — a choice reflecting the startup’s customer-centered approach, said Ross Reed, noting the building’s more-than-a-century-old history was an added plus.
The tech company which provides the iAuditor app — a digital checklist platform for safety inspections — moved from previous office space at Plexpod Westport Commons after a successful Series C round of $45 million, to provide accessible, customer-friendly spaces and collaborative areas for employees in the Crossroads Arts District, he said.
Click here to read more about SafetyCulture’s Series C round.
Getting in touch with the community was another deciding factor for the Crossroads location, Ross added, noting a community block party is being planned within the coming months to launch the startup’s work in the area and celebrate the users that gave the app success in KC.
Keep reading below the photo gallery.
SafetyCulture prioritizes the customer rather than revenue, Ross said, noting iAuditor is free, available in iOS and GooglePlay, and the new Crossroads space is ready for community events and meetups for app demos.
The space features a large cafe area, meditation rooms doubling as privacy areas for nursing mothers, and video conference rooms ranging in size for conversations, international or otherwise, he added.
“Every 15 seconds someone dies from a workplace-related injury or illness,” said Reed, standing in front of a wall reading, “The most important thing to come out of the mine is the miner.”
SafetyCulture — founded in Townsville, Australia in 2004 by Luke Anear, who has since expanded the platform into Sydney, Manchester, Manila, and KC — is now focusing on reflecting it’s international identity into 24-hour services, he added.
Click here to read more about the beginnings of SafetyCulture in Kansas City.
iAuditor — together with the secondary Spotlight app, which works as a incident reporting tool — can build out the analytics side of collected data, said Reed, providing users to streamlined, continuous information on the state of safety in every workplace.
“Let’s say you’re the vice president of quality or safety, you can look at the analytics from your laptop and see that [workers aren’t] really safe in this location, or [notice varying] brand standards without having to go on site visits,” he said. “We have a lot of data that helps customers make data-driven decisions versus just going on maintenance checks.”
Hundreds of users are added to the SafetyCulture platform every single day, he added, noting international growth remains a primary goal.
“While we have a pretty massive customer base and user base, 99 percent of the world hasn’t heard of us yet and that’s going to change,” said Reed. “I want to make an impact — [SafetyCulture] is very mission-driven — so we’ll use marketing to get out to more customers.”
Featured Business

2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Betty Rae’s sells to Shatto: Why the ice cream brand’s young steward is stepping away from the scoop (for now)
An announcement this week that Betty Rae’s Ice Cream could open new shops and push its popular products into grocery stores is exciting growth to envision, agreed Alec Rodgers, the brand’s steward since 2021 when he bought and reopened its two storefronts amid challenges of the ongoing pandemic. Rodgers just won’t be the man behind…
Entrepreneur meets with VP Harris; surprised DC already knew about KC’s first Black-owned brewery
Word travels. A roundtable discussion this week with Vice President Kamala Harris gave Kemet Coleman an opportunity to put his city, and specifically the 18th and Vine neighborhood, on an elevated platform, the Kansas City entrepreneur and musician said. Coleman — one of three co-founders of the soon-to-be-opened Vine Street Brewing, Missouri’s first Black-owned brewery…
This startup’s AI, Bluetooth tech could push traffic to businesses, boost equity when World Cup comes to KC
This spring’s NFL Draft served as a beta test for Kansas City’s implementation of Jonathan Ruiz’s bluetooth technology, he said, noting that the tech and data could help better prepare the city for the World Cup in 2026. “We wanted to start collecting this data for our partners in Kansas City’s Downtown and City Market,…
Rhinestone’d to RuPaul reality: Fan-turned-KC fashion icon shines with ‘Drag Race’ design
RuPaul may not know Whitney Manney’s name, but the “Drag Race” host is now acquainted with the Kansas City fashion designer’s work, she said. The owner of the KC-based WHITNEYMANNEY label had the “wild experience” of designing and constructing the trans-pride, “Troop Beverly Hills”-inspired entrance look for Monica Beverly Hillz for Season 8 of “RuPaul’s…







