No Coast winners: Two rapidly growing KC tech startups championed
March 9, 2019 | Tommy Felts
Tech leadership and innovation know No Coast, said Ryan Weber Friday night as the KC Tech Council revealed its inaugural award show honorees.
The Abbott
Beneath the glittering chandeliers of the Abbott luxury event space — and surrounded by elaborate set pieces and balloon art — Weber and the KC Tech Council team announced winners in four No Coast categories that enveloped industry, policy and workforce.
Startup faces taking home prizes included a Martin City-headquartered cyber security powerhouse, Fishtech Group, and the driving force behind Merriam-based sports tech firm, ShotTracker.
Click here to learn about how Fishtech is securing its place in a threat-filled market.
Click here for more on why ShotTracker was selected as one of Startland’s Startups to Watch in 2019.
“The story of Kansas City’s tech industry is being written at a rapid pace,” said Karen Hornig, CEO of KC-based insurance information tech services firm NIPR, introducing the Outstanding Contribution to Tech Award. “The story of the region’s future as a technology hub will be written by many of the people and organizations in this room.”
Danielle Feinberg, Pixar Animation Studios
Friday’s family-focused No Coast celebration featured a number of youth award presenters, as well as a lively crowd of children in the audience. Fittingly, a keynote illuminated by Danielle Feinberg, a director of photography at Pixar Animation Studios, focused heavily on Feinberg’s experience working on such hit family films as “Wall-E” and “Coco.”
Loving that the @KCTechCouncil has embraced #InternationalWomensDay throughout their #nocoast19 event, featuring a female speaker, engaging women and girls, and making the event explicitly kid-friendly. And also, not pink. Tech event organizers, take note. #startupkc #techkc pic.twitter.com/WzsuvQ0heN
— Melissa Roberts (@msmeliss2024) March 9, 2019
“We hope to make our attendees feel comfortable to bring kids, nieces, nephews, you name it, because there’s going to be a great opportunity for them to experience the tech that’s created in Kansas City and be inspired,” Weber said before the event, which began with an interactive tech showcase featuring such KC companies as Dimensional Innovations, Garmin, VMLY&R, WeWork and Fishtech Group.
No Coast award winners included:
Outstanding Contribution to Tech
(Finalists: Alphapointe; and Stackify)
Kara Lowe, KC Tech Council; Jennie Hanna and Valerie Sablin, Fishtech Group
Tech Connector of the Year
Davyeon Ross, co-founder and COO, ShotTracker
(Finalists: Greg Kratofil, managing partner, Polsinelli; and Matt Watson, founder, Stackify)
Ryan Weber, KC Tech Council; Ryder Jarrett, student intern; Jeff Portsche, Garmin; and Davyeon Ross, ShotTracker
Tech Champion of the Year
Brian Baker, lead government strategist, Cerner
(Finalists: Bob Bennett, chief innovation officer, City of KCMO; and Travis Fitzwater, member, Missouri House of Representatives)
Brian Baker, Cerner
Tech Educator of the Year
Jill Riffer, Blue Valley CAPS
(Finalists: Kevin Clevenger, Blue Springs School District; and Lisa Oyler, Summit Technology Academy)
Antonio Linhart, student; Jill Riffer, Blue Valley CAPS; and Ryan Weber, KC Tech Council
Featured Business
2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
‘Always in Season’ tee raises funds for neighborhood farmers market targeted by DEI-related cuts
Kansas City designer Lauren Allen is serving up something fresh — both in style and in message. Her latest T-shirt for the Ivanhoe Farmers Market delivers a bold statement: “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion are always in season.” Designed with vibrant vegetable illustrations, the shirt celebrates DEI while supporting a vital community resource — and its…
No risk, no reward: Adding three new stores is more than just boss moves for Isaac Lee Collins; it’s betting his livelihood on going big
Kansas City’s frozen yogurt game is getting a major upgrade as Fifth & Emery Frozen Yogurt and Chocolate prepares to open three new locations in Zona Rosa, Olathe, and Lenexa this year. “I didn’t work this hard just to stop here,” said founder Isaac Lee Collins, who previously operated the venture as a handful of…
Heart-shaped goalllll: How city’s favorite parade of art, culture creates 150 openings for KC in 2026
Parade of Hearts scores new sculpture design as campaign looks down the pitch to World Cup potential A newly revealed sculpture design for the 2026 Parade of Hearts campaign is more than just the fiberglass from which it takes shape, Carmen Zuniga told a crowd gathered for a sneak peek at the prototype for the…
URL to IRL insights: KC analytics startup downloads $1.2M pre-seed round powered by coalition of VCs
The region’s investment community is rallying around an Overland Park tech startup that unlocks insights from videos online and beyond — and its trio of Kansas City founders is grateful to see local talent earning capital that more easily flows to coastal innovators. A $1.2 million pre-seed for dScribe AI is expected to fuel growth…