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
This Dirt Beast works the soil for $2 an hour; why harvesting joy from his urban farm fills the bag
Rows of peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and other vegetables now grow where more than a dozen Kansas City lots once sat vacant. The essence of Dirt Beast Farm is seeded in this soil, creating the ecosystem through which Jameson Hubbard has spent nearly a decade turning open land into food, flowers, and a space for neighbors…
CoBuild founder razes his social venture; now he’s banking its mission’s success on a new blueprint
Closing his startup CoBuild was bittersweet for Tate Williams, but the mission that drove the company isn’t going away. Instead, he’s carrying it forward in a new role at the Central Bank of Kansas City. Williams officially shut down CoBuild this January. The construction startup, launched in 2018, had built a reputation for opening doors…
ATHENA honorees: Lifting up the next generation elevates us all; give them a reason to dream
When women lead, communities rise, Dana Foote said, lifting up two ATHENA award winners whose work in Kansas City has created outcomes more meaningful than mere professional success: “the ripple effect of leadership.” “And I see that in the room tonight,” continued Foote, national managing partner of audit operations for KPMG, sponsor of the Greater…
Photos: Folklore transformed this rooftop for one-night; its $100K impact on small biz lasts even longer
A packed rooftop event that started five years ago as a small gathering among friends has grown into a sold-out celebration that not only highlights music, food, and tradition, but also invests back into local nonprofits and entrepreneurs, said Luis Padilla, founder of Folklore and its popular small business grant program. “That balance of culture…