BacklotCars taking over full floor of new Lightwell building following $25M funding round
August 2, 2019 | Startland News Staff
A 20,000-square-foot space in one of Kansas City’s most recently remodeled downtown office buildings will allow BacklotCars room to continue expanding its team, while also impressing high-level targets, said Josh Parsons.
“The location, design and amenities of the project are exactly what is needed to attract the top tech talent to Kansas City,” said Parsons, co-founder and COO at BacklotCars, describing the look and feel of the space at 12th and Main streets. “We are very excited to be moving into the new Lightwell building and feel that it will be a great place for our ever-growing team to call home.”
BacklotCars joins WeWork as top-tier tenants at Lightwell, which boasts 180,000 square feet of contiguous availability, the largest existing block of space in downtown Kansas City, according to its developers. WeWork plans to occupy two floors of the building, formerly branded as City Center.
Now operating from within Plexpod Crossroads, BacklotCars — which offers a wholesale platform for auto dealers — is expected to move into Lightwell later this month. The company announced a $25 million funding round in April.
Click here to read more about the big investment in BacklotCars.
“BacklotCars is exactly the type of forward-thinking technology company that understands what we’re creating at Lightwell,” said Basel Bataineh, vice president at Somera Road, which negotiated the lease alongside AREA Real Estate Advisors. “They’re a major contributor to Kansas City’s growing technology ecosystem and we’re excited to provide them with a home that’ll enable their next phase of growth.”


Featured Business

2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Rawxies founder: ‘I didn’t give up’ on fundraising in KC
Vegan snack manufacturer Rawxies is en route to closing a funding round that will significantly increase its production. The Kansas City-based company has now raised $512,000 of its seed round, which will boost manufacturing of its raw, vegan snacks by roughly 400 percent. Investors thus far include England’s family, Liz and Brian Kelly, the Women’s…
Meet KC’s Cisco Smart City leaders
Kansas City Mayor Sly James announced on Friday 11 people to serve on the city’s Smart City Advisory Board. With a mixture of corporate, non-profit and civic experience, the board will manage and guide policies for Kansas City’s public-private Smart City project. Announced in the summer of 2014, the project will turn downtown into a…
ClaimKit’s Cheatham: listening scored big business
Adaptability is a cornerstone of launching a successful business. Without that — and a willingness to listen — ClaimKit CEO Chris Cheatham said he would’ve been pursuing a much smaller market with his company’s tech product. ClaimKit, which created a document management system for insurance claims professionals, recently pivoted its model to create a collaborative…
Some like it hot: KC named top startup town
You’re hot, Kansas City, and it’s not just your sweltering summer heat. Entrepreneur Magazine recently named Kansas City — Mo. and Kan. — as one of nine “hot startup cities” that are outside of San Francisco and New York City. Although Kansas City is also known for its tech prowess, the magazine largely noted the…

