PayIt’s iKan app named a finalist in Fast Company 2019 Innovation by Design honors
September 10, 2019 | Tommy Felts
Kansas City’s PayIt isn’t just worthy of investment — its foundational technology continues to win awards alongside the likes of Nike, Microsoft and Mastercard, said John Thomson.
Fast Company honored iKan — a PayIt-powered app that allows Kansas residents to pay vehicle registration renewals, renew their driver’s license (the country’s first-ever mobile driver’s license renewal service), and order vital records (birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates) — during its Innovation by Design Awards for 2019 in the Apps & Games category.
Alexandru Otrezov, John Thomson, and Mike Plunkett, PayIt
“A cloud-native platform, PayIt was first in market to deliver a wallet citizens can use to simplify access to government services, an Amazon-like experience,” said Thomson, PayIt co-founder and CEO.
Click here to learn more about iKan.
Innovation by Design is the only competition to honor creative work at the intersection of design, business, and innovation, according to the Kansas City startup. This year’s applicant pool was the most competitive, with more than 4,300 entries. PayIt was among 483 honored projects, products, and services.
“We care deeply about supporting the mission of government and making government smarter, more modern, more transparent and more connected,” said Thomson. “Our approach is unique in this market and frankly our team has done an amazing job of delivering consumer grade omni channel experiences via an enterprise grade platform. All of which is serving to transform the GovTech market!”
PayIt’s partnership with the State of Kansas helped the startup deliver a local reference point as its business expanded across the nation, now serving some of the largest entities in state and local government, he added.
In March, PayIt banked a more than $100 million investment from Insight Partners, then a $25 million follow-on investment from Weatherford Capital in May.
Such milestones of progress for PayIt reflect a changing space for tech startups, said Alexandru Otrezov, PayIt’s newly announced chief marketing officer.
“It’s a new era out there for companies that are created by demand,” he said. “It’s not just ‘I have a great idea and I’m going to put it out there. I need a great marketer to sell it.’ People need something, so companies provide the solution. Look at Netflix, Uber, Tesla. They’re all created because customers demanded those products.”
PayIt is an example, Otrezov said, of a startup built to ease pain points as old as government itself.
Featured Business
2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Help from above: Why protecting satellites from cyber attacks could hold key to adapting to climate change
Humans must responsibly rise to the occasion as Earth’s climate changes, Charles Beames said, detailing the role well-protected satellites and space systems can play in putting life-preserving solutions into orbit. “Space systems are one of the keys to the future, our future, of dealing with the changing climate and our adaptation,” said Beames, aerospace expert and…
In the field: Industry-specific, hands-free voice tech helps ‘hero up’ data collecting workers
After years of research, Bruce Rasa and his team identified a consistent pain point for field workers: capturing data on-the-go and looping it back to their headquarters. They need a co-pilot, he said, noting the role played by KC-based Dexer (formerly AgVoice), agriculture’s first handsfree data capture service to help cross-industry specialists create records —…
New city flag designed for KC’s now (and tomorrow): Here’s where you’ll see it flying first
Kansas City is ushering in an era of growth and development, Jared Horman said, and the unveiling of a new municipal flag is just the way to recognize this new chapter. “The timing feels particularly exciting with the Chiefs headed to the Super Bowl, the opening of the new terminal at the airport and the…
Pushing without force: Founder credits accelerator’s collaborative ‘in the trenches’ guidance for overseas scaling success
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by the NMotion startup accelerator, but was independently produced by Startland News. The powerhouse mix of global and localized support David Biga received from the NMotion Growth Accelerator was well worth the program’s required exchange of equity, the proptech startup founder detailed. Particle Space — one of Startland News’…