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
Rif Raf Giraffe plays matchmaker for buildings, money and artists in Crossroads
Jason Harrington sees opportunity in places often overlooked – alleys, elevator shafts and the sides of brick buildings. For the artist better known as Rif Raf Giraffe, they’re vast canvasses, waiting to be filled with gallons and gallons of paint and passion. Harrington recently traversed the East Crossroads Arts District in search of more real…
Black & Veatch delivers first consumer product ever: Solarhood
After more than 100 years in business, engineering giant Black & Veatch has launched its first consumer product: Solarhood. Built through the B&V Growth Accelerator program, the company created Solarhood to streamline the process for homeowners to tap solar power. The Solarhood mobile and web-based app allow homeowners to access the feasibility of going solar,…
Two KC EdTech startups earn spots in latest LEANLAB cohort; launch set for August
It’s a highly selective process to join the fifth LEANLAB K-12 fellowship, said Katie Boody, but two Kansas City startups made the cut. K12 Perform and Base Academy of Music will join four other cohort members — hailing from the Midwest to Washington D.C. — in the August-to-November EdTech accelerator program. LEANLAB is partnering…
HechoKC cast in hand-made image of Chicano artist’s culture, family, community
Witnessing — and participating in — Kansas City’s renaissance has been amazing, said Luis Garcia, the longtime artist behind HechoKC. The Crossroads used to be a ghost town, said Garcia, who has been part of the KC scene since his years at the Kansas City Art Institute. He developed SPYN Studio, a branding and design…