Startups to Watch, Innovation Exchange returning; Startland News announces 2020 events calendar
December 17, 2019 | Startland News Staff
Startland News’ most popular annual and monthly events are set to return in 2020, Austin Barnes said Tuesday, releasing a full calendar of events for the new year.
Austin Barnes, Startland News, Innovation Exchange
“In the last six months of 2019, Innovation Exchange drew its biggest crowds since its return from hiatus in March 2018,” said Barnes, programming director for Startland News. “We’ve really found our footing and it’s fun to see these events evolve from a casual happy hour to a learning experience where guests are coming armed with questions and eagerly taking notes.”
Event-goers can expect the monthly series to showcase startup leaders and specific ecosystem topics on the third Thursday of each month, beginning in February.
But first: the hotly-anticipated celebration of companies on Startland News’ list of Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2020.
The list itself is expected to be announced in mid January. Click here to check out the list of Startups to Watch in 2019.
“The Startland News team is excited to build on this momentum and continue finding new and engaging ways to shed light on topics that matter to founders, ecosystem builders and startup champions alike,” Barnes said.
Key dates
- Jan. 30 — Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2020 Celebration
- Feb. 20— Innovation Exchange
- March 19 — Innovation Exchange
- April 16 — Innovation Exchange
- May 21 — Innovation Exchange
- June 18 — Innovation Exchange
- July 16 — Innovation Exchange
- Aug. 20 — Innovation Exchange
- Aug. 27 — Kansas City’s Top VC-Backed Companies Celebration
- Sept. 27 — Innovation Exchange
- Oct. 15 — Innovation Exchange
- Nov. 19 — Innovation Exchange
- Dec. 17 — Innovation Exchange
Also on the calendar: Startland News’ parent organization, STARTLAND, plans to bring back experiences like Startup Crawl KC on June 5 and its Back2KC talent recruitment program Oct. 1-2.
Check out photos below from Startland News’ most recent Innovation Exchange — “KC Mythbusters: Figuring Out Fintech” at event partner C2FO’s Leawood offices. The Mythbusters panel — moderated by Eric Jorgenson, director of Growth at Zaarly — featured Chris Atkins, vice president of capital finance, C2FO; Maranda Manning, investor, Firebrand Ventures; Megan Darnell, program manager, Fountain City Fintech; and Zach Anderson Pettet, managing director, Fountain City Fintech.
Featured Business
2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
New $2.2M funding round powers WorkTorch career platform expansion into KCK, KCMO
Less than a year after sisters Deborah Gladney and Angela Muhwezi-Hall became the first Black women in Kansas to raise $1 million in seed funding for their startup, their rebranded Wichita company announced another $2.2 million investment for its rapidly scaling service industry career platform. The new influx of funding — led by Wichita-based Tenzing Capital…
Meet three tech startup founders pitching in KC’s women-led ‘Dolphin Tank’ event
A pitch event is set to return to Kansas City with a trio of female founders spotlighted for a panel of “dolphins.” “Springboard’s Dolphin Tank brings the power of our collective community to women entrepreneurs innovating in enterprise tech,” said Natalie Buford-Young, CEO of Springboard Enterprises. “Our Dolphin Tank events showcase exciting women-led companies and…
Founders earn innovation, Business Hall of Fame honors from Junior Achievement
Carlos Antequera’s business roots run deep, he told a crowd gathered for his induction into Junior Achievement’s Business Hall of Fame, noting inspiration and impact from his time assisting his grandmother in her convenience store in Bolivia to current-day collaborators in Kansas City. “I’ve been very fortunate in my entrepreneurial journey to have been surrounded…
Missouri cannabis company grows into flower, buying massive Kansas City grow facility
A Springfield-based cannabis company is acquiring a massive growing and manufacturing facility in Kansas City, positioning Show-Me Organics as a vertical player in the budding Missouri marijuana market. The deal to purchase the local 80,000-square-foot cannabis operation from Holistic Industries — one of the nation’s largest, private multi-state operators in the cannabis industry — is…