Whiteboard2Boardroom connections advance innovation for startups like Aware Vehicles
March 3, 2020 | Sarah Mote
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Sarah Mote is marketing director for UMKC Innovation Center and KCSourceLink.
The right introduction, at the right time, can make a world of difference.
Tech entrepreneur P.J. Piper came to Kansas City six years ago to scale another venture. What he had: entrepreneurial experience in taking a product to market. What he was looking for: new and innovative technologies to potentially take to market. But, being new to town and KC’s tech scene, he didn’t have an expansive network with the local research institutions.
Whiteboard2Boardroom (W2B) was created as a partnership between four regional schools – UMKC, University of Kansas, Johnson County Community College and William Jewell College — and now partners with such service providers as KCSourceLink the UMKC Small Business and Technology Development Center. Since inception, W2B has worked with numerous innovations resulting in: 39 new startups, 154 new jobs and $35.4M in follow-on funding.
That’s where Jim Baxendale and Whiteboard2Boardroom came in. After attending one of Whiteboard2Boardroom’s monthly webinar series, Piper became aware of the drone technologies Dr. ZhiQiang Chen was developing.
Baxendale then introduced Piper to Chen, a professor of structural engineering at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. While Chen developed the innovation, Piper saw an opportunity and together the two created Aware Vehicles.
Click here to read more about Aware Vehicles, which is bringing autonomy to drone operation, using high-speed imaging to advance our agriculture, transportation and public safety infrastructure.
Aware’s mobile smart docking solution eliminates the need for farmers to manually control drones, while providing enough timely data for machine learning to detect crop stress fast enough for farmers to save crops and enhance yields.
Without the need of human intervention, this cutting-edge technology has the ability to meet the needs of a variety of industries. Aware Vehicles has since obtained funding from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and was recently selected by Black & Veatch and LaunchKC for their highly competitive accelerator program focusing on sustainability and infrastructure solutions.
Whiteboard2Boardroom is a key resource for early-stage entrepreneurs in the region — connecting them with new innovations they can take to the marketplace.
A region-wide collaboration, Whiteboard2Boardroom curates innovations from 22 research institutions, hospitals and corporations across Kansas and Missouri. The program then connects entrepreneurs and established businesses to technologies available for licensing in the bi-state region to accelerate the commercialization of technology.
Whiteboard2Boardroom continuously works with a number of innovations in the region to help advance them to the marketplace.
To share these innovations with the broader community, Whiteboard2Boardroom hosts monthly webinars. During the webinars, researchers and technology transfer professionals from partner institutions present technologies available for licensing. The webinar sessions consist of eight- to 10-minute pitch presentations of each technology available for licensing as a new startup company or to an established business.
Webinar attendees are invited to participate based on their interest in commercializing new innovative technologies either as new startup companies or as new products in an existing company’s product portfolio.
Attendees who show an interest in learning more about a technology opportunity work with Whiteboard2Boardroom staff to connect with the intellectual property owners and receive confidential information that assists in making a decision on whether or not to move to a licensing negotiation.
Click here to learn more about technologies have been developed with the help and connections of Whiteboard2Boardroom.
If you have an interest in learning more about licensing university or hospital technologies and attending this month’s W2B webinar, email Jim Baxendale at baxendalej@umkc.edu
Featured Business
2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
‘Scarlet Knight’ cuts through comic book stigma with real-life entrepreneur, brand crossovers
Continuing his comic book quest to capture the realities of urban life, Juaquan Herron returns to drop the Scarlet Knight’s second volume — this time featuring some recognizable Kansas City faces, he said. “It’s just one of those things where you definitely have to figure out other avenues to make the brand bigger — bigger…
Nine months after KC startup’s exit, its new owner adopts ‘Zego’ name, identity
Acquiring Kansas City-based Zego was a smart move for its new owner, the San Diego company said Tuesday — and a decision so impactful that the evolving tech platform is taking on the name and personality of the exited smart home startup. “We are excited to take the next steps in our company’s evolution,” said Dirk…
First look: WeWork Lightwell illuminates space for growing teams downtown (Photos)
Despite national headlines that question WeWork’s staying power, a second Kansas City location signals light at the end of the tunnel for the coworking giant. “The expectation of the workforce is changing,” Erik Wullschleger, WeWork community director, explained during a Startland News tour of the newly opened space, which occupies the third and fourth floors…
Beyond just bats: Pro Athlete takes a swing at apparel, innovation with its first acquisition
Whether a company has just left the bench or been in the game for more than 30 years, the key to innovation is simple: maintain a startup mentality and growth is sure to follow, said Andrew Dowis. “One of our core values is embracing innovation,” explained Dowis, CEO of Pro Athlete — a Kansas City-grown…