10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024
January 2, 2024 | Tommy Felts
Meet 10 of the most compelling, emerging startups poised to make bold headlines in 2024. From spacetech to artificial intelligence, beer to golf, blowouts to big rigs, these companies share at least one critical component beyond sheer momentum.
They help reflect a new golden era in Kansas City.
[pullquote]
Join Startland News for an afternoon of programming designed to help you grow your startup in the year ahead and in recognition of the publication’s class of 10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024.
Click here for tickets to the Jan. 19 event at UMKC.
[/pullquote]
It’s a theme echoed throughout the local economic development community, rippling from the region’s sports scene to massive new corporate tech and manufacturing commitments, all the way to startup and main street entrepreneurs.
No one seems to remember a more exciting time in the City of Fountains.
And these founders are scaling into that potential with companies that challenge mainstream assumptions — revealing and solving pain points old and new, while redefining what kind of world comes next.
At least half of the companies on this year’s list of 10 Kansas City Startups to Watch are built with aspects of equity and inclusion expressly woven into the fabric of their missions — not as gimmicks, but as the means to scale real-world change using tools never before at the hands of humans.
In today’s landscape of Kansas City innovation, narrowing this list down to just 10 companies is nearly impossible — even after nine years covering startup newsmakers.
The final result represents the spectrum of entrepreneurial spirit coursing through the region; a teaser of what Startland News’ editorial team believes is to come in the year ahead.
As always, this isn’t a contest between companies; there’s no “top startup” to declare better than the rest, and a startup’s funding is just one element within the selection process. The 2024 list exists to elevate remarkable entrepreneurs and unlock new opportunities for some of the city’s fastest growing startups that might otherwise be overlooked amid Taylor Swift sightings and the slow rollout of what promises to be a brutal election year.
This list was compiled through nearly three months of research and conversations with community experts, funders and support organizations. Ultimately, curation of the list relied heavily on the honesty, openness and track record of founders.
The Startland News editorial team culled 35 semi-finalists from hundreds of nominations and newsroom-generated leads, narrowed that list to 15, and finally to the 10 selected members of the Startups to Watch class of 2024 — a cohort of founders eager to prove themselves in the new year, and backed with the headline-grabbing potential to make it happen.
Navigate through the photo carousel below to see the 10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024.
Click here to check out Startland News’ 2023 list, or look back at our original predictions in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
[divide]
Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024
[slide-anything id=”696451″]
[divide]
Startups to Watch is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
Featured Business
2024 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Roz audits its path to $2.15M in early funding; how KC helped this AI startup scale its potential
A series of funding wins is boosting a Kansas City startup’s efforts to automate the most complex — and tedious — parts of compliance work, drawing from the co-founder’s own pain points and resources from a server-full of local entrepreneur support initiatives. With $2.15 million in funding under its belt so far, Olathe-based Roz — which…
KC GIFT launches ‘Vibe the City’ passport to showcase Black-owned arts, entertainment venues
A newly published mini-guide to Black-owned arts and entertainment venues across Kansas City is expected to push community members deeper into the metro’s rich Black business ecosystem, said Brandon Calloway, highlighting a range of cultural and nightlife destinations. “Vibe the City” passports are available now at the G.I.F.T. Business Center at 5008 Prospect Ave.,…
Trially secures $4.7M seed round, launches ‘Margo’ AI solution to clear patient bottleneck
A Kansas City startup’s AI-first platform is expected to save time — and patient lives — thanks to a successful seed round for its clinical trial recruitment tech, explained Kyle McAllister, noting his startup’s solution could help speed up access to treatment by years. Trially, one of Startland News’ 10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in…
She scored music on Netflix and LA’s star-studded stages; now BodaciousThang is getting vulnerable in KC
When Cheyenne Jolene steps on stage in the shoes of her alter ego, the singer-songwriter’s voice carries both raw emotion and unapologetic truth. Performing as BodaciousThang, Jolene blends R&B, hip hop, rock, and soul into what she describes as “genre bending” music. Her songs are steeped in authenticity and storytelling, offering listeners intimate glimpses into…