‘This is the dream’: Starty Party turns up the volume on Kansas City tech, collaboration (Photos)
November 13, 2025 | Tommy Felts
It isn’t a party without the people, said organizers of the Starty Party, gathering a crowd of startup veterans, early stage founders, investors and community leaders Wednesday for a one-night celebration of innovation — set against the backdrop of homegrown music and vibes.
Melissa Vincent, Pipeline Entrepreneurs, right, speaks on stage alongside Dan Kerry, Flyover Capital, during the Starty Party at Knuckleheads; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
“This is amazing,” said Melissa Vincent, CEO of Pipeline Entrepreneurs, from the Starty Party stage at Knuckleheads in Kansas City’s East Bottoms. “The thing I love about Kansas City is that we know how to collaborate. And because of our collaboration — instead of it being competition — we bring everybody in together.”
A crossover event, Starty Party notably combined the people power and resources of Pipeline (opening its latest module this week), the Flyover Capital-led MidxMidwest startup-investor summit (returning today in its fourth year), and law firm Polsinelli (a longtime supporter of the tech and innovation community).
Click here to learn more about the origins of the Starty Party, which was presented by GK2.
Wednesday’s packed outdoor concert — featuring The Greeting Committee, a nationally touring indie-pop band with roots in the Heartland — came together with the help of a wide-range of community partners, organizers said, crediting Keystone, NXTUS, UMKC, Digital Sandbox KC, LaunchKC, and Digital Health KC for their support.
“The common thread in this whole region: We all want entrepreneurship in this city to thrive,” said Flyover’s Dan Kerr, a core MidxMidwest organizer who dubbed the celebration with its Starty Party name. “And to see this many people out here, I think we can say that we’re thriving; we’re gonna rock it.”
Greg Koehler and Greg Kratofil, GK2, speak on stage at Starty Party at Knuckleheads; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
Looking across the crowd, gathered under the neon lights and heaters of the Knuckleheads venue, Kerr acknowledged support from Polsinelli’s Greg Kratofil had pushed MidxMidwest to new heights.
“Honestly, when we started MidxMidwest four years ago … the dream was to have entrepreneurs, investors, and awesome Kansas City talent come out and be part of the mix,” Kerr said. “We’ve always had live music, but Greg has taken it up 10 notches this year. This is the dream right here.”
Mayor Quinton Lucas speaks at Starty Party. “If you love Kansas City, if you love making money, if you love supporting entrepreneurs in business, you’re in the right place tonight. More than anything, make sure you get to know each other, get the chance to connect, and listen to some outstanding music,” Lucas said; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
Featured Business
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Startup transforms students into teachers for educators’ diversity training
Conversations about race, power, privilege and oppression are being had across the country every day. And Kiara Butler believes there is no better group to lead these discussions than young people, she said. “Students are already having these conversations every day,” said Butler, co-founder and CEO of Diversity Talks. “It’s the adults that don’t necessarily…
Sprint Accelerator alum trades Miami HQ for KC
TradeLanes’ move from Miami to the Midwest is about proximity. “In Kansas City, we’re closer to customers and closer to everyone on our list of prospective customers,” TradeLanes co-founder Vijay Harrell said. “The closer we are to our customers, the faster we can learn, spot their problems and then solve them.” The global trade firm,…
With 42 KC evictions per day, civic hackers pinpoint action with data
Kansas City can be a leader on housing justice, Tara Raghuveer said. The details are in the data. Examining a Jackson County data set that included 173,720 eviction records spanning 17 years, Raghuveer, a Harvard-educated researcher and Shawnee Mission East High School graduate, confirmed a leading predictor of eviction in Kansas City: race. “It disproportionately…
Events Preview: Measuring social impact, Second Fridays
There are a plethora of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter, or curious community member — we recommend these upcoming events for you. Are you hosting a relevant community event? Add it to the KCSourceLink Calendar for increased exposure. Email info@kcsourcelink.com for assistance. Startup Rewind…