All Stories

Ria Rao and Morgan Bannerman after securing their first house after securing their first house

KC’s housing market makes young professionals’ first homes more elusive; here’s how four of them are making it work

By Tommy Felts / October 20, 2021

As newcomers to Kansas City in 2019, Ria Rao and Morgan Bannerman found community co-living with other young professionals under the same roof. Now they’re hoping to replicate that environment — this time as homeowners. The move comes in large part out of necessity. Amid a highly competitive housing market, locating an on-budget home — and…

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Fresh Factory KC, India Wells-Carter; Cafe Cà Phê, Jackie Nguyen; Heart and Seoul, Rachel Cayetano; Peak Roofing - Mechanical, Jade Teixeira

Meet 10 finalists for AltCap Your Biz pitch payout; competition returns during GEW KC

By Tommy Felts / October 19, 2021

A diverse group of nearly a dozen small businesses are advancing to the next round of the annual AltCap Your Biz: Pitch Competition with finalists ranging from a mobile vegan soul food service to a Northland selfie experience. The “Closing the Deal” live pitch event showcases the 10 best concepts from a pool of 43…

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Zachary Oshinbanjo, Vetelligence, Pure Pitch Rally

Just funded: Sharks, crowd salute veteran-led tech newcomer with $32K in Pure Pitch Rally checks

By Tommy Felts / October 19, 2021

A fresh face to the startup stage, Zachary Oshinbanjo left Monday’s Pure Pitch Rally with the most-funded venture of the event — taking home more than a third of the day’s nearly $90,000 in cash prizes. A U.S. Army veteran, Oshinbanjo pitched “land sharks” on Vetelligence — a tech platform that aims to create a…

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Tristan Mace, Flyover Capital

Flyover Capital adds managing partner with fresh perspective on KC, tech investment expertise

By Tommy Felts / October 19, 2021

A month after announcing its more than $60 million Tech Fund II, Flyover Capital is adding to its leadership team — appointing Tristan Mace, a serial tech entrepreneur and investor, as a managing partner at the Overland Park-based venture capital firm. “I’m excited to join Flyover Capital as we build on our success of contributing…

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Riddhiman Das, TripleBlind

TripleBlind posts $24M round as interest in its data privacy tech expands, founder talks $100M+ valuation

By Tommy Felts / October 18, 2021

An oversubscribed $24 million Series A funding round announced Monday is expected to push Kansas City-coded TripleBlind into new verticals as it rapidly scales and finds itself a leader in data efficiency.  The startup — which previously secured $8.2 million in seed funding in April — found return support in Mayo Clinic, which co-led the…

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Recyclverse products

Fund Me, KC: UMKC alums aim to transform recycled plastics into functional home décor

By Tommy Felts / October 15, 2021

Startland News is continuing its “Fund Me, KC” series to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses or lend a helping hand to others. This is an opportunity for business owners and innovators — like Nicole Dover and Tony Jordan, and their newly launched venture, Recyclverse — to share their crowdfunding stories and potentially…

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New in KC: Elizabeth Pishny treks from farming to human trafficking, Facebook to Google, Austin to KC

By Tommy Felts / October 15, 2021

Editor’s note: New in KC is an ongoing profile series that highlights newly relocated members of the Kansas City startup community, their reasons for a change of scenery, and what they’ve found so far in KC. This series is sponsored by C2FO, a Leawood-based, global financial services company. Click here to read more New in KC profiles. While Elizabeth Pishny is…

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Tony Bien, Sandbox by Swell Spark

WATCH: Master craftsman builds on military career — a catalyst to avoid wasted opportunity

By Tommy Felts / October 15, 2021

Tony Bien cuts lumber. He might even cut into a melon. But service in the Kansas Army National Guard taught the hands-on force behind Swell Spark’s in-house design workshop to avoid cutting corners. “I’ve been very blessed in my career with the Army and with what I am doing now,” said Bien, who serves as…

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Shekhar Gupta, MyAnIML, Blockchain Initiatives

Blockchain to beef: Why one serial innovator traded the slow pace of corporate life for another muzzle

By Tommy Felts / October 14, 2021

Shekhar Gupta learned early that life comes with two approaches for overcoming challenges: accept the problem and move on or figure out a better way of solving it. The Kansas City serial entrepreneur has no shortage of ideas for finding solutions, but he keeps moving nonetheless. As COO of Blockchain Initiatives, Gupta has his hands…

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Risa Stein, SeeInMe; Alex Burton and Leo Esposito, Bozt; Rebecca Simons, CuePlay; Michael Eichenseer, VRdojo; Jason Reid, KNIMO; and Jill and Justin Bertelsen, Bertelsen Education

Meet six newly funded companies helping get KC’s economy ‘back on track’ with Digital Sandbox

By Tommy Felts / October 14, 2021

Digital Sandbox funding is a game-changer for CuePlay — one of six companies selected for the proof of concept program’s latest cohort — said founder Rebecca Simons, who first launched the idea two years ago at Techstars’ Startup Weekend in Kansas City. “It allows us to finish the development of a beta app and get it…

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