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Blockchain Basics: It’s more than a tech buzzword, but how does it actually work?

By Tommy Felts / March 16, 2020

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Kenyon Briggs is an attorney at Husch Blackwell in Kansas City. This op-ed is part of a limited series on blockchain sponsored by Husch Blackwell. What is blockchain technology? Technically precise definitions found on Google define it as “a distributed, decentralized, public ledger.”…

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RFP360 team

Five Elms Capital doubles down on RFP360, bringing its investment to $12M

By Tommy Felts / March 16, 2020

RFP360 proved its worth and ability to push itself in the months following Five Elms Capital’s first investment in the software platform, said Thomas Kershisnik. The payoff? Five Elms today announced a second strategic growth investment in RFP360 — bringing its total backing of the Leawood-based startup to $12 million, said Kershisnik, managing director at…

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Opportunity Hub

OHUB set to lose $1M+ in SXSW sunk costs, pivots to virtual experience; KC event plans in the air amid Coronavirus concerns

By Tommy Felts / March 13, 2020

Opportunity Hub is moving forward with a two-day virtual “Black and Hired” experience from its Atlanta headquarters after Coronavirus concerns prompted the cancelation of SXSW — where OHUB planned to spotlight members of its Kansas City cohort. Canceling the SXSW festival — which was expected to draw more than 400,000 to Austin over two weeks —…

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One of KC’s first coworking leaders passes ownership to longtime Cowork Waldo members

By Tommy Felts / March 13, 2020

The new owners of Cowork Waldo have already seen the impact of community through one of Kansas City’s first neighborhood coworking spaces, said Melissa Saubers. “Powerhouse entrepreneurial duo” Zubin Talib and Talyn Good — who Saubers called “trusted, long-standing” Cowork Waldo members — are set to take over operations of the shared workspace April 1, she…

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Jason Roberts, Strang Hall, Edison Factory

Cooking cash-free: Strang Hall leans into tech framework with its OP restaurant incubator 

By Tommy Felts / March 12, 2020

A cashless dining experience at Strang Hall is about more than efficiency, said Jason Roberts. It’s part of the Overland Park chef collective’s engrained tech framework. “It allows us to shut down the place super fast at the end of the day,” explained Roberts, Strang Hall CIO and principal at Edison Factory, the startup builder…

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Jody Brazil, Rich Mogull, and Mike Rothman, DisruptOps

DisruptOps raises $9M Series A with serial entrepreneur, cyber security veterans taming the cloud

By Tommy Felts / March 10, 2020

With security threats to cloud-enabled businesses outpacing the ability of most companies to respond, a fresh funding infusion is expected to help DisruptOps strengthen its team and its ability to react, said Jody Brazil. The Kansas City startup — a SaaS-based cloud security management platform that helps enterprises address the critical challenges of cloud security at…

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Fishtech, BacklotCars, Bardavon named to Forbes’ 2020 best startup employers list

By Tommy Felts / March 10, 2020

A trio of fast-growing Kansas City companies are among the 500 best startup employers in the nation, according to a new ranking from Forbes. Fishtech Group — one of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2020 — lead the local honorees at No. 277 on Forbes’ list. BacklotCars was ranked at No. 339,…

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Image courtesy of Knoq

Scaling tech startup with door-to-door ‘Knoqers’ plans no-contact option amid Coronavirus

By Tommy Felts / March 10, 2020

A tech startup with offices in Kansas City and Boston plans to hire 200-plus “Knoqers” in 2020, but the company admits its growing army of door-to-door neighborhood representatives face an unexpected challenge this spring and summer: the spread of the Coronavirus. “Like everyone across the world, we have been closely following news about the Coronavirus…

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Hy-Vee Arena

Faith and Freedom Hoops: Startup founder bringing Big 12 alternative to Hy-Vee Arena

By Tommy Felts / March 9, 2020

As bright LED lights flickered on Mitch Case, he looked up at the empty seats in a quiet Hy-Vee arena.  “We have reached out to over 60 kids this year,” Case, a sales engineer at Midwest Machinery and co-founder of Mommy Meals, said of preparations for the KC Hoops Shootout — a first run fundraiser…

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Harrison Proffitt, co-founder, Bungii; KCMO Speakeasy Session public session on the 2020-2021 budget

Open letter to KCMO: Entrepreneur community makes 0.1 percent budget ask ‘for backbone of our economy’

By Tommy Felts / March 9, 2020

Editor’s note: The following open letter was produced independently of Startland News by a coalition of small business and entrepreneur support leaders and signed by more than 210 members of Kansas City’s startup and business community. The opinions expressed in this commentary are the authors’ alone. The signatories are provided courtesy of the authors. Mayor Quinton…

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