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Sandy Kemper, C2FO

BREAKING: C2FO closes $200M investment led by backer of WeWork, Uber, Slack

By Tommy Felts / August 7, 2019

Startup giant C2FO continues its climb to the top, having secured a new $200 million investment — and doubling the amount of its once-record funding raise in fewer than two years.  “We are very fortunate to have a team who, for years, has delivered industry-leading unit economics, extraordinary customer satisfaction, and strong global growth,” Sandy…

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Anurag Patel, Helix Health

As healthcare pivots to value based service, Helix Health uses data analytics to reduce costs

By Tommy Felts / August 6, 2019

Prevention is cheaper than cure — a sentiment forming the foundation of Helix Health, said Anurag Patel. “The business of healthcare today is that if you’re sick, then you’re a customer of healthcare. If you’re healthy, then you’re not,” Patel said, describing a need for creating a business model that helps people stay healthy.  Helix Health…

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Sarah Walsh, Tigersheep Friends

Watch: Tigersheep Friends creators build a ferociously off-beat, under-the-radar KC brand

By Tommy Felts / August 6, 2019

From three-eyed leopards to strawberry cream giraffes, the creative minds behind Tigersheep Friends love illustrating off-beat versions of animals to keep their artistic passions alive, said Sarah Walsh.  When the husband-and-wife duo started the company in 2011, they were looking for an alternate creative outlet, said Sarah Walsh, co-founder of the online product line. Click…

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Alexandru Otrezov, PayIt

PayIt hires former Uber disruptive marketing leader as KC govtech startup’s first CMO

By Tommy Felts / August 6, 2019

Kansas City-based govtech startup PayIt is downloading executive expertise from the West Coast, John Thomson said Tuesday, announcing PayIt’s first chief marketing officer — a former leader at Uber. Based in San Francisco, Alexandru Otrezov will lead PayIt’s marketing organization and continue to accelerate the company’s brand and growth efforts, said Thomson, co-founder and CEO…

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Victor Hwang, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, 2019 State of Entrepreneurship address

Victor Hwang leaving Kauffman VP role; entrepreneurship becomes national priority ahead of 2020 political cycle

By Tommy Felts / August 5, 2019

Ecosystem building has risen to the national conversation — marking the right moment for Victor Hwang to exit the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and its vision-rich entrepreneurship team, he said.  “A few years ago, people would talk about supporting entrepreneurs as if they were disconnected individuals … helping one entrepreneur at a time or maybe…

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BacklotCars taking over full floor of new Lightwell building following $25M funding round 

By Tommy Felts / August 2, 2019

A 20,000-square-foot space in one of Kansas City’s most recently remodeled downtown office buildings will allow BacklotCars room to continue expanding its team, while also impressing high-level targets, said Josh Parsons. “The location, design and amenities of the project are exactly what is needed to attract the top tech talent to Kansas City,” said Parsons,…

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David Lintz and Stuart Ludlow, RFP360

RFP360 doubles in size since December; team back under one roof with move to new space

By Tommy Felts / August 2, 2019

RFP360 is coming full circle, said Stuart Ludlow, as the software company he co-founded with David Hulsen in the Kansas City Startup Village once again levels up to accommodate a swelling team and increasing market demand. “We’re moving into a place — scale and scope — that Dave and I envisioned,” said Ludlow, who also…

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Super Dispatch expands reach into auto transport, launches car shipping platform

By Tommy Felts / August 1, 2019

The “Amazon experience” is coming to the world of car shipping as Super Dispatch launches a new platform to bring the auto transportation industry up to the speed companies are demanding: now, said Bek Abdullayev. “We are creating a better way to transport cars with new technology that solves major problems for shippers and carriers,”…

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Deanna Munoz, Latino Arts Foundation

‘Queer Eye’ hero paints an ‘inner circle’ for young Latino artists craving a creative outlet

By Tommy Felts / August 1, 2019

Deanna Munoz’s childhood dream to become an artist — once faded and long forgotten — was revived years later by her 6-year-old daughter, said Munoz, founder of the Latino Arts Foundation.   “I wanted to be a graphic designer, but I kind of got caught up in a lot of different things when I was young…

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Vanessa Mahan and Catherine Pollman, Bionic Bowel, UMKC Regnier Venture Creation Challenge

Two Missouri biology students just wanted an ‘A’ — ultimately they devised a treatment for Crohn’s Disease

By Tommy Felts / July 31, 2019

Launching a biotech company based on a class project took the quest for an ‘A’ to a whole new level for two Missouri University of Science and Technology students — founders of Bionic Bowell.  Prompted by professors to find a use for a special ion-interacting glass compound, Vanessa Mahan and Catherine Pollman devised an ingestible…

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