All Stories

Adam Blake, Zego PayLease

KC’s Zego acquired by San Diego firm; CEO’s smart home tech innovation to continue

By Tommy Felts / May 7, 2019

Two years after leaving the successful energy company he founded for the quick pace of startup life, Adam Blake is again making a big exit. His smart home technology firm, Zego, has been acquired by a San Diego-based leader in the property management industry, the startup announced Tuesday. Terms of the deal with PayLease were…

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Jay Allen, the Scarlet Knight

Fund Me, KC: ‘Scarlet Knight’ returns to inner city streets with a moral dilemma about abuse of power

By Tommy Felts / May 7, 2019

Startland News is continuing its segment to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs — like Juaquan Allen with his Scarlet Knight campaign — to share their crowdfunding stories to gain a little help from their supporters. Who are you? My name is Juaquan “Jay” Allen. I’m a…

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3-D printing Notre Dame spire design, Dimensional Innovations

Design by fire: Could a Kansas City company 3-D print the Notre Dame spire?

By Tommy Felts / May 7, 2019

Beyond its status as the biggest in Kansas City, the impact of Dimensional Innovations’ new $2.2 million 3-D printer could reach globally — as the homegrown company considers ways it could help rebuild the historic spire atop the Notre Dame Cathedral, said Nate Borozinski. “This thing gives us an ability — and we think an…

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Fishtech Cyber Defense Center

Look inside: Fishtech Group opens its $10M+ Cyber Defense Center in Martin City

By Tommy Felts / May 6, 2019

Fishtech Group is making a splash within the cyber security industry, showcasing its cloud-era capabilities in a new Cyber Defense Center that sits behind the gates of Fishtech’s sprawling Martin City campus, said Gary Fish. “I’ve been doing security since before it was cool,” said Fish, founder and CEO of Fishtech, as well as an…

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Chris Olsen, Drive Capital, KC Tech Council CEO Retreat

Elite investors at exclusive CEO retreat: Don’t waste time; sell us on your billion-dollar idea

By Tommy Felts / May 3, 2019

Trying to land the backing of a venture capital firm? Throw your pitch deck out the window, Chris Olsen advised a select group of Kansas City CEOs. “A lot of times founders will come and give us their pitch and they’ll start going through it and [they’re telling us] they’re profitable in 18-months. And we’ll…

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Hyped from high school: Blue Valley teens among startup cash winners at K-State challenge

By Tommy Felts / May 3, 2019

Four Overland Park high school students have landed cash infusions totaling more than $7,000 for their ongoing startup ventures. Local winners of the Kansas Entrepreneurship Challenge — supported by Network KS, sponsored by the Kansas Masonic Foundation, and hosted by Kansas State University — included: Drone Estate founders Austin Jones and Hunter Vasquez, Blue Valley West…

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TrueAccord Kansas City

‘More is better’ TrueAccord CEO says as Silicon Valley startup plans for 150 KC jobs

By Tommy Felts / May 3, 2019

TrueAccord is “furiously hiring” to jumpstart the San Francisco-based startup’s intense expansion plan now supplemented by a growing Lenexa office, said Ohad Samet. “We’ve been very successful [in Silicon Valley], but at some point we realized that we really needed to blow up,” said Samet, co-founder and CEO of the debt recovery startup, which recently…

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Blade & Timber at Power & Light

Blade & Timber opening new axe-throwing experience at Power & Light in late summer

By Tommy Felts / May 3, 2019

Blade & Timber hopes to stick its cutting-edge axe-throwing concept in the bullseye of Kansas City entertainment, opening a new 11-lane facility in the Power & Light District by the end of the summer. “We are excited to continue growing our brand nationally, while staying true to our roots,” said Ryan Henrich, co-founder of Blade…

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Mobility Designed boosted by $1.7M in funding, planning new product launch this summer

By Tommy Felts / May 1, 2019

Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Regnier Institute, but was independently produced on behalf of Startland News. Pressure to succeed has only increased since Kansas City-based Mobility Designed found its footing as the first new design for crutches since the Civil War, said co-founders Max and Liliana Younger. What…

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Buck Wimberly and Joey Mendez, ULAH

Double-clicks to dollars: ULAH duo aims to convert Insta following into ruggedly chic shoppers

By Tommy Felts / April 30, 2019

A dream has become brick-and-mortar reality for Buck Wimberly and Joey Mendez, the duo taking ULAH from Instagram underdog to Westwood success story. “We wanted the brand to feel sophisticated, accessible and friendly,” explained Wimberly, co-owner of ULAH — a men’s apparel and lifestyle store, tucked within the Woodside Village Shops along Rainbow Boulevard. A…

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