All Stories

Meet five creators and innovators from the Maker Faire KC

By Tommy Felts / June 28, 2017

In its sixth year, Maker Faire Kansas City welcomed thousands of attendees of all ages from across the nation to Union Station on June 24 and 25. The event featured over 350 makers and garnered sponsorship from local firms such as the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Missouri S&T, JE Dunn, Cerner, KCPT, the Neighborhood Tourist…

Read More >

Forbes report: Kansas City is a top 5 metro for high-wage jobs

By Tommy Felts / June 28, 2017

Kansas City is atop yet another national list touting its economic vibrancy. Forbes recently released a report analyzing U.S. cities that create the most high-wage jobs, and Kansas City earned the No. 2 spot. The magazine said the City of Fountains’ low taxes and pro-business regulatory environment helped launch it into the top five cities…

Read More >

Kansas City legal startup returns with WeWork award, $18K

By Tommy Felts / June 28, 2017

A co-founder of Kansas City-based Venture Legal is departing from Austin, Texas, on Wednesday with a little more coin in his pocket. Chris Brown traveled to Austin to pitch his company Venture Legal as a finalist for WeWork’s Creator Awards’ South Regional on Tuesday and delivered the winning video pitch in the “Incubate” category. Beating…

Read More >

Revamped Sprint Accelerator graduates its first cohort of agriculture, digital tech startups

By Tommy Felts / June 27, 2017

Now in its fourth year, the Sprint Accelerator on Tuesday held a demo day showcasing the seven companies in its 2017 cohort that recently graduated its program. The cohort represents the first graduating class for the corporate partnership-based accelerator program since it parted ways with Techstars, with which it conducted three years of programming. Thanks…

Read More >

Steve Case to KC entrepreneurs, investors: You can’t sit back now

By Tommy Felts / June 27, 2017

To nudge more Kansas Citians off of the sidelines and into its budding entrepreneurial ecosystem, former AOL founder Steve Case spoke Friday to a group of local investors at a luncheon. KCRise Fund managing director Darcy Howe hosted a fireside chat with Case for a crowd of investors, potential investors and entrepreneurs. Case told the…

Read More >

Ginsburg: Fundamental — but routinely botched — elements of a winning pitch

By Tommy Felts / June 27, 2017

Editor’s note: A five-year mentor at UMKC’s Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Byron Ginsburg has heard and counseled many entrepreneurial pitches as an attendee and a judge. His current UMKC mentees, Emily Moon and Kelsey Carlstedt of By Grace Design, won first place and $20,000 in the 2017 Regnier Venture Creation Challenge.   While…

Read More >

Events Preview: Sprint Accelerator Demo Day, TechHire KC

By Tommy Felts / June 26, 2017

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? Feel free to add it to the FWD/KC calendar for increased exposure. Once your event…

Read More >

Sustainable River Market development project booking tenants with virtual reality tours

By Tommy Felts / June 23, 2017

Jonathan Arnold believes that choosing quality over quantity doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, he said it makes great business sense.   Arnold, principal at Arnold Development Group, is working to transform modern real estate development with a more sustainable future. “At its heart, sustainable development means doing more with less,” Arnold said.…

Read More >

Listen: Leaders analyze KC’s entrepreneurial milestones, assess challenges

By Tommy Felts / June 22, 2017

To say that Kansas City’s entrepreneurial community has matured in the last 15 years would be an understatement. Many leaders say that if you lived in the metro during the early 2000s and were to return now, you may not even recognize the place. Taking a moment to reflect on how far Kansas City has…

Read More >

Rush, Reardon, Cobb and other entrepreneurial leaders analyze KC ecosystem growth

By Tommy Felts / June 22, 2017

In 2012, Google Fiber’s arrival in Kansas City lit a fire under the backside of many community leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs. To say that the city has matured would be an understatement. Many leaders say that if you lived in Kansas City in the early 2000s and were to return now, you may not even…

Read More >
1MC-Digital-Attend-2460x318px-v1
Founders-Club-Banner-Ad-2

Join Founder's Club – Support Our Mission

Enjoy access to our email newsletter, members only Slack community, exclusive events and other member perks.