All Stories

Mid-America Angels invests $287K in medical firm Voxello

By Tommy Felts / February 20, 2017

The Kansas City-based Mid-America Angels investment group announced that it’s backing an Iowa-based medical device company. The regional network of angel investors announced Monday that it invested $287,000 into Voxello. The company created the “noddle,” which allows hospitalized patients to communicate nonverbally. The device detects voluntary gestures — such as a tongue click, eye blink or…

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Cowork Lee’s Summit to revamp old post office for entrepreneurs

By Tommy Felts / February 17, 2017

Lee’s Summit is set to receive a large, new coworking space to serve as the city’s entrepreneurial hub. The founder of Community Buying Group, Ben Rao said he will soon close on purchasing the old Lee’s Summit Post Office to convert it into a 13,000 square-foot coworking space named Cowork Lee’s Summit. Without any nearby…

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CNN features Kansas City and St. Louis’ resilient growth

By Tommy Felts / February 17, 2017

Kansas Citians are already familiar with the perks of calling the metro home — the friendly people, innovative culture and affordability to name a few. The City of Fountains, as well as its neighbor to the east, St. Louis, received validation of those facts Thursday via a lengthy CNN feature on their “bounce back” from the…

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K-State LAB offering Kansas startups free growth resources

By Tommy Felts / February 17, 2017

A Kansas State University business development program is awarding more than $100,000 in grants to Kansas startups. Through K-State LAB  — which stands for “launching a business” — participants will receive business lessons, face-to-face mentoring and access to market research. Launched in 2014, the program aims to connect entrepreneurs with the right people so that they…

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Kauffman Foundation launches initiative to topple startup barriers

By Tommy Felts / February 16, 2017

During an annual trip to Washington D.C., Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation CEO Wendy Guillies urged the U.S. Congress to take action to eliminate barriers for entrepreneurs to launch new businesses. In her 2017 State of Entrepreneurship address, Guillies said that millions of Americans are being left out the U.S. economy and that trends of dwindling…

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In address to Congress, Victor Hwang urges action on entrepreneurship deficit

By Tommy Felts / February 16, 2017

Tapping into his own entrepreneurial story, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s vice president of entrepreneurship testified before Congress on cutting obstacles to starting a business. Before the U.S. House Small Business Committee, Victor Hwang joined an expert panel of entrepreneurs and researchers to discuss common struggles entrepreneurs face, possible solutions and emerging trends. As Republican…

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Kansas City milkman Matt Shatto launches new ag tech company

By Tommy Felts / February 16, 2017

Matt Shatto — co-founder of the the popular Kansas City dairy Shatto Milk Company — is trailblazing new sustainable tech to help farmers reap more crops and reduce costs.  Launched in 2016, Kansas City-based TerraManus Technologies created a patented device that helps farmers better manage soil and allocate water resources. The “TerraStar Disk” looks like a plastic…

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Google Fiber

Google Fiber losing ‘hundreds’ of employees but continues KC expansion

By Tommy Felts / February 15, 2017

Google Fiber is reportedly trimming its employee count after announcing its new CEO. Business Insider reports that months after its former CEO Craig Barratt resigned, Google Fiber has hired Gregory McCray as the new leader of Access, the division of Google’s parent company Alphabet that includes Google Fiber. The gigabit provider also will lose “hundreds”…

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Urban TEC is building a more diverse STEM workforce

By Tommy Felts / February 15, 2017

Despite a U.S. tech workforce that’s grown more than 80 percent in the last 20 years, less than one percent of black women are employed in STEM careers. As a black women in technology herself, Ina Montgomery took this statistic as a call to action to empower black women. “You’re going to need have a…

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Kansas City city hall

Kansas City Airbnb hosts may face fees with proposed rules

By Tommy Felts / February 14, 2017

One year after a public meeting to cull input on “short-term stay” rules in Kansas City, officials have released a proposed ordinance on how Airbnb hosts can operate. The proposal would require that Airbnb and HomeAway hosts in Kansas City, Mo. register and pay annual registration fees for short-term renting of their property, which is…

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