All Stories

The Collective Funds targets Kansas City startups with $10M

By Tommy Felts / April 28, 2016

    The Collective Funds — a new venture capital group in Kansas City — will be exclusively targeting early-stage firms in the area starting as early as this summer. Led by four Kansas City entrepreneurs, the $10 million fund aims to fill an area funding gap as well as inspire a cultural shift among…

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Events Preview: Startup Weekend EDU

By Tommy Felts / April 28, 2016

There are a boatload of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter or curious Kansas Citian, we’d recommend these upcoming events for you. WEEKLY EVENT PREVIEW   Startup Weekend EDU When: April 29 – May 1 Where: Think Big Coworking Startup Weekend Education (SWEDU) brings together people of…

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Bevy of area businessmen are EY award finalists

By Tommy Felts / April 27, 2016

Eight Kansas City-area businessmen are now finalists for a national entrepreneurship award. Ranging from techies to whiskey-makers, the regional finalists of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards recognize those “who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses.”  Sponsored in part by the Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, EY operates its award…

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Garden Thorn

Fund me, KC: Garden Thorn wants to turn your thumb green

By Tommy Felts / April 26, 2016

Startland News is continuing its segment to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs —  like The Handy Camel CEO Tom Gray — to share their stories to gain a little help from their supporters. If you or your startup is running a crowdfunding campaign, let us know…

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Entrepreneurial foundation names local ‘startup champion’ as director

By Tommy Felts / April 26, 2016

The Kansas City Startup Foundation’s year-long search for a new executive director ended right where it began. The foundation — whose mission is to unify Kansas City’s startup and entrepreneur community — recently hired Matthew Marcus as its executive director. Marcus, who most recently served as the foundation’s chairman, will begin his tenure in May. “It’s…

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Help wanted: Addressing KC’s (big) techie shortage

By Tommy Felts / April 26, 2016

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone.   Kansas City posted nearly 7,700 STEM job openings in 2015 — but only filled 2,550 of them. That means that for every STEM job candidate, there were three job openings. That’s great for job searchers, but terrible for Kansas City business and…

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Regional Roundup

How wearables could change America’s pastime and Amazon’s big oops

By Tommy Felts / April 22, 2016

In this week’s roundup of watercooler talk from the region’s startup hubs, we have the dish on Major League Baseball wearables, Amazon’s flub with expanding the digital divide and Chicago’s STEM workforce issues. Check out more in this series here. Mobile Commerce Press: Major League Baseball gives the nod to wearable technology No, this doesn’t…

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funding models

The red carpet, garageband and laboratory of funding models

By Tommy Felts / April 22, 2016

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. “Funding! Funding! Funding!” It’s the warrior’s cry of the startup community. In the world of entrepreneurship, there’s an incredible amount of pressure to run a startup that can be described as “disruptive,” “innovative” and “scalable.” Those descriptions come with a hefty price tag,…

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Kauffman Foundation CEO serves up 5 policies for entrepreneurial growth

By Tommy Felts / April 21, 2016

Adaptation, experimentation and research. No, those aren’t tips to run a startup. Rather, they’re a few of the recommendations for lawmakers to consider if they’d like to spur nationwide entrepreneurial growth, according to Wendy Guillies, CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Now nearly a year into her tenure as CEO, Guillies recently presented five…

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Digital Inclusion Fellowship Google Fiber

Google opens applications for Digital Inclusion Fellowship

By Tommy Felts / April 21, 2016

Just two months after it unveiled free access to gigabit internet for low-income households in Kansas City, Google Fiber is again ramping up efforts to close the digital divide. In partnership with the Nonprofit Technology Network, Google Fiber has again opened applications for its Digital Inclusion Fellowship, this time looking for 22 bright minds to…

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