Corporate

Holograms, nextgen streaming and immersive edtech: Meet T-Mobile’s new accelerator class, the future of 5G 

By Tommy Felts / April 5, 2021

Innovation around 5G technologies continues at the forefront of the T-Mobile Accelerator, as the longtime Kansas City-based program kicks off its three-month 2021 virtual cohort with an international cast of diverse companies. The eight handpicked startups are expected work directly with technologists and business leaders at T-Mobile to build a new wave of 5G tech…

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Lesa Mitchell, Techstars Kansas City

Expanded Techstars role means more eyes on KC, Lesa Mitchell says; accelerator returns in June

By Tommy Felts / March 16, 2021

Lesa Mitchell’s promotion within Techstars — a Boulder, Colorado-based accelerator network with global reach — is a value-add for Kansas City, she said Monday. The outgoing managing director of Techstars’ local program also teased the popular accelerator’s summer return. “My new role simply means we have more Techstars staff in KC,” said Mitchell, Techstars’ newly announced…

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Justin Davis, BacklotCars

Want the next $425M exit? Be ‘ruthless’ with your time (and cap table), BacklotCars co-founder says

By Tommy Felts / March 9, 2021

In the years leading up to BacklotCars’ historic exit, Justin Davis steered clear of the startup social scene — detouring instead into deep collaboration with capital and automotive industry partners, he said. “As a startup, getting connected is great, but you have to be ruthless in your execution,” the BacklotCars co-founder told ACG Kansas City’s…

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U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, and Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri

KC Tech Council’s apprenticeship program launches with job growth hopes from Davids, Cleaver

By Tommy Felts / January 27, 2021

A freshly launched partnership between KC Tech Council and Apprenti — designed to cultivate tech skills and offer first-hand experience for apprentices — is a solid fit for Kansas City’s talent needs, two members of the metro’s U.S. congressional delegation agreed. “I truly believe that entrepreneurship is baked into the DNA of our region,” U.S.…

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Darcy Howe, KCRise Fund; Back2KC 2019

It isn’t the hometown you left behind: Back2KC returns this week to reunite talent with today’s Kansas City

By Tommy Felts / November 30, 2020

People are longing for community perhaps now more than ever, said Brett Crawford, announcing the return of Back2KC, a two-day virtual event reconnecting former Kansas Citians to their hometown. And the timing has never been better, he added. “Suddenly you’re not confined by the residence-versus-workplace conundrum,” said Crawford, who leads the Back2KC program for Startland,…

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