Corporate

New industry-specific LaunchKC accelerators expected to bring more dollars, winners

By Tommy Felts / April 8, 2019

Applications for this year’s LaunchKC program are going vertical, said Drew Solomon, announcing plans for three industry-specific accelerators — two of which will launch new funding-rich demo days in the fall. “We’ve always wanted to grow and expand not only the competition, but the program as a whole,” said Solomon, chair of the LaunchKC program.…

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We Create KC report: Half of top VC-backed companies tapped early-stage support

By Tommy Felts / April 5, 2019

In 2018, 50 percent of the top venture capital-funded companies in Kansas City got their start with early-stage investment programs that emerged after 2012, according to We Create KC 2019, KCSourceLink’s sixth annual state of entrepreneurship report. “That high percentage shows us how important these early-stage investment programs are to our entrepreneurs and our ecosystem,”…

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Butter to eSports: Sprint Accelerator draws new class of startups from coasts to Canada

By Tommy Felts / April 1, 2019

Josh Green is used to navigating the streets of Brooklyn, hand delivering artisanal butters, chilled in the back of a pickup, he recalled. As founder of Brooklyn Buttery — which crafted a line of flavor-packed, sustainably sourced compound butters designed to bring a high end restaurant experience to home cooks — the entrepreneur’s growth has now…

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Freightquote, Edison Factory founder-turned-investor touts ‘work ethic worth investing in’

By Tommy Felts / March 21, 2019

Raise and raise relentlessly. Because in business, the sun won’t shine every day, Tim Barton told a room filled Wednesday morning with entrepreneurs and investors eagerly seeking support and insight at the 20th InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum. The former CEO of Freightquote, who saw a $365 million exit for the company in 2014 before launching…

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Reports: St. Louis startup scene surging while KC struggles to keep pace with past wins

By Tommy Felts / March 19, 2019

Founders hoping to launch a new startup or move into a fresh market might have better success in St. Louis, rather than Kansas City, according to Inc. magazine’s Surge Cities Index. Inc. placed St. Louis at No. 33 on its 50 Best Places in America for Starting a Business list. Kansas City was positioned at…

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