Funding

Godfrey Riddle wants to build you a home; How Civic Saint’s eco-friendly bricks could reshape the foundation of affordable housing

By Tommy Felts / September 23, 2023

Winning $55,000 in a recent national LGBT pitch competition provides Godfrey Riddle the building blocks for a hard pivot — shifting the focus of his lifestyle company Civic Saint from handmade retail goods to earthen bricks used to sustainably create artful, affordable homes. “Affordable housing is a problem I’ve been pondering since my family lost…

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C2FO awards grants to three KC nonprofits boosting Black entrepreneurs with intention

By Tommy Felts / September 19, 2023

A new grants program developed by one of Kansas City’s biggest scaleups was founded with a clear purpose, said Jay Lott, announcing the effort’s first three nonprofit recipients and touting C2FO’s ongoing commitment to community engagement within the Kansas City region. “We want to support the nonprofit organizations that are focused on intentionally elevating Black…

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Grit Road plants $11M venture fund to cultivate homegrown ag tech solutions across Midwest

By Tommy Felts / September 19, 2023

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro.  [divide] OMAHA — The precision guide for Grit Road Partners — a Nebraska-based venture fund — is investing in ag tech companies that are solving Midwest producer problems, said Mike…

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Sailes closes $5.1M investment round led by STL firm, with KCRise Fund, Wichita VC

By Tommy Felts / September 14, 2023

The foundation for Sailes has always been solving difficult problems for sales teams, said Nick Smith; the success of a Series A funding round for the startup will power new tools toward that goal.  “Everyone is on this AI hype train, and we’ve been for AI for a while. But it’s not just about using…

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Jabbok Schlacks, EquipmentShare

EquipmentShare completes another $150M equity raise, building on its Series E funding

By Tommy Felts / September 13, 2023

COLUMBIA, Missouri — The latest tranche of funding for EquipmentShare puts mid-Missouri’s most earth-moving scaleup close to a half-billion dollars in funding announced over the past six months. EquipmentShare, a Columbia-based equipment and digital solutions provider serving the construction industry, on Wednesday announced it completed an extension of its Series E equity raise, led by funds…

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