Funding

Gardner swag startup bags $150K from Minnesota-based accelerator for bootstrappers

PromoPulse, a Kansas software company that enables promotional product businesses to grow their sales and simplify marketing, announced today it raised $150,000 from the TinySeed accelerator program. The funding and TinySeed’s collaborative network will fuel PromoPulse’s mission to amplify the sales and marketing of businesses that sell swag — also known as the promotional products…

‘Funds and coaching equally crucial’: GIFT reports $460K for Black-owned entrepreneurs as business center books up

In its second fiscal year, the Kansas City-based nonprofit Generating Income For Future Generations (G.I.F.T) has more than doubled its grant amount for Black-owned businesses — but there’s no hidden secret to that success, said Brandon Calloway. “We simply acknowledged this big elephant in the room that everybody already knew existed and created a path…

$2M federal grant boosts K-State efforts to expand region’s digital manufacturing capabilities

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. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. MANHATTAN,…

Yardball Kickstarter ends with six-figure funding (and rapid hiring for production) 

When Sandlot Goods took to Kickstarter to crowdfund what it called “the perfect ball for the game of catch,” the world listened. More than 2,200 backers from across the globe pledged funds to secure their own Yardball — lighter than a baseball and sewn by hand with soft, premium leather. “We are absolutely thrilled with…

Mike Plunkett and John Thomson, PayIt

ROI from PayIt’s recent $90M investment displays value of MTC’s early support, agency says

Marquee successes for two Show Me state companies — including a massive funding round for one rapidly growing Kansas City govtech scaleup — show the value of Missouri Technology Corporation’s early stage investment programs, said state and agency officials Thursday. A key example, they touted: PayIt, a SaaS platform that simplifies interactions between government agencies and…