Funding

UpDown Nightlife team

UpDown Nightlife caps $500K seed round with party bus partnership; app to launch this month

By Tommy Felts / August 4, 2021

Building an app centered on nightlife and in-person entertainment during a pandemic requires intense focus and intentionality every step of the way, Joshua Lewis said.  “It’s been a slow and steady walk to the app launch,” said the founder of UpDown Nightlife — an app that connects consumers to local bars, clubs and entertainment. “With…

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Conner Hazelrigg, 1773 Innovation Co., the Sunshine Box

‘Sunshine Box’ inventor earns $25K prize in pitch competition for women-led social ventures

By Tommy Felts / July 30, 2021

The woman behind a solar-paneled electric charging station built to overcome challenges found in developing nations earned the spotlight herself as Thursday’s big winner in the inaugural HI-HERImpact Kansas City pitch competition. Conner Hazelrigg, founder of 1773 Innovation Co. — the maker of the Sunshine Box — was awarded the contest’s $25,000 prize in the…

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Image illustrates a pre-production Mark II, the Mark II is not yet in production

Fund Me, KC: Invest in Mycroft’s open-sourced, privacy-respecting voice assistant

By Tommy Felts / July 29, 2021

Startland News is continuing its “Fund Me, KC” series to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses or lend a helping hand to others. This is an opportunity for business owners and innovators — like Kansas City artificial intelligence startup Mycroft AI — to share their crowdfunding stories and potentially gain backing from new…

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Wes Smith and Roy Scott, Healthy Hip Hop

Music tech startup doubles crowdfunding goal with more time on the clock: It’s like having the opportunity to invest in Disney on the ground floor, founder says

By Tommy Felts / July 22, 2021

Roy Scott hopes to repeat history, he said, drawing parallels between his company’s trajectory and the opening scenes of Walt Disney’s successful career in Kansas City.  “Anybody who knows me, or does their research on me, can see that my passion and my perseverance and my whole mission is to continue pushing Healthy Hip Hop…

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Brady Harris, Dwolla

$21M round for Dwolla disruption validates evolving payments platform, CEO says

By Tommy Felts / July 21, 2021

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. A…

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