Funding

Riddhiman Das, TripleBlind

TripleBlind earns strategic investment from Accenture to jump into $500B market faster

By Tommy Felts / November 18, 2020

A newly announced strategic investment is expected to boost a high-profile, pre-seed Kansas City startup’s bid to help enterprises harness the potential of sensitive data. Terms of the deal between Dublin-based Accenture and TripleBlind were not disclosed Wednesday, but the investment by the global professional services firm marks a significant step forward for TripleBlind as…

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BacklotCars co-founders: Josh Parsons, Fabricio Solanes, Justin Davis, and Ryan Davis

BacklotCars completes historic $425M exit, joining ‘power and fierce entrepreneurial spirit’ of KAR Global

By Tommy Felts / November 13, 2020

The $425 million acquisition of Kansas City-based BacklotCars is complete, nearly two months to the day it was announced.  “There is so much energy and excitement around this combination with our employees and with our customers,” Justin Davis, president and co-founder of BacklotCars, said in a release announcing the milestone acquisition’s completion Thursday by KAR…

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Whitney Manney; Todd Race Photography

Designer Whitney Manney using JOANN grant to reshape the fabric of KC’s fashion scene

By Tommy Felts / November 11, 2020

Kansas City is legit — and it’s full of talented creatives who national eyes should be watching, said Whitney Manney.  “I think COVID has shown us you can show up and show out from anywhere in this world,” added Manney, a local fashion designer, maker, and founder of the WHITNEYMANNEY (WM) fashion label, in announcement…

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Rightfully Sewn Mask Initiative; photo by Kim Golding

Rightfully Sewn acquisition stitches new path toward re-establishing KC as garment capital, Lapka says  

By Tommy Felts / October 22, 2020

Rightfully Sewn’s acquisition by a 109-year-old nonprofit with national reach means more contracts, more employees and more impact for the mission-focused fashion company, said Jennifer Lapka. “No shakeups, no drama. The brand, programs, and team will stay intact,” said Lapka, founder of Rightfully Sewn, which this week announced a merger with Kansas City-based Alphapointe. “We…

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Roy Scott, Healthy Hip Hop

Google’s $100K cash prize keeps Healthy Hip Hop dancing toward ‘Tik Tok for kids’ status

By Tommy Felts / October 16, 2020

With a new cash infusion from the Google Black Founders Fund, Roy Scott said Healthy Hip Hop is ready to perfect the next generation of its youth entertainment and education tech, strengthen the company’s sales and marketing efforts and hire a C-suite level employee.  “We found our niche in the tech space, and it’s how…

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