Funding

Nicholas Franano, Artio

Investors pump another $8.8M into KC medical device startup, bringing funding total to $20M+ 

By Tommy Felts / March 31, 2020

A Fairway-based medical device company is getting to the heart of its entrepreneurial journey, securing a fresh $8.8 million in Series A financing, Dr. Nicholas Franano announced Tuesday. The additional influx to Artio — rebranded from “Metactive” earlier this winter — brings the startup’s total capital raised to more than $20 million. The company has…

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Philip Hickman, Plabook; Nomi Smith, PMI Rate Pro; Max Schanker, SWOT; and Jerren Thornhill, The Guy Experience

Digital Sandbox KC deploys funding to four new startups as uncertainty becomes ‘new normal’

By Tommy Felts / March 31, 2020

Startup leaders’ needs — and the development of their ideas — don’t stop with the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), said Jill Meyer, announcing the latest round of funding selections for Digital Sandbox KC. “We know our entrepreneurs are facing so much uncertainty in this current situation,” said Meyer, senior director of technology ventures at the UMKC…

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Hyleme George, IgniteX accelerator

LaunchKC, Black & Veatch open COVID-19 grants competition with $250K (or more) for startups

By Tommy Felts / March 28, 2020

Editor’s note: The following is part of Startland News’ ongoing coverage of the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Kansas City’s entrepreneur community, as well as how innovation is helping to drive a new normal in the ecosystem. Click here to follow related stories as they develop. A newly announced grants competition could boost both the health…

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Rodney Sampson, Opportunity Hub

Lead Bank donates $25K for OHUB.KC to support minority-led startups during ‘unprecedented times’

By Tommy Felts / March 27, 2020

The moment is now for corporate partners to support entrepreneur initiatives like OHUB.KC, said Rodney Sampson, just a day before the KC.UP minority accelerator pushes ahead with a virtual demo day to showcase its first cohort. Kansas City-based Lead Bank on Thursday announced a $25,000 donation to OHUB.KC — a joint effort between the Economic…

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Johnny Wolff, Homeroom

$200K funding infusion helps Homeroom expand its ‘coliving’ footprint across KC, beyond

By Tommy Felts / March 18, 2020

Flexing a finalized $200,000 funding round, Prairie Village-based coliving startup Homeroom is poised to dominate the Midwestern half of an emerging industry, said Johnny Wolff. “I think in 2016 [coliving] was a little niche maybe, but it feels like the market is really emerging and establishing itself — it’s a really interesting space to be…

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