Government

Roberts: Court action to make KC a patent troll haven will squash innovation

Editor’s note: Melissa Roberts is urging the Kansas City business community to sign a petition that aims to halt an effort to establish Kansas City as an area friendly to “patent trolls.” The commenting period on the proposed changes closes 5 p.m., Nov. 26. The opinions in the commentary are the author’s alone.  I used…

Missouri, Israel join forces to boost tech firms

The Show Me State is working with the nation of Israel to create a co-investment agreement that aims to enhance their respective tech sectors. Missouri and Israel recently signed an agreement that will foster a relationship between the Missouri Technology Corporation and Israel Innovation Authority. The deal aims to advance opportunities for new tech projects…

PayIt lands ‘the Lou’ as a client for mobile payments

Government tech startup PayIt is working with the second-largest city in Missouri. The Kansas City-based company is now providing its mobile payment technology to the City of St. Louis, allowing its more than 300,000 residents to more easily pay property taxes via an app. Timing was apt for the partnership, as St. Louis’ property taxes…

Melissa Roberts on what the Kansas budget crunch means for area startups

The opinions expressed in the commentary are the author’s alone.    Kansas is in the midst of a budget crunch of epic proportions — and we all know how and why we got here and who led the charge. We’ve finally reached the moment when all of our dirty jeans’ pockets have been turned out,…

AOL founder Steve Case says innovators must become policy savvy

Get familiar with public policy or your company will get left behind. That was the forward-looking message that AOL founder Steve Case had for a group of about 200 investors and entrepreneurs at the 2016 Kauffman Fellows summit in Kansas City. Now the CEO of Revolution, Case argued that investors, entrepreneurs and policymakers will have…