Investors

We Create KC report: Half of top VC-backed companies tapped early-stage support

By Tommy Felts / April 5, 2019

In 2018, 50 percent of the top venture capital-funded companies in Kansas City got their start with early-stage investment programs that emerged after 2012, according to We Create KC 2019, KCSourceLink’s sixth annual state of entrepreneurship report. “That high percentage shows us how important these early-stage investment programs are to our entrepreneurs and our ecosystem,”…

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PayIt, Kansas City

Experts: Coastal VCs getting FOMO on Kansas City; PayIt’s $100M+ investment proves it

By Tommy Felts / March 29, 2019

Landing more than $100 million in funding is no small feat for PayIt — or any startup, John Thomson said with a mix of humble confidence. “Wins beget wins, and it helps to build the ecosystem,” said Thomson, CEO and co-founder of PayIt. Click here to read more about PayIt’s investment from Insight Partners. For Thomson,…

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Tim Barton, Edison Spaces, InvestMidwest

Freightquote, Edison Factory founder-turned-investor touts ‘work ethic worth investing in’

By Tommy Felts / March 21, 2019

Raise and raise relentlessly. Because in business, the sun won’t shine every day, Tim Barton told a room filled Wednesday morning with entrepreneurs and investors eagerly seeking support and insight at the 20th InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum. The former CEO of Freightquote, who saw a $365 million exit for the company in 2014 before launching…

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UMKC joins campus network’s student Entrepreneur Quest accelerator competition

By Tommy Felts / March 19, 2019

A final showdown of student startups has been set, as budding entrepreneurs from across the University of Missouri campus network compete for financial support. “It brings a lot of those best practices together from all four campuses and really showcases all the great work that’s going on in the system to promote entrepreneurship,” said Andy…

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Maranda Manning, Ryan Merket and John Fein, Firebrand Ventures

With new partner, Firebrand ramps up ‘founder-focused’ culture, aims to double fund

By Tommy Felts / March 11, 2019

Firebrand Ventures is the right culture fit at the right time, said serial entrepreneur Ryan Merket. Joining the Kansas City-based venture firm as a partner alongside John Fein, Merket brings a wealth of experience from his time at Facebook, Reddit and Amazon, as well as five years as an angel investor, he said. “Looking at…

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