Investors

Digital Sandbox announces funding for six new companies

By Tommy Felts / March 23, 2017

On Thursday, Digital Sandbox KC announced its newest cohort of six area startups. Led by entrepreneur Jeff Shackelford, the Kansas City-based incubator welcomed 17° 73° Innovation Co, Anticipate Ventures, FEWDM, Homegrown & Happy, Live-K and TicketRx to the program.   “The continued support through partnerships, like Independence, Olathe and Great Plains Energy for the Energy…

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TechAccel hops in $3.2M round for Lincoln-based ag tech firm

By Tommy Felts / March 9, 2017

Kansas City-based TechAccel is joining an investment round in a Nebraska agriculture tech firm that aims to improve crop yields. The area venture firm is among a group of investors in Lincoln-based Epicrop Technologies Inc., which raised a total of $3.2 million in its Series A round, which was led by North Forty Ventures. TechAccel…

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Darcy Howe’s hustle grows, guides KCRise Fund in first year

By Tommy Felts / March 2, 2017

Kansas City may not realize its good fortune with the tenacious manager of a relatively new fund that’s investing in early-stage firms. Self-described as a builder that’s competitive and impatient, Darcy Howe is weaving her years of determined leadership into the KCRise Fund, which just wrapped up its first year with $14 million in the…

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Tough love: Blooom CEO Chris Costello offers advice to KC investors

By Tommy Felts / February 21, 2017

Editor’s note: Chris Costello is the CEO and co-founder of Blooom, a financial tech startup based in Leawood, Kan., that recently raised a $9.15 million round. All opinions expressed in the commentary are the author’s alone. I am happy to report that Blooom is fresh off its successful Series B round of funding. The round…

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Mid-America Angels invests $287K in medical firm Voxello

By Tommy Felts / February 20, 2017

The Kansas City-based Mid-America Angels investment group announced that it’s backing an Iowa-based medical device company. The regional network of angel investors announced Monday that it invested $287,000 into Voxello. The company created the “noddle,” which allows hospitalized patients to communicate nonverbally. The device detects voluntary gestures — such as a tongue click, eye blink or…

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