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Iron sharpens iron, said Rodney Sampson, announcing 12 finalists — seven from Kansas City — for $250,000 in investments and a coveted demo day stage at SXSW in March. Each startup is rich with founders who have invested the time and energy to earn a payout from the ecosystem, said Sampson, founder of the Opportunity…
Read More >Missouri is leaving millions of dollars on the table that could fuel early-stage startups, which create nearly 80 percent of net new jobs in the state. A new report from MOSourceLink, a program of the UMKC Innovation Center, reveals Missouri is lacking in alternative loans, access to resources, early-stage capital and locally activated venture capital.…
Read More >N-GAGE GRIPS will have found success as a startup when Matt Leadbetter’s oldest son thinks he’s cool. “I remember thinking, ‘I have this thing in my head, I just need to make it,’ and I was kinda thinking at the time, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if when my little boy gets older, he’s impressed with…
Read More >The latest round of founders joining Digital Sandbox KC includes relative newcomers to the startup scene alongside a Fountain City Fintech alum and a key player behind one of Kansas City’s biggest exits. The proof-of-concept program announced Friday the addition of four new companies for its fourth quarter: TripleBlind, led by Riddhiman Das, who made…
Read More >Editor’s note: The following is the second in a series of analyses of Startland’s list of Kansas City’s Top Venture Capital-Backed Companies. On stage with a handful of men, Erin Papworth faced a dilemma. The founder of Nav.It — one of the startups to recently complete Fountain City Fintech’s second accelerator cohort — found herself fighting…
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