News Stories

Kasim Hardaway; Photo courtesy of Nam Cu

Social Side Effect: Don’t call Kasim Hardaway an influencer (but do ask him about poké)

Editor’s note: Social Side Effect is an ongoing profile series that identifies the intersection between social influencing and entrepreneurship   Instagram stories are more than temporary snapshots. They’re a growing vehicle for influencer marketing in Kansas City, Kasim Hardaway explained.  “It was never something I set out to do. It kind of just happened,” Hardaway, a…

Aware Vehicles

Aware Vehicles accelerates pilot-free drone development thanks to IgniteX partnership with Black & Veatch

Drones are one step closer to becoming completely automated with the help of Aware Vehicles, a finalist in the IgniteX Accelerator.  The Kansas City-based tech startup focuses on non-human interaction for the flight, charge and data collection of drones, emphasized PJ Piper, CEO of Aware Vehicles and founder of QM Power.  “You get the eye…

Cyber Security Operation Center (CSOC)

Fishtech Group scales CYDERES, leaping into deep end of global cybersecurity market

National accolades and an expansion into Northwest Arkansas are feeding the latest round of rapid scaling at the Gary Fish-led Fishtech Group.  “Hitting the MSSP list for the first time at No. 25 is a huge honor and an endorsement of CYDERES’ position in the managed service market,” Eric Foster, CYDERES Chief Operating Officer, said…

Gary White, Water.org; courtesy of the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business, University of Missouri

KC-based Water.org fills need with focus on poverty as a market to be served

When philanthropy is used to correct a market failure, there is potential for profit, said Gary White, co-founder and CEO of Water.org. “The poor should not necessarily be seen as a problem to be solved but a market to be served,” White told a recent crowd at the University of Missouri, highlighting the importance of…

Voting with cash: Meet the 8 Kansas City tech startups competing in the Pure Pitch Rally

The landsharks are circling and eight hungry tech founders are ready to sell their ideas at the fourth annual, invite-only Pure Pitch Rally, the early-stage funding platform announced Wednesday.  “In Kansas City, we have the business soul and hunger to help others — through both community crowdsourced giving and offering others a stepping stone to…