News

UMKC awards students $75K in prizes at Regnier Venture Creation Challenge

By Tommy Felts / May 8, 2019

Student startups are growing rapidly on the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus, said Bryan Boots. Such acceleration has been further propelled thanks to the recent distribution of $75,000 in prize money, awarded to a series of winners of the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge Competition May 2-3, split across events at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation…

Techstars KC on hiatus as Lesa Mitchell takes new role with Indianapolis accelerator

By Tommy Felts / May 8, 2019

Techstars Kansas City is expected to “hit pause” on programming and is not returning for a 2019 cohort, said David Brown, noting the exact timing of the next program is still undecided. “Our full intention is to continue in Kansas City,” said Brown, founder and co-CEO of the national accelerator network. “We love Kansas City…

KC’s Zego acquired by San Diego firm; CEO’s smart home tech innovation to continue

By Tommy Felts / May 7, 2019

Two years after leaving the successful energy company he founded for the quick pace of startup life, Adam Blake is again making a big exit. His smart home technology firm, Zego, has been acquired by a San Diego-based leader in the property management industry, the startup announced Tuesday. Terms of the deal with PayLease were…

Fund Me, KC: ‘Scarlet Knight’ returns to inner city streets with a moral dilemma about abuse of power

By Tommy Felts / May 7, 2019

Startland News is continuing its segment to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs — like Juaquan Allen with his Scarlet Knight campaign — to share their crowdfunding stories to gain a little help from their supporters. Who are you? My name is Juaquan “Jay” Allen. I’m a…

Design by fire: Could a Kansas City company 3-D print the Notre Dame spire?

By Tommy Felts / May 7, 2019

Beyond its status as the biggest in Kansas City, the impact of Dimensional Innovations’ new $2.2 million 3-D printer could reach globally — as the homegrown company considers ways it could help rebuild the historic spire atop the Notre Dame Cathedral, said Nate Borozinski. “This thing gives us an ability — and we think an…