News

Pure Pitch surprise twist: Techweek competition adds pre-teen innovator to KC startup lineup

By Tommy Felts / October 8, 2018

In a surprise announcement Monday, organizers of the Pure Pitch Rally announced the third annual pitch competition would feature the Kansas City pre-teen innovator behind the Storm Sleeper. Update: Click here to find out who won big at the Pure Pitch Rally. Julia Luetje — a Barstow School student from Leawood, who at 10 years…

First Friday takeover: Startup Crawl draws 600-plus, showcasing KC, risk-takers, creatives (Photos)

By Tommy Felts / October 6, 2018

Editor’s note: Startup Crawl and Startland News are both programs of the Kansas City Startup Foundation, though the content below was produced independently by Startland. For more information on the relationship, click here. First Friday revelers and curious minds alike were treated to a five-stop Startup Crawl tour of Kansas City’s entrepreneur community — from…

KC-based OYO Fitness flexes with new exercise app, 10-week workout challenge

By Tommy Felts / October 5, 2018

The freshly released OYO Personal Gym PRO model helps users avoid common exercise setbacks by offering true resistance and proper pacing of workouts with its new app component, said Graham Ripple. “One of the things that is often common with working out is that they’re not doing a full range of motion or are going…

Novel City Ventures preps accelerator launch for worldwide socio-economic impact

By Tommy Felts / October 5, 2018

A new accelerator in Kansas City is planning to spur change at a global scale through its inaugural cohort of mission-driven organizations. The Novel City Chamber of Innovation announced this week it has launched the Novel City Ventures Accelerator to fuel the next wave of disruptive thinkers and entrepreneurs. Beginning on Oct. 23, the 12-week…

Back2KC effort attempts to bring Kansas City expatriates home to an emerging innovation hub

By Tommy Felts / October 4, 2018

A first-of-its-kind event is drawing successful Kansas Citians who’ve left the region “Back2KC” Thursday and Friday for a hands-on glimpse at the city’s evolving innovation economy, Darcy Howe said. As managing director of the KCRise Fund — a co-investment fund that works with venture capital investors to support early-stage Kansas City companies — Howe saw…