News

KC-based Contract Canvas earns finalist slot for WeWork Creator Awards in Nashville

By Tommy Felts / August 15, 2018

Returning to WeWork’s Creator Awards to pitch Contract Canvas was a defining moment for Chris Brown, as well as the year-old legal startup, he said. “I worked harder on this pitch than perhaps any pitch I’ve ever given,” said Brown, hours after a flight back from meeting with Creator Awards judges in New York City…

LaunchKC nets 32 percent gain in tech startups vying for $500K in prizes; selection under way

By Tommy Felts / August 15, 2018

LaunchKC is off to the races toward its fourth annual, national grants competition for tech entrepreneurs. The program attracts hundreds of tech entrepreneurs each year – including a 32 percent increase and a near-record 586 applicants this year — to compete for up to $500,000 in grants and an opportunity to build and grow their…

First down for Healthy Hip Hop: Roy Scott teams with Champ for game-changing reboot

By Tommy Felts / August 14, 2018

If it’s making money, don’t give up on it, said Roy Scott, rapper-turned-founder of Healthy Hip Hop. A new partnership with Champ System — a growing Kansas City sports apparel company with a popular hip hop-inspired mascot — will keep the performance- and tech-based startup in school gymnasiums and beyond as Scott’s company continues a…

SquareOffs public polling pilot with Oregon TV station could be a new niche

By Tommy Felts / August 14, 2018

Opinions are constant, said Jeff Rohr, CEO of the Kansas City startup SquareOffs. As social media consumers look for new ways to voice a plethora of differing views, Rohr said he and his company have inked a major deal with News-Press and Gazette Co. (NPG), that could overhaul the public polling conducted by local news…

Limited edition: Champ System carries sports apparel from the field to Westport

By Tommy Felts / August 14, 2018

When the choice came down to quick, easy money or grinding out his own brand, Maurice Woodard played the long game. His payoff comes Saturday with the grand opening of Champ System’s first brick-and-mortar ChampZone storefront in Westport. “You’re going to look different because there’s such a limited amount that we’ll release,” he said, noting…