News

Photos: Innovation Exchange returns with Top KC Startups to Watch celebration

By Tommy Felts / February 28, 2018

So … What’s your spirit animal? Eleven startup founders and leaders joined Startland News and the Kansas City Startup Foundation on stage Tuesday for a rebooted Innovation Exchange experience — complete with casual conversation, jazz and few unexpected queries. Saluting the Top Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2018, the rapid-fire, Q&A-style event showcased the…

City gave into fear, failed the test on innovation with Airbnb vote, councilman says

By Tommy Felts / February 27, 2018

Kansas City’s move Thursday to prohibit short-term rentals in large portions of the city sent a clear message to entrepreneurs with disruptive ideas and technology, Quinton Lucas said: “Not In My Backyard.”   “I don’t know why a city that has so many innovators and that’s buzzing, that’s exciting — and frankly doesn’t always have…

Mycroft hits crowdfunding goal in hours, raises $400K for Mark II

By Tommy Felts / February 27, 2018

Mycroft’s Mark II crowdfunding campaign raised eight times its goal — and the tech firm is still counting. The Kansas City-based startup set out to raise $50,000 on Kickstarter and garner support from early adopters for its voice assistant product Mark II — similar to Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana. Mycroft “blew through”…

Negro leagues’ only three women players inspire ‘Beauty of the Game’ by KC designer Cherry

By Tommy Felts / February 27, 2018

Toni Stone, Connie Morgan and Mamie Johnson — the only three women to play in the Negro baseball leagues — remain an inspiration to female entrepreneurs in male-dominated industries some 50 years later, said Thalia Cherry. “It’s still important for us to carve out a great space for ourselves, a great niche, and do the…

Ranking: KC defies gender pay gap, again earns No. 2 for Women in Tech

By Tommy Felts / February 24, 2018

Second only to Washington, D.C., in a new national ranking, Kansas City boasts a noteworthy statistic: Women in tech jobs are paid, on average, 2 percent more than their male counterparts. It’s the fourth consecutive year Kansas City has earned a No. 2 on the list of the Best Cities for Women in Tech. But…