News

Virtual reality field trips offer black history experiences for KC students

By Tommy Felts / February 8, 2017

With backgrounds in tech, education and business, five women have joined forces to create technology-based educational experience to impart lessons on black culture. Last month, the V Form Alliance received a $19,000 grant from Mozilla Gigabit Community Fund to fund the group’s inaugural project: Virtual Realities in Culture: Explorations of the African Diaspora Project. With…

KCMO creates live-viewing platform of smart city data

By Tommy Felts / February 8, 2017

Officially launched about nine months ago, the Kansas City Smart City initiative has produced as much enthusiasm as it has technological possibilities. The $15.7 million public-private project — which has transformed Kansas City’s downtown into a lab of Wi-Fi connectivity on and around the 2.2-mile streetcar line — is now further empowering citizens. The City…

Events Preview: Life Equals graduation, Coding & Cupcakes

By Tommy Felts / February 7, 2017

There are a plethora of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter, or curious community member — we recommend these upcoming events for you. Weekly Events Preview The Marketing Series: SEO Made Easy with Brandon Kenig When: Feb. 8, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Where: Sprint Accelerator…

Animal tech startup FitBark fetches huge Australian pet insurer

By Tommy Felts / February 7, 2017

Animal tech firm FitBark is headed Down Under thanks to its landing of a big Australian partner. The Kansas City-based company announced that it’s partnered with PetSure, Australia’s largest pet insurance underwriter to help launch its wearable dog activity tracker to the Aussie market. PetSure opens FitBark up to 360,000 policyholders, a network of 22…

Kansas City hosting NIST national smart cities conference

By Tommy Felts / February 7, 2017

Kansas City’s smart city creds are on the national stage. The National Institute of Standards and Technology selected Kansas City as the first city to host a national conference that encourages collaboration and establishes standards for smart cities. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Think Big Partners and the City of Kansas City, Mo. will host Global…