Profiles

Mayor James challenges area nonprofits on digital inclusion

By Tommy Felts / July 18, 2017

Kansas City, Mo. digital inclusion nonprofits now have the opportunity to win free blazing-fast Google Fiber. On Monday, Kansas City Mayor Sly James launched the Google Fiber Community Connections Challenge, which will reward selected local non-profit who seeks to close the digital divide. The challenge is part of the city of Kansas City’s larger digital…

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Eyeing area talent gap, Code the Block to teach tech skills to underserved KC youth

By Tommy Felts / July 7, 2017

A new organization seeks to strengthen Kansas City’s tech talent pipeline by bringing computer science education to underserved youth. Co-founded by David Persley and Joe Wilkinson in 2016, Code the Block is an after-school program targeting high school students in Kansas City. Persley, a Teach for America alum, and Wilkinson, a former business analyst with…

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Sprint Accelerator alum and AI firm Centiment to begin KU Med partnership

By Tommy Felts / July 6, 2017

New York-based artificial intelligence firm Centiment recently announced that the firm has established a research partnership with the University of Kansas School of Medicine. The neuroscience study will focus on two areas of the brain — the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex — and will scan the brains of people while they consume content, looking for…

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KCultivator Q&A: Arts champion and fiery uke player Erin McGrane talks Victor & Penny, prejudices, spreadsheets

By Tommy Felts / July 5, 2017

Editor’s note: KCultivators is a new, lighthearted profile series we’re kicking off to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Check out our features on SEED Law’s Adrienne Haynes, Code Koalas’ Robert Manigold,  Prep-KC CEO Susan Wally and community builder Donald Carter. You’re most likely familiar with Erin McGrane when a ukulele accompanies…

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Mobility Designed names new CEO, raises more than $1M

By Tommy Felts / June 9, 2017

Mobility Designed, a Kansas City medical device startup, announced Friday that it has appointed a new CEO. Previously held by co-founder Liliana Younger, the CEO role is now held by Dan Alcazar. A serial entrepreneur, Alcazar has experience growing early-stage, mid-sized and Fortune 500 companies, including RJR Nabisco, Sprint and Embarq. Younger will remain on…

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