Startups

Fund Me, KC: Portrayals XR crowdfunds next step in building its immersive healing space

By Tommy Felts / July 1, 2025

Startland News is continuing its long-running “Fund Me, KC” series to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses or lend a helping hand to others. This is an opportunity for business owners and innovators — like Tricia Keightley and her immersive healing platform — to share their crowdfunding stories and potentially gain backing from…

Read More >

KC-built sports tech startup acquired by AI-powered fundraising, engagement platform

By Tommy Felts / June 25, 2025

The acquisition of Kansas City-built Athlete Network — a platform designed to foster lifelong connections between student-athletes and athletic alumni — deepens the startup’s work a decade after it launched, its founder said. “This is a huge milestone for our team, and I want to take a moment to sincerely thank our teammates, partners and…

Read More >

Investors laud emerging founder’s expertise as CarePilot logs $2.5M for AI healthtech tool

By Tommy Felts / June 24, 2025

It’s rare for a regional venture capital firm like KCRise Fund to invest in an entrepreneur just out of college, the Midwest-focused firm told Startland News, detailing the remarkable talent that led it to join an early round for Joseph Tutera’s digital health startup. Overland Park-based CarePilot recently announced a $2.5 million seed round led…

Read More >

Whir to find hyper-local deals: Startup launching app to help newcomers, natives connect to small biz exclusives

By Tommy Felts / June 24, 2025

A side quest for $5 burger baskets and cheap beers has matured into a tech platform built to help a wide range of users easily discover local deals, said Blake Coffee, noting his startup deepens small businesses’ engagement with their communities. “We definitely thought it would be more of a college app at first,” said…

Read More >

How this startup founder earned $200K in unrestricted, trust-based funding to transform KC’s relationship to food

By Tommy Felts / June 19, 2025

Long-term community change comes one meal at a time, acknowledged one of Attane Health’s biggest supporters, reflecting on the Kansas City startup’s growth from the “spark of an idea to a full-fledged solution” — ultimately earning its founder a game-changing funding boost. The St. Louis-based Missouri Foundation for Health this month announced its inaugural Spark Prize…

Read More >
[adinserter block="4"]