Startups

Recyclverse products

Fund Me, KC: UMKC alums aim to transform recycled plastics into functional home décor

By Tommy Felts / October 15, 2021

Startland News is continuing its “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 Nicole Dover and Tony Jordan, and their newly launched venture, Recyclverse — to share their crowdfunding stories and potentially…

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Shekhar Gupta, MyAnIML, Blockchain Initiatives

Blockchain to beef: Why one serial innovator traded the slow pace of corporate life for another muzzle

By Tommy Felts / October 14, 2021

Shekhar Gupta learned early that life comes with two approaches for overcoming challenges: accept the problem and move on or figure out a better way of solving it. The Kansas City serial entrepreneur has no shortage of ideas for finding solutions, but he keeps moving nonetheless. As COO of Blockchain Initiatives, Gupta has his hands…

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Risa Stein, SeeInMe; Alex Burton and Leo Esposito, Bozt; Rebecca Simons, CuePlay; Michael Eichenseer, VRdojo; Jason Reid, KNIMO; and Jill and Justin Bertelsen, Bertelsen Education

Meet six newly funded companies helping get KC’s economy ‘back on track’ with Digital Sandbox

By Tommy Felts / October 14, 2021

Digital Sandbox funding is a game-changer for CuePlay — one of six companies selected for the proof of concept program’s latest cohort — said founder Rebecca Simons, who first launched the idea two years ago at Techstars’ Startup Weekend in Kansas City. “It allows us to finish the development of a beta app and get it…

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Andrew Potter, Approach, Tile Five

Tile Five climbs higher with $1.5M seed round for Approach spinout, set to onboard 200+ gyms by year’s end

By Tommy Felts / October 13, 2021

A $1.5 million funding round for Kansas City-based Approach is expected to further develop the future of gym operations — a growing industry, primed for disruption, Andrew Potter said.  “Gym operations are becoming more and more efficient and are leveraging technology and data to help drive business decisions,” explained Potter, founding partner.  A platform of Tile…

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Sean Null and Philip Van der Straeten of Erkios Systems at the Oct. 1 Arch Grant Gala for the 2021 cohort

Erkios confirms KC headquarters moving to St. Louis; gears up for 2022 product launch

By Tommy Felts / October 7, 2021

While vendors for Erkios Systems were shut down during the pandemic, Sean Null and his team got busy learning the necessary skills to keep their startup going, he recalled. “We were doing a lot of the work on our own; so when the world started moving again, we were prepared. Essentially, we were able to…

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