Startups

Fountain City Fintech 2019 cohort

Party for the payoff: Fountain City Fintech sets Oct. 15 demo day, KC celebration

By Tommy Felts / September 18, 2019

Kansas City’s ongoing fintech momentum deserves more than a nod from analysts and trend watchers, said Zach Pettet, announcing plans for an Oct. 15 demo day that’s already taking shape as a community celebration. “We need an excuse to rally together and celebrate everything that’s happened over the past few months — especially in the…

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Renewed Kauffman support expected to fuel ECJC’s ‘Pitch Perfect’ through 2021

By Tommy Felts / September 17, 2019

Hungry entrepreneurs could be the leading reason behind the return of Pitch Perfect bootcamp at the Enterprise Center in Johnson County.  “[We heard from the community that] it was one of the best programs in the city for [early-stage founders],” Kathryn Golden, ECJC programs manager, said of a growing appetite for resources provided by the…

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Nick Bowden, Replica

Replica’s $11M round: Alphabet-owned urban planning tool hits the streets as KC-based spinout

By Tommy Felts / September 13, 2019

Kansas City is suddenly home to a new, heavy-hitter-backed startup with a built-in $11 million in Series A funding, Nick Bowden announced Thursday. Replica — a next-generation urban planning tool by Sidewalk Labs (itself a smart city firm owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google) — has been spun out into its own standalone…

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Katie Boody, LEANLAB Education

From KC to Down Under, expanded LEANLAB attracts education innovators to latest fellowship

By Tommy Felts / September 12, 2019

Ten companies arriving Friday to LEANLAB Education’s latest fellowship are expected to be met with real-world classroom partners from nine school systems in the Kansas City metro and Colorado. “When those closest to the issues in education — teachers, parents and students — have access to cutting-edge innovators and researchers, they’ll be able to collectively…

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Plug And Play launch event at the Kansas Statehouse

Plug and Play: Global accelerator could unify animal health corridor, grow Topeka’s startup ecosystem

By Tommy Felts / September 12, 2019

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. TOPEKA…

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