Startups

Tammie Wahaus, ELIAS Animal Health

Biotech firms: Health innovation can’t grow in KC with wet lab space in such short supply

By Tommy Felts / July 25, 2019

ELIAS Animal Health is advancing a technology that can fundamentally change how cancer is treated in both humans and animals, said CEO Tammie Wahaus, yet finding lab space in the metro has been one of the biotech startup’s biggest tests.   “We’re doing a lot of cell culture work, which requires wet lab space, but there…

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Photo courtesy of United American Hemp

Two novice gardeners in an Olathe lab could harvest Kansas’ first legal hemp harvest

By Tommy Felts / July 23, 2019

Potential for a high-yield payoff grows with each day as Michael Wilson and James DeWitt inch closer to their first hemp harvest — likely the first in the state in modern times, they said. “It’s the jumping off point to create a repeatable process,” said DeWitt, co-founder and CEO at United American Hemp. “We’ve learned…

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Lisa Bledsoe, Tea-Biotics Kombucha

Tea-Biotics bottles $1.2M in quick funding round; taps into thirsty new markets for kombucha

By Tommy Felts / July 22, 2019

From jar-lined countertops in her kitchen to a 13,000-square-foot facility brimming with brew tanks, Lisa Bledsoe’s mission to pour Kansas City a more refreshing bottle of “booch” is scaling fast, she explained over a freshly tapped glass of her “Beachlife”-flavored kombucha.  “I think it can be an inspiration for younger women or even other women…

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Henry Kim, LG Electronics, Innovation Exchange

LG Electronics tech expert: Kansas City a smart home for corporate-startup collaboration (IXKC photos)

By Tommy Felts / July 20, 2019

Tech industry giants see significant potential in the ideas being created in startup hubs like Kansas City, an LG Electronics leader told a crowd gathered this week at Homebase.  “A lot of startup companies can bring innovation to the front. Big companies like ours, sometimes we’re so busy that we lose track of that activity,”…

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Photo by Jakob Owens Sharkoff shark bite survivor

5-year-old shark bite survivor returns to the ocean with help of SharkOFF wearable, founder says

By Tommy Felts / July 19, 2019

A sweet taste of its do-good mission has Kansas City-based SharkOff eyeing new ideas, explained Shea Geist, recounting the tale of 5-year-old Violet Jalil’s journey back into the ocean.  “Several months ago we got a big order from [Violet’s mom,] Jessica [Veatch], and she commented when she put in her order, talking about her daughter…

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