Startups

InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum

Nearly 30 percent of InvestMidwest applicants from Kansas City

By Tommy Felts / February 8, 2019

Young Kansas City companies are hungry for investor dollars and connections — as evidenced by dozens of metro startups and businesses applying for next month’s InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum. Of the more than 140 applications from entrepreneurs in 19 states seeking to pitch their companies, 18 hail from Kansas City, Missouri, and 10 call Overland Park…

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Keith Bradley, Made in Kansas City, TeamKC MVP Award

Made in Kansas City named TeamKC MVP for celebrating KC pride, promoting talent

By Tommy Felts / February 8, 2019

With its sprawling footprint and focus on local creatives, Made in Kansas City is among the most valuable brands in the metro, TeamKC announced Friday, touting the startup as an economic development driver worthy of its MVP award. Made in KC — founded in 2015 as a retailer of Kansas City-centric and locally designed and made…

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Convivial

After expanding West Bottoms production, Convivial shaping new botanical concept in Crossroads

By Tommy Felts / February 7, 2019

Bootstrapped design and manufacturing company Convivial is reaching out with a clay-covered hand from its West Bottoms production space to plant a Crossroads retail concept, said Chentell Shannon. “I feel grateful and I feel honored and excited and scared — I mean, growing a business is scary,” laughed Shannon, founder of Convivial. Having delivered handmade…

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Bo Lais, Lula

New $750K investment round for Lula comes with partner in apartment management

By Tommy Felts / February 5, 2019

Closing a $750,000 seed round is even more impactful with a strategic partner like Worcester Investments, said Lula founder Bo Lais. “We did have three other private investors, that were minority investors with two of them local, but it’s [become] more than just investment with [with Worcester],” said Lais, CEO of the Overland Park-based home…

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Chronic Cow

Chronic Cow uses big data to attack pain: ‘I can still live a good life,’ founder with MS says

By Tommy Felts / February 5, 2019

Half of all Americans have a chronic illness, said former TeraCrunch co-founder Dr. Kevin Payne. That somber reality, paired with uninvolved physicians, makes quality of life difficult for patients and the focus of Payne’s new venture, Chronic Cow, he said. “From a medical perspective, all I can do as a patient is what my physicians…

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