Startups

Sock 101 ‘makes it work’ on Project Runway, secures $250K

By Tommy Felts / December 6, 2016

Apparently, Kansas City socks have significant upside with investors. After an appearance on Lifetime’s “Project Runway: Fashion Start-up,” Kansas City-based Sock 101 recently landed $250,000 from two prominent fashionistas. Designer Rebecca Minkoff and Gary Wassner, co-founder of Interluxe Holdings, a venture capital group focusing on fashion and luxury brands, both invested in the sock startup.…

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Mycroft AI

Montgomery: How to support KC startups with your IRA and 401(k)

By Tommy Felts / December 5, 2016

Mycroft co-founder Joshua Montgomery recently appealed to the 1 Million Cups community to launch Initiative Six to foster more early-stage investment in Kansas City. The opinions in the commentary are the author’s alone. I recently read yet another article lamenting the lack of investment by Silicon Valley in the Midwest. The author stated how great…

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Humanizing text analysis, Stride marches to international growth

By Tommy Felts / December 2, 2016

Computers can do a lot these days, but they can’t process feelings. After all, that’s what sets humans apart from machine — right? Not necessarily it seems, as one Kansas-City based artificial intelligence firm is challenging that notion with its text-analyzing tech that not only identifies subjects but also a writer’s sentiment. A graduate of…

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Idle Smart earns $125K in national clean energy program

By Tommy Felts / December 1, 2016

Idle Smart recently was dubbed a top clean-energy firm and won some substantial investment capital for its technology. Based in Kansas City, Kan., the company was voted by its peers as the top firm in the Energy: US 2016 program, nabbing $125,000 for its smart thermostat device for fleet vehicles, such as semi-trucks. The company’s…

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With KC startup Edcoda, students learn as wizard saviors

By Tommy Felts / December 1, 2016

Across the U.S., student engagement is declining. By the time students reach high school, 2 out of 3 them will become disengaged, according to Gallup’s 2015 figures. But one Kansas City-based startup is working to change that by making fun a top priority. Edtech startup Edcoda created the 3D, online role-playing game Coda Quest, which…

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