Startups

Jabbok Schlacks, EquipmentShare

EquipmentShare completes another $150M equity raise, building on its Series E funding

By Tommy Felts / September 13, 2023

COLUMBIA, Missouri — The latest tranche of funding for EquipmentShare puts mid-Missouri’s most earth-moving scaleup close to a half-billion dollars in funding announced over the past six months. EquipmentShare, a Columbia-based equipment and digital solutions provider serving the construction industry, on Wednesday announced it completed an extension of its Series E equity raise, led by funds…

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Tesseract Ventures' Alert Route Lighting System illustration

Tesseract Ventures illuminates its work with US military, lighting new alert system for air force base

By Tommy Felts / September 13, 2023

A new military contract showcases Tesseract Ventures’ versatility and sophistication in the national security tech space, said John Boucard, touting the Overland Park-based company’s cutting-edge Alert Route Lighting System planned for MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. “Tesseract continues its focused mission to revolutionize the way people live, work, and play by developing state-of-the-art technologies…

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KC entrepreneurs tapped to team up with top-tier Kansas enterprise businesses

By Tommy Felts / September 7, 2023

A trio of emerging Kansas City startups are among 20 cohort members selected to forge new strategic connections with big-name Kansas enterprise partners like Koch, Evergy, Cargill and Spirit AeroSystems. Wichita-based NXTUS this week announced the latest program participants for the NXTSTAGE Enterprise Engagement Series — a diverse array of growth-minded entrepreneurs offering innovative tech…

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Mpruv Sports adds pickleball, tennis to its on-demand edtech platform, strengthens C-suite roster

By Tommy Felts / September 7, 2023

Just six months after teeing off, Mpruv Sports — and its first offering, Mpruv Golf — are seeing momentum on the course and the court, shared founder and CEO Mark Lukenbill. The peer-to-peer, on-demand sports education marketplace is expanding to include tennis and pickleball, pivoting to a progressive web app, adding corporate partnerships, and growing…

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TokenTourney brings daily fantasy sports to the casual fan, fielding a video game feel with real-world experiences

By Tommy Felts / September 7, 2023

In April, Davis Engle asked his lifelong friend to quit his job in Dallas and come take a gamble on his startup. For Sam Shortall, it was an easy decision. “It didn’t take long for me to weigh the pros and cons of leaving consulting and doing something revolutionary,” Shortall said. The two have known…

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