No Coast winners: Two rapidly growing KC tech startups championed
March 9, 2019 | Tommy Felts
Tech leadership and innovation know No Coast, said Ryan Weber Friday night as the KC Tech Council revealed its inaugural award show honorees.
The Abbott
Beneath the glittering chandeliers of the Abbott luxury event space — and surrounded by elaborate set pieces and balloon art — Weber and the KC Tech Council team announced winners in four No Coast categories that enveloped industry, policy and workforce.
Startup faces taking home prizes included a Martin City-headquartered cyber security powerhouse, Fishtech Group, and the driving force behind Merriam-based sports tech firm, ShotTracker.
Click here to learn about how Fishtech is securing its place in a threat-filled market.
Click here for more on why ShotTracker was selected as one of Startland’s Startups to Watch in 2019.
“The story of Kansas City’s tech industry is being written at a rapid pace,” said Karen Hornig, CEO of KC-based insurance information tech services firm NIPR, introducing the Outstanding Contribution to Tech Award. “The story of the region’s future as a technology hub will be written by many of the people and organizations in this room.”
Danielle Feinberg, Pixar Animation Studios
Friday’s family-focused No Coast celebration featured a number of youth award presenters, as well as a lively crowd of children in the audience. Fittingly, a keynote illuminated by Danielle Feinberg, a director of photography at Pixar Animation Studios, focused heavily on Feinberg’s experience working on such hit family films as “Wall-E” and “Coco.”
Loving that the @KCTechCouncil has embraced #InternationalWomensDay throughout their #nocoast19 event, featuring a female speaker, engaging women and girls, and making the event explicitly kid-friendly. And also, not pink. Tech event organizers, take note. #startupkc #techkc pic.twitter.com/WzsuvQ0heN
— Melissa Roberts (@msmeliss2024) March 9, 2019
“We hope to make our attendees feel comfortable to bring kids, nieces, nephews, you name it, because there’s going to be a great opportunity for them to experience the tech that’s created in Kansas City and be inspired,” Weber said before the event, which began with an interactive tech showcase featuring such KC companies as Dimensional Innovations, Garmin, VMLY&R, WeWork and Fishtech Group.
No Coast award winners included:
[divide]
Outstanding Contribution to Tech
(Finalists: Alphapointe; and Stackify)
Kara Lowe, KC Tech Council; Jennie Hanna and Valerie Sablin, Fishtech Group
[divide]
Tech Connector of the Year
Davyeon Ross, co-founder and COO, ShotTracker
(Finalists: Greg Kratofil, managing partner, Polsinelli; and Matt Watson, founder, Stackify)
Ryan Weber, KC Tech Council; Ryder Jarrett, student intern; Jeff Portsche, Garmin; and Davyeon Ross, ShotTracker
[divide]
Tech Champion of the Year
Brian Baker, lead government strategist, Cerner
(Finalists: Bob Bennett, chief innovation officer, City of KCMO; and Travis Fitzwater, member, Missouri House of Representatives)
Brian Baker, Cerner
[divide]
Tech Educator of the Year
Jill Riffer, Blue Valley CAPS
(Finalists: Kevin Clevenger, Blue Springs School District; and Lisa Oyler, Summit Technology Academy)
Antonio Linhart, student; Jill Riffer, Blue Valley CAPS; and Ryan Weber, KC Tech Council
Featured Business
2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Techweek commits to five more years in KC
With more than 5,000 attendees last week in Union Station, Kansas City more than doubled the expected participation in Techweek, a week-long technology conference. In fact, Kansas City performed so well that Techweek is coming back for at least five more years. Techweek CEO Katy Lynch said that the conference was anticipating about 2,500 attendees, but…
Science City at Union Station wins experience award
Science City at Union Station was named one of two worldwide recipients for a prestigious visitor experience award. The EDGIE Award, or Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award, for visitor experience was given to Science City last week by the Association of Science-Technology Centers, a nonprofit organization that represents science centers and museums. The award…
OP prescription software firm lands $2.7M
An Overland Park software company recently wrapped up a hefty funding round, according to its founder and CEO. Rx Savings Solutions, a business that works with other companies to manage employees’ monthly medications, secured $2.7 million in funding. Kansas City investors Dan Henry, CEO of NetSpend Corp., and Jeffrey Brown, chairman at StoreFinancial, led the…
LaunchKC winners reflect on ‘massive opportunity’
Once the dust settled on the LaunchKC grant recipient announcement, the champagne bottles popped. Founders from the 10 winning companies — parred down from a list of 500 — had reason to celebrate Friday afternoon between the promise of $50,000 and the chance to land some office space. Of the 10 recipient companies, six come…