Startland News hits the road to SXSW

March 10, 2016  |  Bobby Burch

Load up the clown car — Startland is going down south.

Kansas City’s source for entrepreneurial and tech news is venturing to arguably the nation’s top conference for innovative ideas: South-by-Southwest Interactive.

The Startland team has a jam-packed schedule while at SXSW, mingling with techies, early-adopters and thousands of Austonians. Make sure you follow along on our social accounts — Twitter and Facebook — for all the updates.

There’s a strong Kansas City contingent that will be traveling to Austin, including folks from LaunchKC, the Kansas City Chamber, KC Digital Drive, the Kauffman Foundation and more. We’ll cover their presence there, in addition to other events such as President Obama’s chat with The Texas Tribune’s Evan Smith.

Kat and I are SXSW newbies, but have heard many stories about the revelry and serendipity that the conference affords. Just this morning, we RSVPed to an exclusive event with Coolio. I’ll be listening to the CTO of Amazon discuss innovation within his company. And I’ve a catalog of breakfast taco and pub recommendations.

We’ve been told that our plans will likely be demolished by the calamity that is SXSW. Apparently, Austin transforms into an amalgam of chaos and congestion. Regardless, we couldn’t be more excited to relay back to you some of the Kansas City-related news from SXSW.

[adinserter block="4"]

2016 Startups to Watch

    stats here

    Related Posts on Startland News

    SNAP cuts are ‘worse than they look on paper’: Food access advocates warn shelves could go bare overnight

    By Tommy Felts | September 16, 2025

    Chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant doesn’t mince words about perceptions of the hungry Kansas Citians she serves daily through her award-winning culinary social venture. “These are the people who — if you listen to the rhetoric — are deemed ‘lazy,’” the founder of The Prospect KC’s NourishKC Community Kitchen told Startland News. “We know the narratives being…

    LISTEN: Fermenting a clean future through products from meat alternatives to skin creams and baby formula

    By Tommy Felts | September 13, 2025

    On this episode of Startland News’ Plug and Play Topeka founder podcast series, we chat with Francesca Gallucci of Natáur, a Baltimore-based biotech company that’s reimagining how essential nutrients are made. Combining synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and eco-friendly fermentation, they’re producing bio-based taurine (and other naturally occurring sulfur compounds) without relying on petroleum. Gallucci takes…

    KCMO slashes fees for outdoor dining permits, launches dining trail for grant winning projects

    By Tommy Felts | September 12, 2025

    Kansas City has officially eliminated outdoor dining permit fees, reducing the cost from $850 to zero, thanks to the momentum created by a city-led initiative to encourage investment in outdoor dining experiences, city leaders announced this week, unveiling new plans to promote funded businesses and their projects.  Launched in 2024, the Outdoor Dining Enhancement Program…

    World Cup will produce KC small biz millionaires in just weeks, leaders say, but it’s only the start

    By Tommy Felts | September 12, 2025

    Kansas City can’t look at the World Cup in 2026 as one big event where businesses are going to make good money for a while, and then everything goes back to normal, said Wes Rogers.  “This has to be the beginning of the next chapter of our city,” the 2nd District Councilman for Kansas City,…