From KC to Down Under, expanded LEANLAB attracts education innovators to latest fellowship

Ten companies arriving Friday to LEANLAB Education’s latest fellowship are expected to be met with real-world classroom partners from nine school systems in the Kansas City metro and Colorado. “When those closest to the issues in education — teachers, parents and students — have access to cutting-edge innovators and researchers, they’ll be able to collectively…

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Pure Pitch Rally passes $1 million in prizes; FastDemocracy and TheraWe lead winners

A quick-paced pitch competition Wednesday saw big wins for political tracking startup FastDemocracy and child therapy resource TheraWe Connect, with more than $1 million in prizes awarded between 10 young companies. “Our sponsors felt a funding head-rush like a speeding train — throwing money everywhere,” said Michael Williamson, an IP attorney for Polsinelli, one of…

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Brian Kearns: Get outside of your startup bubble

What’s so special about Silicon Valley, Hollywood or New York? I’ll give you a hint: bad barbecue. Just kidding. These are the places you go when you want to build the next “unicorn,” become a big star or bask in the bright lights of Broadway. The dream you often hear whispered backstage is, “I want…

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Brian Kearns soothes intern trepidation with these 4 tips

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Last year I got involved with MECA Challenge, a one-day student innovation competition. As part of the event, I presented high schoolers with a business problem my startup was currently tackling. I went in without expectations and was pleasantly surprised when my group…

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