Applications open: Sprint Accelerator dialing into ag tech, IoT with 2018 cohort

Investing in startups isn’t just about providing needed capital, Doug Dresslaer said. As the Sprint Accelerator gears up for its fifth year, Dresslaer, managing director of the program, said the accelerator’s 2017 cohort — the first since its move toward establishing corporate partnerships and pivot away from Techstars — proved industry relationships themselves create tremendous value.…

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Sprint Accelerator alum trades Miami HQ for KC

TradeLanes’ move from Miami to the Midwest is about proximity. “In Kansas City, we’re closer to customers and closer to everyone on our list of prospective customers,” TradeLanes co-founder Vijay Harrell said. “The closer we are to our customers, the faster we can learn, spot their problems and then solve them.” The global trade firm,…

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How Kansas City’s accelerators are fueling area innovation

In partnership with Think Big Partners, the Innovation Exchange offers Kansas Citians context and behind-the-scenes details on newsmakers in the area entrepreneurial ecosystem. This month, area leaders — including the Techstars Kansas city managing director Lesa Mitchell — discussed the impact that accelerators have on the metro’s entrepreneurial community. If you missed the event, you…

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Why and how is Dairy Farmers of America working with startups?

When it comes to operations driving innovation, dairy farms probably don’t come to mind.   But that’s precisely what Kansas City’s largest private employer — Dairy Farmers of America — is doing with its move to partner with the revamped Sprint Accelerator in 2017. DFA is among four corporations syncing up with the program in…

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