Tag: Darcy Howe

Zego exit, investment wins reflect critical need for startups to look outside KC, co-founder says

By Tommy Felts / May 10, 2019

Homegrown is great, Adam Blake said, but at some point scaling companies must explore the world of resources and dollars available outside the metro. “Kansas City has a lot to offer — plenty of talent, great place to live and quality of life, helpful mentors, etc. — but I would say it’s a requirement for startups…

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Darcy Howe, KCRise Fund; Lesa Mitchell, Techstars KC; Melissa Roberts, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, female entrepreneurs Kansas City

Even gatekeepers struggle to bring KC’s women-led companies in from the cold

By Tommy Felts / March 6, 2019

Female entrepreneurs are falling behind as a new generation of highly-scalable startups rises in the Kansas City, said Darcy Howe, reporting too few women-led firms even approaching KCRise Fund for investment. “My experience with those ‘Hey, I hear you have money’ calls that I do get [from female entrepreneurs] — many of them are not…

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startups kcmo budget

Startup advocates rally, demand KCMO invest more of its $1.73B budget in entrepreneurs

By Tommy Felts / March 3, 2019

If Kansas City leaders want to build a stronger community, they should start by supporting early stage entrepreneurs, said Lesa Mitchell. “I’m simply here to say — we’re not spending enough money … and we need to look at it,” Mitchell, managing director of Techstars Kansas City, told KCMO city council members Saturday during a public…

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Darcy Howe, KCRise Fund

KCultivator Q&A: Darcy Howe helps awaken a sleepy city from its safe spaces, talks rest and refueling

By Tommy Felts / March 1, 2019

Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Empowering Kansas City entrepreneurs to realize their dreams is in Darcy Howe’s blood, she said with a coy smile, seated in an open meeting space atop the 24th floor of her downtown office. “Kansas City was…

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CB Insights KCRise

CB Insights calls KCRise most active VC in Kansas; Fund credits work of small team, innovative portfolio startups

By Tommy Felts / February 7, 2019

Kansans don’t fear hard work, said Darcy Howe. An investment in such a mindset has come with big returns for the KCRise Fund, newly proclaimed the most active venture capital fund in the Sunflower State, according to CB Insights. “Perhaps overused but Margaret Mead’s quote, ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens…

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