Tag: Donald Hawkins

Kirby Montgomery, TheraWe Connect, Pure Pitch Rally

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

By Tommy Felts / October 11, 2018

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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Julia Luetje, Storm Sleeper, pre-teen innovator

Pure Pitch surprise twist: Techweek competition adds pre-teen innovator to KC startup lineup

By Tommy Felts / October 8, 2018

In a surprise announcement Monday, organizers of the Pure Pitch Rally announced the third annual pitch competition would feature the Kansas City pre-teen innovator behind the Storm Sleeper. Update: Click here to find out who won big at the Pure Pitch Rally. Julia Luetje — a Barstow School student from Leawood, who at 10 years…

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Donald Hawkins, CitySmart

Austin-backed CitySmart founder hunts opportunities beyond KC, but still eyes local investors

By Tommy Felts / August 7, 2018

CitySmart can’t afford to waste its potential on the waiting game, said CEO and founder Donald Hawkins. “Entrepreneurship teaches you to be extremely effective with limited time,” Hawkins added, as he anticipated a wave of change that would soon wash over his Kansas City-born startup. Founded in 2017, CitySmart is a white label, SaaS platform…

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