LaunchKC finalists: Meet 13 tech startups vying for six $50K grants in rebooted competition

A revived LaunchKC grants competition is set to return in mid-November with more than a dozen companies vying for $300,000 in non-dilutive funding. Finalists were announced Friday. The 13 Kansas City companies selected to compete Nov. 15 were narrowed from more than 90 applicants, said Becca Castro, strategic initiatives manager at the Economic Development Corporation…

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Keystone Labs partners with LaunchKC to lead accelerator platform operations

2018 LaunchKC winners

Six years after launching as a grants competition, the ever-evolving LaunchKC program will continue as an accelerator platform, newly led by the minds behind Keystone Labs — an outgrowth of the Keystone innovation district effort championed by Kevin McGinnis. Announced Thursday morning during a meeting of the Downtown Council of Kansas City, the move is expected…

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OHUB founder: Your silence is an investment; I’m calling out so-called allies

Rodney Sampson, Opportunity Hub

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Rodney Sampson is founder of Atlanta-based Opportunity Hub, as well as OHUB’s Kansas City minority accelerator, OHUB.KC, which operates through a partnership with the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri. Opportunity Hub is a non-financial partner of Startland News. Hello tech, startup…

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