Winning pitch: Leading KC fintech founder deposits trio of new bank partnerships 

By Tommy Felts | September 18, 2020

One of Kansas City’s prominent fintech and nonprofit leaders has secured partnerships with three of the regions leading banks.  Donald Hawkins, founder and CEO of Griffin Technologies and a co-leader in KC Collective, was awarded pilot projects with Emprise Bank, Fidelity Bank, and Intrust Bank, Thursday — part of the Wichita-based NXSTAGE Pilot Competition, hosted…

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Trio of KC fintech startups named finalists in Wichita-based NXTSTAGE pilot competition

By Tommy Felts | July 30, 2020

Three emerging fintech startups with Kansas City ties have found new entrepreneurial support southwest of the metro. Griffin, Destiny, and Bellwethr were announced as finalists in the Wichita-based, NXTSTAGE Pilot Competition, Wednesday — an effort designed to propel early-stage companies to the next stage of startup growth, largely through mentorship and connections to companies and regional…

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Pitch & Pint: KC Collective unveils founders competing in real-time April 30 pitch event

By Tommy Felts | April 22, 2020

While COVID-19 wreaks havoc across the globe, Kansas City entrepreneurs already are proving their resiliency, said Donald J. Hawkins. “They’re still grinding, iterating, and finding ways to make things happen,” said Hawkins, co-organizer of the KC Collective founder network, as well as co-founder of Griffin. “In addition to working on their own businesses, they’re diving…

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Are venture-seeking women, minority founders at an unfair disadvantage in KC?

By Tommy Felts | December 19, 2019

Editor’s note: The following is the second in a series of analyses of Startland’s list of Kansas City’s Top Venture Capital-Backed Companies. [divide] On stage with a handful of men, Erin Papworth faced a dilemma. The founder of Nav.It — one of the startups to recently complete Fountain City Fintech’s second accelerator cohort — found herself…

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