Tag: KCRise Fund

Ivraj Seerha, Bellwethr; Alexandra Wooden, Idle Smart; Kevin McPherson, Bellwethr; and Alex Tran, Five Elms

Venture for America fellows bringing diversity of thought to KC tech, investment firms

By Tommy Felts / June 11, 2019

Venture for America fellows are flocking to Kansas City, said Kate Loar. “Venture For America’s initial Kansas City champions: the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Pepper, KCRise Fund, and Super Dispatch set the groundwork for growth in KC,” noted Loar, VFA director in St. Louis and Kansas City. “We’re excited to expand the local VFA cohort…

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Ron LeMay, Main Street Data, Open Air Equity Partners

Startup, investor, corporate worlds collide; Ron LeMay’s message for KC: Sit down and talk

By Tommy Felts / June 7, 2019

Ron LeMay wasn’t willing to watch entrepreneurs flee Kansas City to build their game-changing companies on the coasts, he recalled. “That’s a prescription for disaster over time,” LeMay, CEO of Main Street Data and managing director of Open Air Equity Partners, said of the way he viewed entrepreneurial progress in the City of Fountains as…

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John Thomson, PayIt

PayIt gains $25M follow-on investment from early backer Weatherford Capital

By Tommy Felts / May 31, 2019

A Tampa-based venture capital firm run by three brothers sees investing in Kansas City’s PayIt as part of its long-term strategy. Weatherford Capital first backed PayIt in 2016, through a $4.5 million Series A round led by New York-based Advantage Capital Partners, and followed by Weatherford, Royal Street Ventures, the Missouri Technology Corporation and Five…

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Andrea Savage, Salem Habte, Mark Babcock, Alec Rodgers, and Ali Brandolino, UMKC Enactus

UMKC Enactus team kicks open front door to Kansas City innovation scene with final four win

By Tommy Felts / May 24, 2019

As the number of teams left standing in the Enactus U.S. nationals started to dwindle, members of the competitive entrepreneurial development program’s team at the University of Missouri-Kansas City rode a pulsating wave of excitement and emotion, recalled Ali Brandolino. “I started crying,” added Brandolino, UMKC Enactus vice president of operations. “It was the most…

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Back2KC Kansas City Startup Foundation

New home for Back2KC: Kansas City Startup Foundation expands talent pipeline efforts

By Tommy Felts / May 21, 2019

It’s the Kansas City Startup Foundation’s turn to drive the tour bus, said Darcy Howe, announcing Monday the transfer of the Back2KC talent pipeline initiative to KCSF, the nonprofit ecosystem-building organization that also powers Startland News. The move means KCSF will take ownership of the program for its Oct. 3-4 return, adding a full-time team…

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