Tag: Replica

10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2021

By Tommy Felts / January 13, 2021

In a world disrupted, entrepreneurs are leading the charge — remaking their communities in the image of innovation and meeting a rising demand for solutions to real-world problems.  The future newsmakers assembled as part of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2021 list are eager to reinvent. They’re simplifying over-complicated industries and blazing bold…

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Venture capital Kansas City

Kansas City’s Top VC-Backed Companies in 2020

By Tommy Felts / August 31, 2020

The 2020 Top Venture Capital-Backed Companies List reflects a range of success stories and COVID-era challenges among Kansas City’s community of growth-stage, venture-backed companies. The list — updated annually by Startland News and its parent organization, Startland — shows that while few companies were spared from COVID-19’s impact, many of Kansas City’s leading entrepreneurs continued to grow…

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John Fein and Chris Marks, Firebrand Ventures

$40M Firebrand II fund strengthened by Kansas City VC’s merger with Boulder firm, leaders say 

By Tommy Felts / August 3, 2020

Merging two venture capital funds focused on one startup-rich portfolio is expected to create a larger platform for founders in up-and-coming markets, said Chris Marks. “While a merger is unique in the venture world, this feels very natural based on our overlap in values, our shared commitment to supporting authentic leaders, and our similar focus…

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Nick Bowden, Replica

Replica’s $11M round: Alphabet-owned urban planning tool hits the streets as KC-based spinout

By Tommy Felts / September 13, 2019

Kansas City is suddenly home to a new, heavy-hitter-backed startup with a built-in $11 million in Series A funding, Nick Bowden announced Thursday. Replica — a next-generation urban planning tool by Sidewalk Labs (itself a smart city firm owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google) — has been spun out into its own standalone…

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