Tag: Techweek

Jim Malle, Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, LaunchKC

LaunchKC pivoting from annual grants contest to supporting industry verticals, accelerators

By Tommy Felts / December 14, 2018

LaunchKC is expected to focus on specific business verticals in 2019 — an effort to bring companies to Kansas City that can fill industry gaps, said Jim Malle. A revamped version of the annual grants competition eventually would grow those verticals into individual accelerator programs, said Malle, business development officer at the Economic Development Corporation…

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Ben Morss, Google

From Cake to Google: Musician-turned-tech leader composes career between keyboards

By Tommy Felts / October 25, 2018

Well into a music career — but noticing friends who were still trying to find gigs to make ends meet — Ben Morss faced a life-altering pivot. “I got sick of it and I turned to programming full time,” said Morss, a developer advocate at Google. “As a musician, I was trying to call people…

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LaunchKC winner Erkios: Hacking attacks will come from inside — Fortifi intellectual property

By Tommy Felts / October 24, 2018

Tinkering with old technology defined childhood for Philip Van Der Straeten, COO of Kansas City tech startup Erkios Systems. Such adventures could one day provide a nationwide payoff for his company, he said. “Our organization was built by tinkerers and critical thinkers attempting to break things down and get a better grasp of what they…

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Fast Democracy

Pure Pitch Rally winner says local investment will push Fast Democracy toward focus on KC politics

By Tommy Felts / October 23, 2018

Offering voters a crystal clear look at the legislative process is winning support for Fast Democracy within the Kansas City startup ecosystem, said Jill Kline, the CEO behind the evolving bill tracking platform. “This was always the roadmap. We started out with some of these basic features, wanting to help the general public get their…

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Zach Pettet, Fountain City Fintech; and Erika Klotz, PopBookings, KC Mythbusters

Human capital: KC Mythbusters challenges Kansas City to rethink how it supports startups

By Tommy Felts / October 18, 2018

A thriving startup ecosystem requires more stakeholders with skin in the game, said Eric Jorgenson. That means increasing direct participation — those actively and directly building or investing in startups that can potentially exit and see a talent and capital explosion that results in even newer startups — and de-emphasizing the need for and dependence…

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