KC-based Make48 invention contest to become national TV show

Kansas-City based invention competition Make48 is becoming a nationally-televised program in September. The inaugural season of Make48 will be featured on more than 200 public television stations via American Public Television, reaching about 70 percent of U.S. households. Founded in 2015, Make48 challenges inventors to build a product over a weekend. For the show, however,…

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Fund me, KC: Garden Thorn wants to turn your thumb green

Garden Thorn

Startland News is continuing its segment to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs —  like The Handy Camel CEO Tom Gray — to share their stories to gain a little help from their supporters. If you or your startup is running a crowdfunding campaign, let us know…

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Manufacturers notice growing KC inventor contest

You have 48 hours to make a product. And if you beat the competition for creativity, function and originality, you leave with $6,000. No pressure. Make48 is back in October with the group’s second inventor competition, incentivizing creativity and grit. Tom Gray, co-founder of Make48, said the group’s competition this Oct. 2 – 4 brings…

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KC firm Handy Camel raising $600K for invention workshop

What do sheep farming and innovation have to do with one another? Quite a lot, if North Kansas City-based Handy Camel is any indication. Since he was a boy, Handy Camel CEO Tom Gray has fostered an innovative ethos, creating a number of doodads to make his work easier as a sheep farmer in New Zealand.…

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