Tag: Üdo

Rhonda Dolan, Udo, Urban Business Growth Initiative alum and 2019 Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year

Newly launched Dare to Venture competition set to award $30K in micro-grants

By Tommy Felts / January 15, 2020

Participants in a series of select entrepreneurship courses this winter will be eligible to win a total of $30,000 in micro-grant awards thanks to the Urban Business Growth Initiative. Funded by the City of Kansas City, Missouri, and administered by the UMKC Innovation Center, the new Dare to Venture Micro-Grant Competition is expected to feature…

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Tin Ho, Lean Start Lab; photo courtesy of the University of Missouri-Kansas City

KCultivator Q&A: Tin Ho skewers failure, beetle larvae on path to building stronger founders

By Tommy Felts / October 19, 2019

Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The KCultivator Series is sponsored by Plexpod, a progressive coworking platform offering next generation workspace for entrepreneurs, startups, and growth-stage companies of all sizes. Startup challenges aren’t limited to products and processes, said Tin Ho.  “My…

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Rhonda Dolan, Udo

Rhonda Dolan, on-demand personal assistant Udo honored as Chamber’s Entrepreneur of the Year

By Tommy Felts / May 23, 2019

A lunchtime affair at the 2019 Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Awards quickly turned from celebratory mingling to shock and awe for Rhonda Dolan. “For [the Chamber] to recognize my efforts over the last year, which have been pretty intense, means a lot,” said Dolan, founder and CEO of Udo, reflecting on her…

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Sean Null, Erkios

Digital Sandbox charges three new startups with its proof-of-concept challenge

By Tommy Felts / January 25, 2019

An effort to elevate Kansas City’s creative minds, Digital Sandbox KC is digging deeper in its sixth year of acceleration — adding three new startups to its portfolio, the proof-of-concept program announced this week. “Our initial goal was to find 10 early-stage concepts that had high-growth potential and help them secure follow-on funding,” said Jeff Shackelford,…

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Kirby Montgomery, TheraWe Connect, Pure Pitch Rally

Pure Pitch Rally passes $1 million in prizes; FastDemocracy and TheraWe lead winners

By Tommy Felts / October 11, 2018

A quick-paced pitch competition Wednesday saw big wins for political tracking startup FastDemocracy and child therapy resource TheraWe Connect, with more than $1 million in prizes awarded between 10 young companies. “Our sponsors felt a funding head-rush like a speeding train — throwing money everywhere,” said Michael Williamson, an IP attorney for Polsinelli, one of…

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