Austin Barnes

Recent Articles by Austin Barnes

KC startups nab first, second place in national contest

September 6, 2016

Two Kansas City startups recently reigned supreme in UPS’s inagural Midwest X-Port Challenge. Mobility Designed, a medical device company from Prairie Village, Kan. that is also a 2016 LaunchKC grant finalist, won first place. The startup has garnered international attention thanks a viral video featuring their futuristic crutches. Mobility Designed CEO Liliana Younger said that…

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Striving to change KC culture, LiveKC launches app

September 2, 2016

Millennials now make up the largest portion of the working population. A generation growing up with fast-paced technology in hand, Kansas City will have to move quickly to keep ahead of the curve and to attract and retain young talent. In order to do that, the LiveKC initiative was born in order to make Kansas…

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Events Preview: A conversation with Henry and Tom Bloch

September 1, 2016

There are a boatload of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter or curious Kansas Citian, we’d recommend these upcoming events for you. WEEKLY EVENT PREVIEW A Conversation with Henry and Tom Bloch When:  September 7 @ 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm Where: Bloch Executive Hall, Room 218 Join…

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Kansas City to become gigabit testbed with first-in-U.S. infrastructure

September 1, 2016

Since the arrival of Google Fiber in 2012, Kansas City has been buzzing with excitement about gigabit internet and how it can benefit citizens. Gigabit-fast speeds are convenient for individuals and businesses alike, but one question has remained unanswered: how does a community — especially one trying to build a smart city — take advantage…

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Readers dub Kansas City’s top spots for coffee meetings

September 1, 2016

“Let’s grab coffee.” It’s a universal phrase in the world of business that can lead to friendship, a deal or even a new company. And with coffee serving as a global binding agent for businesspeople, Startland News wanted to figure out where Kansas Citians are most likely to convene to catch up. We surveyed more…

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Report: Kansas City is the 8th-worst metro for entrepreneur diversity

September 1, 2016

It’s a dreary day for Kansas City in terms of successfully supporting a diverse entrepreneurial community. The City of Fountains is far below the national average — and the majority of the most-populated metros — when it comes to minority business ownership, according to the United States Census Bureau. The bureau on Thursday unveiled the…

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KCMO reveals seven innovation partners and inaugural demo day

August 30, 2016

Mayor Sly James on Tuesday announced seven partners for the 2016 Innovation Partnership Program and the program’s new accelerator-like approach. Now in its second year, the IPP provides select startups with city data and infrastructure at no cost and the opportunity to develop, test and demonstrate innovative solutions for the city. For the first time, the…

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With traction in tow, Super Dispatch is a model ‘lean startup’

August 30, 2016

Super Dispatch began like every tech startup: with a good idea. But as founder Bek Abdullayev will tell you, it takes more than that to be successful. In 2013, Abdullayev founded Super Dispatch, a software-as-a-service platform for the trucking industry intended to eliminate paperwork. Super Dispatch streamlines the communication of documents between truckers and their…

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urban farming guys

‘Makerspace in the ‘Hood’ wants to smother poverty and crime with creativity

August 29, 2016

Every successful entrepreneur is born with a seed of opportunity. It is impossible for one person to be successful on their own; whether you extend gratitude to your family for their support, your university for its resources, or the angel investor who believed in you when nobody else did. Now imagine you grew up in…

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Joni Cobb

Pipeline Entrepreneurs accepting applicants for 2017 fellowship

August 26, 2016

Ahead of its first adventure abroad, Pipeline Entrepreneurs is accepting applications for its fellowship program that not only affords entrepreneurial education but also a network of powerful business leaders. The 2017 class will mark the organization’s 11th-annual program in which Pipeline accepts at least 10 entrepreneurs from the around the region to participate in a…

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