Austin Barnes

Recent Articles by Austin Barnes

Kansas City-built Boddle earns $500K Yass Prize Finalist Award, hits 2M monthly users

October 17, 2024

MIAMI — Winning a coveted award from Stop for Education is expected to empower Boddle Learning to reach a broader audience than ever before, as well as significantly expanding its curriculum and advancing its cutting-edge AI-powered education tools. Boddle, which launched and grew in Kansas City before relocating to Tulsa, Oklahoma, was announced as a…

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Chan Zuckerberg funds KC nonprofit to help AI tech empower educators, innovators

October 17, 2024

A nearly $1 million grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is expected to help a Kansas City-based nonprofit expand and strengthen the infrastructure of its national education research and development coalition, its founder said. The funding specifically supports Leanlab Education’s American Group of Innovative Learning Environments (AGILE) Network, a national education R&D network and collective…

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Italian ammo box maker coming to US with $16M Kansas City manufacturing facility, 160+ jobs

October 17, 2024

A new 100,000-square-foot facility in Kansas City marks an Italian precision parts manufacturer’s entrance into the North American market — and signals momentum for the region’s advanced manufacturing sector, said Steven Anthony. RB SRL — a maker of a broad range of components for hunting and shooting ammo, along with ammunition containers for the military/defense…

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Design-Zyme, KU researchers latch onto $3M SBIR award for Lyme disease vaccine

October 17, 2024

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro.  [divide] LAWRENCE — Vaccine development at KU Innovation Park could help stop an uptick in Lyme disease in its tracks, using a just-announced $3 million in federal funds to bring…

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Crown prime location: How two KC foodies are creating Museum of BBQ in one of the world’s barbecue capitals

October 17, 2024

A new museum — showcasing Kansas City as a barbecue capital of the world, as well as how meat takes on its famous flavors — is set to open in spring 2025 the Crown Center Shops, led by two veterans of the local food scene, and complete with barbecue baked beans ball pit. The aptly…

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‘Wonderful things anywhere’: Entrepreneurs share keys to ‘Main Street’ success

October 15, 2024

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Missouri Business Alert, a member of the Kansas City Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, and The Kansas City Beacon. Click here to read the original story. [divide] COLUMBIA, Missouri — When Willy Schlacks noticed what he said were inefficiencies…

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Sweet Peaches wants a bigger piece of the pie; crowdfunding could scale this small biz across US

October 15, 2024

Community support will be key for Sweet Peaches Cobblers next batch of growth, said Denisha Jones, announcing plans to use Kickstarter funding to pack her flavorful and beloved family desserts into the freezers of more major retailers across the U.S. Already a local Kansas City favorite, Sweet Peaches Cobbler can be found in more than…

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Jeremy Terman turned a likely ‘no’ into a tech career; his advice: Don’t wait for permission to start

October 15, 2024

The biggest risks are in doing nothing, said Jeremy Terman, encouraging entrepreneurship students at UMKC to take the plunge — even if at times the world might be telling them they aren’t ready. “You don’t have to be in a box. You don’t have to listen to what the rules are,” said Terman, an investor…

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Cybersecurity automation: How to do more with less

October 14, 2024

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. BARR Advisory, which has offices in Kansas City, is a cloud-based security and compliance solutions provider, specializing in cybersecurity, is a financial partner of Startland News. Click here to check out more from this Cybersecurity Month series from BARR Advisory. [divide] In today’s…

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How market volatility may affect private company liquidity

October 14, 2024

Editor’s note: The perspectives expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. The following is a paid thought leadership piece from The Plaza Group at Morgan Stanley in Leawood, Kansas. [divide] Volatile public markets may affect private company liquidity in a variety of ways; Find out what this might mean for private company shareholders According to recent…

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