Bobby Burch
Recent Articles by Bobby Burch
2017 Under the Radar: ZOHR changing tires, traditional mindset on roadside aid
Editor’s note: Startland News picked 10 early-stage firms to spotlight for its annual Under the Radar startups list. The following is one of 2017’s companies. To view the full list, click here. Nearly anyone with a car can relate to the chore of replacing bald tires or the frustration of a flat. Not only will…
2017 Under the Radar: OneHQ ensures better decision making
Editor’s note: Startland News picked 10 early-stage firms to spotlight for its annual Under the Radar startups list. The following is one of 2017’s companies. To view the full list, click here. Retain, recruit and grow your clientele. That’s the mission OneHQ’s tech aims to accomplish for a client base that’s growing around the nation….
LaunchKC reveals 2017 finalists for $500K grant pool
LaunchKC on Friday announced 20 finalists vying for $500,000 in grants. The popular grants contest will award eight startups each a $50,000 non-dilutive grant and one firm a grand prize of $100,000 after a live pitch competition at Techweek Kansas City on Sept. 15. Techweek Kansas City is scheduled from Sept. 11 to Sept. 15…
SoftBank invests $4.4 billion in WeWork
Global coworking giant WeWork recently raked in a massive investment from SoftBank. The Tokyo-based conglomerate and its $93-billion Vision Fund has injected $4.4 billion into WeWork, which has 23 coworking spaces in the United States — including a shared, 40,000- square-foot workspace in Kansas City in the Crossroads Arts District — and more than 27…
Report: KC startups driving quality job creation across metro
Young Kansas City businesses are substantial job creators for the area, according to a recent report from entrepreneurial resource hub KCSourceLink. In its recent “We Create Jobs” report, KCSourceLink found that new firms that employed fewer than 20 workers created 16,325 new jobs in 2016. And for the past five years, startups created an average…
Yes, another total solar eclipse photo gallery
Like tens of thousands of people near the “path of totality,” the Kansas City Startup Foundation team trekked northward Monday to bask in the rarity of a total solar eclipse. As you can see from the photos, it was a tad cloudy at Smithville Lake — about 40 miles southeast of the crowds in St….
EyeVerify announces name change, new product offering in Asia
Nearly a year after being acquired by Ant Financial for more than $100 million, Kansas City-based EyeVerify wants its new vision reflected in a new name. The biometrics tech firm is changing its name from EyeVerify to Zoloz, EyeVerify CEO Toby Rush wrote in a recent company blog post. The company, which at this time…
Bobby Burch: Nonprofit change reinforces Startland News mission
In case you missed the flurry of headlines, Startland News is now a nonprofit. I wanted to take moment to share with readers what this change means for our future as mission-based storytellers. To explain, let’s look back at how Startland News evolved from initially just an idea into what it is today. Nearly three…
VIDEO: Startup leaders talk KC Startup Foundation (plus bloopers)
So, what exactly is the Kansas City Startup Foundation? For one, it is a foundation. Secondly, it involves startups. And last but not least, it serves Kansas City. If you have ever found yourself confused about what exactly the Kansas City Startup Foundation does and which programs it offers, then the video below is for…
Kansas City Startup Foundation and CEED merge, receive $1M donation
Increasing its ongoing support of entrepreneurs, Affinity Worldwide has donated $1 million to the Kansas City Startup Foundation (KCSF), a nonprofit championing and connecting the local startup ecosystem. As part of the donation, Kansas City-based Affinity is also donating ownership of the Center for Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development (CEED) — the parent organization of Startland News…