Bobby Burch
Recent Articles by Bobby Burch
Titans of Kansas City tech combine forces for talent creation
Kansas City isn’t unique in its high demand for talented techies. But perhaps what is setting the area apart is its collaborative approach to creating, recruiting and retaining tech talent in the Kansas City metro. Dozens of area tech companies engaged in a panel discussion Wednesday on practical steps that companies can take to win…
Sprint Mentor Network offering a leg up to startup founders
From newbies to seasoned veterans, each and every entrepreneur can benefit from a mentor. That’s why the Sprint Accelerator is offering Kansas City-area innovators the opportunity to tap its growing Mentor Network program. Now welcoming its fourth class, the free program connects entrepreneurs and corporate executives as part of a six-month learning experience that aims…
Kansas City’s Smart City taking shape with kiosks’ arrival
The first physical elements of Kansas City’s Smart City project have sprung up in downtown. On Monday morning, the City of Kansas City, Mo. installed two digital kiosks on the 1300 block of Grand Boulevard. The seven-foot-tall, touchscreen kiosks — only two of 25 total — will provide users details on city services and real-time information…
PresentR taps the Kinect to boost public-speaking skills
A Kansas City startup is plugging into popular gaming technology to improve users’ public speaking skills. Founded by Tim Wikstrom, PresentR taps Microsoft’s Kinect to analyze a presentation, scrutinizing everything from poor posture to counting how many times you say “um.” Founded in 2013, PresentR’s tech evaluates a user’s eye contact, gestures, voice and posture to…
Niall goes ‘all in’ on new retail location, high-tech pen
Well-known in Kansas City for gifting Royals manager Ned Yost a snazzy timepiece, Niall will soon be offering a host of new luxury products — including a high-tech pen — and a new store to feature them. Led by CEO Mike Wilson, Niall on Wednesday announced an expansion of its product line to include a…
Cue the palpitations: Bobby’s taking a (free) coding class
Only a few weeks in Kansas City, and LaunchCode is already making good on its promise to improve the area’s coding competency with a free, 16-week computer science course. And this mathematically-challenged, technically-inept journalist is going to do his best not to embarrass himself while attempting to learn the science of computing. Open to all…
Sprint Accelerator firms hiring, offering meet-and-greet
The new firms at the Techstars-led Sprint Accelerator program are already growing. While many are looking for interns, seven of the 10 mobile tech companies in the three-month accelerator are looking to hire staff. The companies, which entered the Kansas City-based accelerator on Feb. 22, each nabbed $120,000 in capital as part of the program,…
New $20M fund supercharges VC dollars in Kansas City
In conjunction with a metro-wide effort to boost the area economy, Kansas City will soon have a new co-investment fund that aims to accelerate early-stage businesses. As part of the KC Rising economic initiative, the “KC Rise Fund” hopes to improve a common gripe in Kansas City’s entrepreneurial community that there’s not enough capital to…
Pinsight Media wants to build your startup’s app for free
A new program at one of Kansas City top mobile tech firms plans to build dozens of mobile apps for as many as 70 startups around the nation. Kansas City-based Pinsight Media+ recently launched its “Rollout” program, which will develop a firm’s Android or iOS app — for free — with the intention of it…
Report: Kansas is more innovation-friendly than Missouri
The Sunflower State is more hospitable to innovation than its eastward neighbor, a recent study found. The Consumer Technology Association’s annual “Innovation Scorecard” ranked all 50 states in 10 different categories to determine which states best fostered innovation and economic growth. The study dished Kansas slightly higher innovation kudos than Missouri, comparing their friendliness to…