Bobby Burch
Recent Articles by Bobby Burch
Ag tech firm Farmobile reaps big multi-million dollar investment
Agriculture company Farmoblie reaped substantial funding to accelerate development and distribution of its technology to collect data from farm machinery. The Kansas City-based firm snagged a $5.5 million Series A round of equity investment led by Amsterdam-based Anterra Capital. Founded in 2013, Farmoblie created a device — or Passive Upload Connection (PUC) — that plugs into…
Six Kansas City startups hop in the Digital Sandbox
Kansas City-based business incubator Digital Sandbox KC will offer financial support to six area firms working on a variety of tech projects. Digital Sandbox, which invests up to $25,000 in area businesses for specific projects that help the firms secure additional funding, has now supported 20 proof-of-concept projects in 2015. “We continue to be amazed…
Startland’s way-too-late Kansas City startup gift guide
Journalist and author Don Marquis once said that “procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.” So in the spirit of completing what we should have done before the final weekend for holiday shopping, here’s a gift guide to 10 gadgets made by Kansas City startups. Special thanks to KCUR for hosting a discussion…
KC Startup Foundation aims to unify early-stage biz community
Leaders of the Kansas City Startup Village are maximizing their volunteer efforts with the establishment of a foundation that hopes to unite startups and entrepreneurs in the area. Formalized in October as an official 501(c)3 public charity, the Kansas City Startup Foundation grew out of the village’s need for more external support and resources. Founded…
‘Happy we don’t have to leave’ Little Hoots’ $450K raise will keep KC home
Once on the verge of departing its hometown, Kansas City-based Little Hoots recently raised funds to boost development of its app, allowing the startup to remain in the City of Fountains. Led by CEO Lacey Ellis, Little Hoots’ memory-keeping app struggled to find traction with Kansas City area investors, which nearly forced the company to…
Funding roundtable: ‘You can’t fake it’ and more funding advice from KC founders
Your company is steadily growing, but it looks like you’re nearing a plateau. Perhaps your startup is doing just fine, but a well-heeled competitor just entered your market and slapped a target on your customers. Or maybe you’ve got a solid idea but little dough to get it off the ground. Regardless of the case,…
Techstars firms to spread local roots via Brad Feld’s Kansas City home
More graduates of the Techstars-led Sprint Mobile Accelerator may be calling Kansas City home thanks to venture capitalist Brad Feld. Feld, co-founder of the international accelerator program Techstars, is making his Kansas City, Kan. home available to graduates of the local Techstars program rent free. “I’m very happy with how things have gone to date,”…
Kansas City dishes on diversity in the entrepreneurial community
It’s often said that two heads are better than one. But what if those two “heads” have the same socioeconomic, gender and racial compositions? What if their life experiences mirror one another so closely that they arrive at the same conclusions or generate the same general ideas? It’s no secret that diversity can foster the…
Funding roundtable (part II): Entrepreneurs compare KC investment scene to other cities
Welcome back to part two of our roundtable discussion on the early-stage investment sector in Kansas City. For a more formal introduction on this series and its five participants, please refer to part one on Kansas City’s investment culture and evolving economy. Check out the third and final installment of the series with the entrepreneurs’ advice for…
Funding roundtable: Kansas City still has a lot to learn about venture capital
After growing demand for more coverage on Kansas City’s early-stage investment capital landscape, Startland News decided to start a conversation on the subject. In November, we hosted five Kansas City entrepreneurs for a frank discussion on their experience raising funds in and outside of Kansas City. The aim of the conversation was to create a…