Bobby Burch
Recent Articles by Bobby Burch
$1.6M grant will create incubator for low-income, minority entrepreneurs
A large federal grant will help reanimate an older industrial building in Kansas City to serve as a small business incubator. The U.S. Economic Development Administration recently awarded a $1.6 million grant to the Hispanic Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri. The Kansas City organization said that the grant should create about 90 new…
LaunchCode wins MIT Innovation challenge, $150K award
LaunchCode, a nonprofit that bolsters the tech workforces in St. Louis and Kansas City by offering free but rigorous coding courses, was recently recognized for its innovative approach to reinventing the future of work. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced that LaunchCode is a grand prize winner of its 2017 Inclusive Innovation Challenge, awarding the…
Mayor’s Office delivers #KC5stars campaign to woo Amazon HQ2
The request for proposal can wait. Kansas City Mayor Sly James is delivering Amazon 1,000 reasons to build its second headquarters in the City of Fountains via a host of product reviews on the online retailer’s site. A label maker, flashlight and fishing net were among the items James reviewed to promote various aspects of…
Mayor Sly James teases Amazon headquarters announcement
An enigmatic message from Kansas City Mayor Sly James is stoking intrigue regarding the area effort to land Amazon’s second headquarters. At about 7 a.m. Wednesday, James tweeted, “I’ve been busy online shopping. Find out why at 3 p.m.” The message included a photo of James surrounded by Amazon boxes. I’ve been busy online shopping….
‘Badasses’ at Women’s Capital Connection double dollars invested since 2015
More women in Kansas City are realizing the valuable opportunities offered by early-stage investing — and it’s translating into significant growth for the Women’s Capital Connection. The regional investment network has grown not only its number of member investors by about 40 percent in the past three years, but also has more than doubled the…
Cerner ‘call for innovation’ hopes to bring brand to life alongside KC startups
One of Kansas City’s largest employers is looking for help from the smaller firms in its backyard. Health IT giant Cerner Corp. is looking to collaborate with startups and entrepreneurs to feature their innovative custom furniture, properties or experiential design elements for a coming conference. If selected, each startup’s work would be featured in front…
Looping back? Missouri partners with Hyperloop to study 23-minute KC-St Louis route
Missouri’s prospects for landing a Hyperloop route apparently aren’t off the rails after all. Despite the company revealing four U.S. finalist routes in September — which did not include a proposed route through the Show Me State – Hyperloop One announced Tuesday it has entered into a public-private partnership with the State of Missouri to conduct…
Beyond borders: Federal grant equips KC to build regional $5M seed fund
Pushing aside the Kansas-Missouri “border war,” a bi-state effort has earned a federal grant that will help create a $5 million fund for startups, which could begin investing as early as 2018. The Enterprise Center in Johnson County announced Monday it secured a $150,000 Economic Development Administration Seed Fund Support grant. The grant — which…
Food delivery service UberEATS launches in Kansas City
Ride-hailing service Uber announced Tuesday that it’s launched its food delivery service in the Kansas City area. UberEATS — a standalone app offered by Uber — allows users to order food from more than 70 Kansas City restaurants, including BRGR Kitchen + Bar, The Bite, Dixon’s Chili, Taco Republic, Smokey’s on the Boulevard and others….
Video: Made in KC expands footprint, mission to cultivate creativity
Made in KC — which carries in its stores everything from locally made barbecue sauce and candles to coasters, prints and T-shirts — is opening new locations at 11th Street and Baltimore Avenue downtown, and at 509 E. 18th St. in the Crossroads. The downtown space is set to debut Dec. 1 with a few features…