Elyssa Bezner
Reporter
Recent Articles by Elyssa Bezner
Chronic Cow uses big data to attack pain: ‘I can still live a good life,’ founder with MS says
Half of all Americans have a chronic illness, said former TeraCrunch co-founder Dr. Kevin Payne. That somber reality, paired with uninvolved physicians, makes quality of life difficult for patients and the focus of Payne’s new venture, Chronic Cow, he said. “From a medical perspective, all I can do as a patient is what my physicians…
FlipSwitch VR visualizes scaling its active, multiplayer gaming concept from Crossroads
Kansas City could be the virtual reality hub of America, said Michael Eichenseer, predicting Crossroads-located FlipSwitch VR will jumpstart the movement with the help of First Fridays foot traffic. “The owners [KC natives Jim and Jamie Mahoney] definitely want to expand,” said Eichenseer, host and marketing manager for the “epic scale, free-roam, multiplayer virtual reality”…
Life Equals shoots $2.35M oversubscribed round led by former Anheuser-Busch InBev exec
Well, that didn’t take long. A freshly raised $2.35 million investment round will be a turning point for Life Equals, taking its brand to the national stage, said Kyle FitzGerald, announcing the funding Thursday at Startland’s Startups to Watch in 2019 celebration. Life Equals was selected as No. 7 on the list of Kansas City…
Crema apprenticeship effort aims to decode a more inclusive talent pool
Crema’s recent growth means more than an additional Crossroads office space for the startup, said Gabby Brotherton. It provides bandwidth for the firm to supplement Kansas City’s tech talent with a new apprenticeship program. “[Crema is] very much a company that values collaboration and innovation learning,” said Brotherton, marketing specialist at the software development firm….
Biopesticide AgTech building toward RNAissance with TechAccel cultivation
KC-based TechAccel endeavors to guide startups through “the valley of death” stage that emerges after ideation, but before traction, said Brad Fabbri, noting the firm’s new venture, RNAissance Ag, is expected to disrupt the ag tech industry with environmentally-safe biopesticides. “We try to find products and help develop them to make [farmers’] lives easier and…
KCultivator Q&A: Donald Hawkins chews on sage advice, blood sausage, ‘circle of giving’
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Founders should rally around Kansas City’s startup ecosystem like fans rallied around the Chiefs, said Donald Hawkins. “If you look at a lot of the companies that have scaled — there’s a huge connection gap between…
KC Tech Council: ‘No Coast’ aims to prove landlocked doesn’t mean limited for local tech industry
Kansas City has been “punching above its weight” since the days of covered wagons, said Ryan Weber, noting the tech industry specifically has an impact of almost $11 billion a year on KC’s local economy. “Nationally, our profile has risen so much,” said Weber, president of the KC Tech Council which works to support the…
Vintage WiFi mashup: Designer converts old items into bluetooth speakers at Troost T-shirt shop
Rick Kloog’s T-shirt shop on Troost resonates with the sound of side hustles — combining the former music producer’s previously untapped talents for a Vintage WiFi effect. The “funky little vintage store” blends original Kansas City-designed shirts, and miscellaneous items — most of which Kloog converts into bluetooth speakers — as well as other original…
Firebrand Fein: KC needs more audacious startups, ‘crazy ideas’ to attract investors
Kansas City companies need to buck the Midwestern, risk-averse mindset and sell audacious plans to investors, said John Fein. “I would just love to see more crazy ideas, more big game type ideas,” said Fein, founder and managing partner at Firebrand Ventures. “We invest when [the startup] starts to generate revenue, so they have to…
StartupGrowKC bootcamp: Building smart and intentional teams alongside ECJC
Founders can expect to emerge from the Enterprise Center in Johnson County’s StartupGrowKC bootcamp series with greater knowledge of the skills needed to grow their business, said Kathryn Golden. “[Founders will see] the fuller life cycle of what they will need to consider [to be successful],” said Golden, programs manager at ECJC, a nonprofit organization…