Meghan LeVota
Recent Articles by Meghan LeVota
Events Preview: Django Girls, EduHub and the Lean Lab happy hour
There are a plethora of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter, or curious community member — we recommend these upcoming events for you. Are you hosting a relevant community event? Feel free to add it to the FWD/KC calendar for increased exposure. Once your event…
Smart City tech enables KCMO to predict potholes before they happen
It seems a dash of innovation can make even the most mundane subjects exciting. That is if Kansas City chief innovation officer Bob Bennett’s enthusiasm for a new pothole technology is any indication. This month, the City of Kansas City, Mo. will pilot a machine learning program that will predict potholes before they occur, saving…
HEMP is seeking qualified mentors, mentees for its 2017 class
Barnett Helzberg’s entrepreneurial program is seeking qualified applicants for both mentors and mentees. The Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program (HEMP) will accept up to 25 mentees from the greater Kansas City area for the class of 2017. Whether you run a scale up or a startup business, the program vows to match up successful entrepreneurs, creating…
KC mom turns entrepreneur to help kiddo’s kidney condition
In 2013, Tamra Johnson’s daughter faced a life-or-death situation. After contracting an E. coli bacterial infection, Johnson’s daughter, Maleena, lost function to both of her kidneys. Fortunately, a kidney transplant from Maleena’s father, Jamie, saved her life, but it created a new problem: hydration. Maleena was expected to drink over four liters of water per…
Focused on KC, the Lean Lab welcomes five new ed tech startups
The Lean Lab, a Kansas City-based education tech accelerator, is returning for its fourth year with a new approach that aims to be more community focused and sophisticated. During a Tuesday event, the Lean Lab announced the five new startups in its 2017 cohort at a breakfast at the recently renovated Corrigan Station. Katie Boody,…
Smart City update: Living Lab set to launch, TV show may highlight KC innovation
Bob Bennett, chief innovation officer at the City of Kansas City, Mo., said Kansas City has championed itself as a leader in big data and smart city tech for years now. But now the city is reaching an inflection point to leverage the data at a significant scale, he said. “The bottom line is that…
Eyeing area talent gap, Code the Block to teach tech skills to underserved KC youth
A new organization seeks to strengthen Kansas City’s tech talent pipeline by bringing computer science education to underserved youth. Co-founded by David Persley and Joe Wilkinson in 2016, Code the Block is an after-school program targeting high school students in Kansas City. Persley, a Teach for America alum, and Wilkinson, a former business analyst with…
Kansas Citians help break TEDx world record for fastest sellout of tickets
In the time it takes to walk from Kansas City’s streetcar line to the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, TEDxKC sold out. In record time — only four minutes — Kansas Citians devoured hundreds of tickets for the TEDxKC live event on Aug. 18 at the Kauffman Center. Mike Lundgren, curator and founder…
New scholarship opportunities for urban entrepreneurs available in August
The Urban Business Growth Initiative announced it released new scholarship opportunities for urban entrepreneurs in Kansas City beginning in August. Launched in 2013, the initiative offers a variety of programs that fuel urban business growth — whether that be counseling, classes or access to resources. The UBGI helped 92 scholarship award-winners generate $29.5 million in…
UMKC nonprofit center lands $396K Kauffman Foundation grant
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation announced Wednesday it will renew its support in University of Missouri-Kansas City organization that helps area nonprofits thrive. The foundation has gifted $396,800 to the UMKC-based Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership, whose mission aims to expand the capacity of nonprofit organizations across the greater metropolitan region. The grant will be…