Meghan LeVota
Recent Articles by Meghan LeVota
Eyeing Midwest startups, Firebrand Ventures adds to advisory board
A Kansas City-based venture fund announced the addition of another distinguished advisory board member. Joining the team alongside Techstars CEO David Cohen, Kansas Citian Keith Harrington, who’s the managing director for Novel Growth Partners, and Brian McClendon, former Uber vice president of maps, Tom Ball is expected to bring his Austin-based investor experience to Firebrand Ventures. …
KCultivator: Plexpod founder Gerald Smith on Internet trolls, anti-gravity machines, man crush
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Check out our features on innovation coach Diana Kander, Victor & Penny’s Erin McGrane, SEED Law’s Adrienne Haynes, Code Koalas’ Robert Manigold, Prep-KC CEO Susan Wally and community builder Donald Carter. Plexpod is more than a shared…
LaunchKC $100K winner Cambrian Tech taking simple idea to new reality
After winning LaunchKC’s grand prize — $100,000 — Cambrian Tech has its virtual eyes on another prize: total interior home transformation. “The goal is to open your phone, walk around and visualize any project you may consider doing,” co-founder Joel Teply said. “From walls, countertops, backsplashes, flooring, cabinetry, appliances, hardware and landscaping.” DIY tech presents…
Techstars Spotlight: Somatic Labs’ sees freedom from distraction in touch tech
Somatic Labs is designing a technology for a future without screens, founder Shantanu Bala said. Imagine this: You’re driving in an unfamiliar neighborhood and instead of needing to look at your phone for directions, your wearable device uses physical sensations to direct you to your destination, keeping your eyes on the road. Or maybe you’re…
DivvyHQ lauded as one of industry’s best at content marketing conference
Kansas City-based software platform DivvyHQ nabbed two top awards at the Content Marketing World convention earlier this month in Cleveland, Ohio. For the second consecutive year, the startup received the audience choice award for the top content creation and workflow platform from the Content Marketing Institute — an industry leader with which DivvyHQ has an established…
Glassdoor ranks KC No. 3 in nation for jobs; software engineers wanted
The Midwest is hiring. And Kansas City stands out among the best in the region, according to a new study. Popular job search site Glassdoor released a list of the top cities for jobs, ranked by affordability, hireability and employee job satisfaction. Kansas City nabbed a No. 3 spot on the list, following Pittsburgh at…
Hammerspace grows maker mission on Emanuel Cleaver Boulevard
Dave Dalton is a maker — a blacksmith, a bladesmith, a woodworker, an artist and a jack of all trades. More than just a sum of his skills, being a maker is all about perspective, said Dalton, founder of Hammerspace Community Workshop. And when a friend dared him to give his tip jar an upgrade, Dalton…
Innovation Stockyard selects first St. Joe startup for Digital Sandbox
A curbside recycling service is expected to be the first startup to receive Digital Sandbox KC proof-of-concept funding through the Innovation Stockyard incubator. Toss it Curbside, a service with which customers place unwanted items on their curbs to be recycled or donated, plans to use the funds and the St. Joseph-based incubator program to optimize…
Applications open: Sprint Accelerator dialing into ag tech, IoT with 2018 cohort
Investing in startups isn’t just about providing needed capital, Doug Dresslaer said. As the Sprint Accelerator gears up for its fifth year, Dresslaer, managing director of the program, said the accelerator’s 2017 cohort — the first since its move toward establishing corporate partnerships and pivot away from Techstars — proved industry relationships themselves create tremendous value….
Events Preview: KC Women in Technology, BetaBlox demo day
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? Add it to the KCSourceLink Calendar for increased exposure. Email info@kcsourcelink.com for assistance. 2017 KCALSI…