Startland News Staff

Recent Articles by Startland News Staff

Maxfield Kaniger, Kanbe's Market

Kanbe’s Markets selected for $30K in marketing services from surging Crux KC team

Kanbe’s Markets is expected to harvest boosted visibility and functionality thanks to a newly announced donation of $30,000 in pro bono marketing services from one of Kansas City’s fastest-growing agencies. Crux KC selected the nonprofit for its annual “Crux for a Cause” initiative, which is expected to provide an entire year of services from a…

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Social Venture Studio; image courtesy of LaunchKC

LaunchKC opens applications for new Social Venture Studio; five slots expected for cohort focused on KC

Entrepreneurs hoping to provide both social impact and return on investment are encouraged to apply for the inaugural cohort of LaunchKC’s Social Venture Studio — an effort focused on creating sustainable business models to tackle social, racial, or environmental issues. Click here to apply through March 30. The studio is seeking a diverse cohort of leaders,…

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Arash Ferdowsi, co-founder of Dropbox

Return on investment: Why the co-founder of tech giant Dropbox just donated $500K to Blue Valley schools

Blue Valley schools, teachers, and students are expected to benefit greatly from a newly announced fund launched by the homegrown Johnson County tech entrepreneur who later co-founded the cloud storage giant Dropbox. Arash Ferdowsi, a 2004 graduate of Blue Valley Northwest High School, has put up $500,000 to launch the Arash Ferdowsi Fund, which benefits…

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Graham Krizek, Voltage

Voltage charges ahead with $6M seed round in quest to ‘fast-track a Bitcoin standard’

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. WICHITA…

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ScaleUP! KC Cohort 12

Blip Roasters, Lifted Spirits leaders among latest ScaleUP! KC cohort, priming their businesses to scale 

Eighteen Kansas City companies — ranging from coffee, software, and cycling, to construction, human resources, hair care, fitness, and distilling — are slated to join the latest ScaleUP! KC cohort, the program announced Wednesday. “ScaleUP! Kansas City has a long history and proven track record of helping Kansas City business owners get the confidence, one-on-one coaching…

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Michael Odupitan, Omni Circle Group, speaking at a grant announcement event at Omni Circle's in-the-works collaborative workspace

Kauffman awards Omni Circle $360K grant to help build minority small business hub

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. Editor’s…

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Johnny Wolff, HomeRoom

HomeRoom closes $1M pre-seed, joining Y Combinator’s latest batch of funded startups 

A Kansas City proptech startup that matches roommates with affordable coliving opportunities is reporting record growth, along with a newly announced million-dollar pre-seed funding round led by a leading early stage investor. The investment from Y Combinator, The Uplift Syndicate and The HO0 Fund is expected to help HomeRoom — a residential real estate marketplace that…

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Billionaire entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban

Celebrity investors, KCRise Fund back $9M strategic seed for Overland Park NFT startup

Banking a $9 million round — including the backing of billionaire Mark Cuban, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, the co-founders of Rotten Tomatoes and regional venture capital firm KCRise Fund — CryptoSlam announced Wednesday a new wave of support for blockchain technology and a Kansas City startup operating within the open metaverse.  Overland Park-based CryptoSlam, a leading…

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Digital Sandbox KC recipients: Jaqwan Sirls, PageMaster; Aishah Augusta-Parham, SEPOW; Brandon Fuhr and Joel Stephens, XReps; David Roberson, AZELLA; Eliot Arnold, MoodSpark; and Nikil Ragav, InventXYZ

Just funded: Digital Sandbox KC starts new year with six new startups on its roster

Digital Sandbox KC’s latest round of startup funding reflects the emergence of more Kansas City-built, scalable tech in the new year, said Jill Meyer, announcing the fourth-quarter roster of companies bringing innovative ideas to life in the region. “These six companies demonstrate the creativity and diversity of our region’s technology founders and problem solvers,” said…

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Merger alert: ‘Shark Tank’ star teams with Gary Fish, Fishtech to form new cybersecurity powerhouse

A merger announced today between award-winning cybersecurity solutions providers Fishtech Group  and Herjavec Group will unite the companies as a single entity under a new brand to be announced in early 2022.  The deal — backed by funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (The Apax Funds), which will hold a majority stake in the new…

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