Corporate Stories

Justin Davis, BacklotCars

Want the next $425M exit? Be ‘ruthless’ with your time (and cap table), BacklotCars co-founder says

In the years leading up to BacklotCars’ historic exit, Justin Davis steered clear of the startup social scene — detouring instead into deep collaboration with capital and automotive industry partners, he said. “As a startup, getting connected is great, but you have to be ruthless in your execution,” the BacklotCars co-founder told ACG Kansas City’s…

U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, and Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri

KC Tech Council’s apprenticeship program launches with job growth hopes from Davids, Cleaver

A freshly launched partnership between KC Tech Council and Apprenti — designed to cultivate tech skills and offer first-hand experience for apprentices — is a solid fit for Kansas City’s talent needs, two members of the metro’s U.S. congressional delegation agreed. “I truly believe that entrepreneurship is baked into the DNA of our region,” U.S….

Darcy Howe, KCRise Fund; Back2KC 2019

It isn’t the hometown you left behind: Back2KC returns this week to reunite talent with today’s Kansas City

People are longing for community perhaps now more than ever, said Brett Crawford, announcing the return of Back2KC, a two-day virtual event reconnecting former Kansas Citians to their hometown. And the timing has never been better, he added. “Suddenly you’re not confined by the residence-versus-workplace conundrum,” said Crawford, who leads the Back2KC program for Startland,…

Haley Regan, Kara Lowe, and Ryan Weber, KC Tech Council

4,000 vacant jobs won’t fill themselves, says KC Tech Council, launching apprenticeship program for tech talent

A recurring theme in Kansas City’s tech circles: not enough skilled workers to fit the open job opportunities, said Ryan Weber. “That shouldn’t surprise people because it’s not a Kansas City problem — it’s a national problem,” said Weber, president and CEO of the KC Tech Council.  Click here to learn more about the KC…

2018 LaunchKC winners

Keystone Labs partners with LaunchKC to lead accelerator platform operations

Six years after launching as a grants competition, the ever-evolving LaunchKC program will continue as an accelerator platform, newly led by the minds behind Keystone Labs — an outgrowth of the Keystone innovation district effort championed by Kevin McGinnis. Announced Thursday morning during a meeting of the Downtown Council of Kansas City, the move is expected…