Corporate Stories

Martha Salinas, MSTS

3 ways Kansas City’s corporate leaders can support local startups

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Martha Salinas is an executive with Overland Park-based MSTS. The world’s largest companies are often associated with high-rise offices and massive workforces. But behind most success stories are humble beginnings. Amazon, for example, was started in Jeff Bezos’ garage before becoming the most…

Kerri Thurston, C2FO

C2FO’s advice: Seek global capital, local startup partners (Top VC-Backed event photos)

Leawood-based fintech powerhouse C2FO didn’t raise nearly $300 million in capital by accident, nor without a strategy for selecting the right investors, Kerri Thurston told a crowd of founders, executives and investors gathered to celebrate the startups on Startland’s list of Kansas City’s Top Venture Capital-Backed Companies in 2019. “Focus on folks who can really…

Crystal German, Prosperity Labs, Startland's Innovation Exchange

Innovation versus inclusive prosperity: Can hub developers create both in Kansas City?

Place and prosperity go hand-in-hand, said William Dowdell. Less clear, however, is how developers and communities will strike a balance in their efforts to generate innovation and wealth in Kansas City. “Geography is a big part of this. When we talk about expanding opportunity and bringing innovation, we also have to look at those spaces…

Henry Kim, LG Electronics, Innovation Exchange

LG Electronics tech expert: Kansas City a smart home for corporate-startup collaboration (IXKC photos)

Tech industry giants see significant potential in the ideas being created in startup hubs like Kansas City, an LG Electronics leader told a crowd gathered this week at Homebase.  “A lot of startup companies can bring innovation to the front. Big companies like ours, sometimes we’re so busy that we lose track of that activity,”…

Summer Trep Series

OHUB x KCUP set to debut ‘18th & Vine Summer Trep Series’ for black, Latinx startup builders

The first spoke of Opportunity Hub’s arrival in Kansas City debuts July 19 with a new monthly event series dedicated to business builders from black and Latinx communities. “This is a celebration of unity, creating a healthier ecosystem within Kansas City, Missouri,” said Jamilah Jones, a business development officer at the Economic Development Corporation of…