Corporate Stories

contingency fee litigation

The lurking threat against entrepreneurs — and how to level the playing field

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Brad Wilders is a partner at Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP in Kansas City. A Wisconsin inventor designed a device to remove surgical fluid from operating tables. He won the prize many entrepreneurs seek: His device was patented and sold to a sophisticated company…

Hyleme George, IgniteX accelerator

New Black & Veatch accelerator bent on changing the world, powered by LaunchKC

A new accelerator powered by LaunchKC is Black & Veatch’s attempt to “create the world that we want,” said Hyleme George, director of the freshly announced IgniteX CleanTech program. “It’s a world that we want to invest in to accelerate the adoption of sustainable infrastructure,” George continued. “What that means is a world where there’s…

Mr. K Award finalists

Mr. K Award finalists: RFP360, KC Bier Co., Charlie Hustle among Chamber’s Top 10 Small Businesses

From one of Kansas City’s most popular breweries to a startup that streamlines the RFP process to an apparel company known for its big heart, 10 small businesses received surprise visits Friday — each now a finalist for the prestigious Mr. K Award. “The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce showered us with confetti today…

LaunchKC accelerator

New industry-specific LaunchKC accelerators expected to bring more dollars, winners

Applications for this year’s LaunchKC program are going vertical, said Drew Solomon, announcing plans for three industry-specific accelerators — two of which will launch new funding-rich demo days in the fall. “We’ve always wanted to grow and expand not only the competition, but the program as a whole,” said Solomon, chair of the LaunchKC program….

We Create KC report: Half of top VC-backed companies tapped early-stage support

In 2018, 50 percent of the top venture capital-funded companies in Kansas City got their start with early-stage investment programs that emerged after 2012, according to We Create KC 2019, KCSourceLink’s sixth annual state of entrepreneurship report. “That high percentage shows us how important these early-stage investment programs are to our entrepreneurs and our ecosystem,”…