Funding Stories
Snappy Workflow secures $105K prototype grant to pioneer life-saving energy tech from Midwest
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. KEARNEY,…
How investments in Black businesses can help close KC’s racial wealth gap
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon, a member of the KC Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, and Missouri Business Alert. Click here to read the original story. When Denisha Jones launched her business, Sweet Peaches Cobblers, in August 2020, it was just…
Saile closes $1.35M round; set to double team in 2023 as mass production of ‘robots for salespeople’ under way
A Kansas City startup building an army of “Sailebots” — an artificial intelligence solution to a classic industry problem — impressed its new lead investor with its customized approach that avoids a “one size fits all” strategy. “I’ve been in sales and marketing automation for 20 years,” said Lisa Calhoun, founder and managing partner at…
Come on (down) Now! AltCap Your Biz awards $37K in prizes with a familiar face earning biggest win of the night
The founder’s story can be the most important part of a startup’s pitch, Dr. Shelley Cooper shared after clinching the $25,000 grand prize at Thursday’s AltCap Your Biz: Pitch Competition. “Everybody else had a lot more financials in their pitch, and I took all that stuff out. I focused on telling my story the way…
VC summit: It’s a great place to ‘keep your head down and build’ — but is ‘KC nice’ slowing potential?
Building a startup in Kansas City comes with a mix of unique benefits and challenges, said serial entrepreneurs Riddhiman Das and Toby Rush, who both agreed the local ecosystem is enjoying “significant” momentum — while pushing the startup scene to be “more aggressive and more brutally honest.” “When you’re on an exponential growth curve, whenever…
