Funding Stories

Andrew Glantz, GiftAMeal

$500K investment round feeds GiftAMeal’s hunger for expansion deeper into KC market

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. A…

OpenCities team

OpenCities sells: Denver govtech company acquires Australian startup with Kansas City HQ

An Australia-based govtech startup with a sizable Kansas City operation has sold.  OpenCities — a hub-like platform that digitizes city forms and requests — was acquired by Denver-based Granicus, the companies announced Thursday, solidifying a deal that’s expected to better define what the future of civic engagement might looks like. Financial terms of the acquisition were not…

Charon Thompson and Daniel Smith, the Porter House KC

C2FO donates all marketplace revenue it earned Friday to three KC nonprofits for Juneteenth

Editor’s note: C2FO is a financial supporter of Startland News; and Kansas City G.I.F.T. is a non-financial partner of Startland, the parent organization of Startland News. This story was produced independently by Startland News’ non-profit newsroom. One of Kansas City’s biggest tech startups wanted to make Juneteenth a day of “action and awareness,” the company…

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas; file photo, courtesy of Sharice Davids' office

Women bore the brunt of pandemic; now it’s time to reinvest in their businesses, Rep. Davids says

A strong recovery from the COVID-19 crisis — which destroyed the businesses of many women, and particularly women of color — requires a deliberate investment in initiatives that drive and support female entrepreneurship, said Sharice Davids. “It’s not enough to recreate the pre-pandemic economy for female workers and business owners,” U.S. Rep. Davids, D-Kansas, said…

Clara Biotech team

Clara Biotech hits $850K in seed funding roundup, preparing to launch first product

An emerging biotech startup in the region is reporting a busy spring with a significant seed round already raised and key steps under way to launch its product: a solution that removes manufacturing roadblocks for breakthrough drugs. “We’re in an exciting and growing space and currently have low regulatory hurdles in the research stage,” said…