Funding Stories

$1M investment in new impact fund to boost minority and women-owned ventures in KC

A $1 million cash injection from The Sunderland Foundation will further efforts to bolster the only impact-oriented, opportunity zone fund focused entirely on Kansas City.  equity2 Partners announced the investment Tuesday, marking a significant milestone for the mission driven impact investment firm which has committed to deploying capital in inclusive and equitable ways — especially amid the…

Kenzen team, pre-COVID-19 pandemic

Kenzen finds capital in Kansas City as market for startup’s speciality wearables heats up

Editor’s note: This article is underwritten by Plexpod — a progressive coworking platform offering next generation workspace for entrepreneurs, startups, and growth-stage companies of all sizes — but was independently produced by Startland News. Take a closer look, Heidi Lehmann urged, detailing her once-outsider’s view of Kansas City and ways it revealed a robust and evolving pipeline…

Jasmine Jones, Cherry Blossom Intimates

Boutique startup specializing in breast prosthesis for cancer survivors catches attention of KC healthcare investor

As the new year rang in 2020, Jasmine Jones envisioned pop-up shops for Cherry Blossom Intimates — an accredited medical facility housed within a lingerie boutique that provides breast cancer survivors with customizable prosthesis.  Eleven months into the unpredictable year, however, Jones innovated the startup into a virtual brand. “I had to ask myself, ‘What would…

Riddhiman Das, TripleBlind

TripleBlind earns strategic investment from Accenture to jump into $500B market faster

A newly announced strategic investment is expected to boost a high-profile, pre-seed Kansas City startup’s bid to help enterprises harness the potential of sensitive data. Terms of the deal between Dublin-based Accenture and TripleBlind were not disclosed Wednesday, but the investment by the global professional services firm marks a significant step forward for TripleBlind as…

BacklotCars co-founders: Josh Parsons, Fabricio Solanes, Justin Davis, and Ryan Davis

BacklotCars completes historic $425M exit, joining ‘power and fierce entrepreneurial spirit’ of KAR Global

The $425 million acquisition of Kansas City-based BacklotCars is complete, nearly two months to the day it was announced.  “There is so much energy and excitement around this combination with our employees and with our customers,” Justin Davis, president and co-founder of BacklotCars, said in a release announcing the milestone acquisition’s completion Thursday by KAR…