Funding Stories

Tesseract Ventures team

AI, robotics innovator Tesseract Ventures secures $2M investment from UMB Capital

One of Kansas City’s leading startups is making good on a teaser that it’s collaborating with local “titans of industry” to defy the boundaries of space and time through next-generation technologies. Tesseract Ventures — which uses robots, smart spaces, wearables and connected platforms in its mission to make industries smarter, better connected and more efficient…

Toby Rush explores venture studio concept to help startups avoid pre-seed mistakes

Not enough founders in the pre-seed funding stage get the help they need to successfully build their emerging startups, said Toby Rush.  “How can you find, focus and accelerate people before they’ve raised money, before they’ve built their team, before they’ve made all of the mistakes that I’ve made plenty of times and that most…

Hunter Browning, Ben Schultz, and Tyler Prochnow, LaborChart

LaborChart builds its value with ‘robust’ Series A capital injection from Five Elms

A recently closed injection of growth and scale capital will help Kansas City-based LaborChart strengthen its team, expand the company’s market position and accelerate domestic and international growth, said Ben Schultz. The move — finalized in the final days of 2019 and announced Thursday — is expected to jolt the team from a headcount in…

Boddle

Two KC edtech startups just won $50K each, tickets to OHUB’s demo day at SXSW

Opportunity Hub pulled out the big checks Friday, awarding two Kansas City edtech startups with $50,000 each as the accelerator nears its culmination at SXSW in March. Three winners from outside KC are expected to establish a presence in the metro as part of their awards. Boddle — led by co-founders Clarence Tan and Edna…

Lauren Lawrence, Stenovate

Legal tech startup Stenovate earns Fountain Innovation Fund’s second investment

The Fountain Innovation Fund is flowing with Kansas City-based Stenovate selected as the second startup to earn its support, the Enterprise Center in Johnson County announced Wednesday.  “Stenovate is an exciting investment for the Fountain Innovation Fund,” explained Maggie Kenefake, managing director of the fund, which chose to back Stenovate based on the emerging startup’s…