Funding Stories

Matt Watson, Stackify, Full Scale, Startup Hustle podcast

More than a podcast host: Matt Watson’s Stackify raises $6M in rapid scaling maneuver

Stackify expects growth on the heels of a freshly announced $6 million funding raise, explained Matt Watson. “We have still never taken any outside, institutional VC money. All the [investments] we’ve raised have been from local Kansas City investors, which is pretty cool,” Watson, founder and CEO, said noting the company’s recent raise was a…

AccessAble Living

AccessAble Living: $10K prize will help AltCap Your Biz winner speed services to seniors

A medical supply startup designed to help Kansas Citians age in place earned judges’ seal of approval — and $10,000 — in the 2019 AltCap Your Biz Competition. “I hope this is a jumpstart for us to help solve a common healthcare problem,” said Dr. Brandy Archie, director of AccessAble Living, Wednesday night during Global…

Richard Neal, Brendan Reilly and Dan Scott, Lelex Prime

Two startup support programs helped Lelex Prime score Fountain Innovation Fund’s first investment

An interconnected, resource-rich startup ecosystem is paying off for Lelex Prime — contributing to the fast-growing artificial intelligence company’s development and boosting its chances to win the Fountain Innovation Fund’s first cash infusion, said Brendan Reilly. “The Digital Sandbox helped us land this investment,” said Reilly, co-founder and principal at Lelex Prime, which joined the…

Rajesh Nair and Mani Raman, Yotabites

KC boutique big data startup Yotabites planned its big exit for 2025 — a buyer came five years early

Starting with a laser-focus on attacking big data’s fundamental problems, Lenexa-based Yotabites is announcing its acquisition from Oregon-based ProKarma, said Rajesh Nair, noting the sale fell many years ahead of schedule for the forward-thinking startup. “It really started out as a combination of things for us: from [seeing a lack of] creativity in the big…

Matt DeCoursey, Startup Hustle's live podcast at Startland's Innovation Exchange

Check in: Full Scale’s $1M investment pledge already impacting startups like Mixtape, DivvyHQ

Nearly nine months after pledging to invest $1 million worth of Full Scale’s development resources in Kansas City startups, impact already is clear among numerous companies, said Matt DeCoursey, who has leveraged a podcast and “Suite and Greet” networking to build deeper connections to the local innovation community. “We have the ability to help a…