Government Stories
Immigration debate could stall Moran’s revived Startup Act, again
Federal legislation geared toward boosting entrepreneurship would make it easier for foreign-born innovators to obtain permanent resident status in the United States. “The newly-introduced Startup Act promotes public policies that would change our KC startup community for the better,” said Melissa Roberts, vice president of communications and outreach for Enterprise Center of Johnson County, which…
Pipeline alum set to ‘save the world’ through $1M US Army biotech contract
The U.S. Army recently awarded a Missouri biotech startup a $1 million contract for 24 months. Based in Drexel, Missouri, about an hour south of Kansas City, InnovaPrep was selected out of hundreds of proposals for the Department of Defense’s 2016 Rapid Innovation Fund. The contract is expected to advance development of the U.S. Army…
KC smart city leader: Only one city ‘smart’ enough for Amazon HQ2
Kansas City’s smart city excellence stands out among a crowded field of major U.S. cities vying for Amazon’s second headquarters, Bob Bennett said. “San Diego has a crazy amount of smart street lights, but they aren’t connected to anything except themselves. New York City has a great Wi-Fi network,” said Bennett, chief innovation officer at…
5 startups enjoy growth, connections with KCMO innovation partnership
Although the government may be pegged as resistant to change, Kansas City Mayor Sly James wants to flip the script. “On a city level, we aren’t having much help from the state and federal governments sometimes,” James said at the Innovation Partnership Program demo day on Monday at WeWork Corrigan Station. “But, we still have…
With fund now slashed, LaunchKC alumni say MTC vital to early success
PopBookings probably wouldn’t be in business today without the early support — and more critically the investment dollars — of the Missouri Technology Corporation, Erika Klotz said. “It really allowed us to do more quicker,” the PopBookings co-founder and CEO said. “For any startup, speed is everything. It allowed us to get credibility right out…