Investors Stories
Experts: Coastal VCs getting FOMO on Kansas City; PayIt’s $100M+ investment proves it
Landing more than $100 million in funding is no small feat for PayIt — or any startup, John Thomson said with a mix of humble confidence. “Wins beget wins, and it helps to build the ecosystem,” said Thomson, CEO and co-founder of PayIt. Click here to read more about PayIt’s investment from Insight Partners. For Thomson,…
Freightquote, Edison Factory founder-turned-investor touts ‘work ethic worth investing in’
Raise and raise relentlessly. Because in business, the sun won’t shine every day, Tim Barton told a room filled Wednesday morning with entrepreneurs and investors eagerly seeking support and insight at the 20th InvestMidwest Venture Capital Forum. The former CEO of Freightquote, who saw a $365 million exit for the company in 2014 before launching…
UMKC joins campus network’s student Entrepreneur Quest accelerator competition
A final showdown of student startups has been set, as budding entrepreneurs from across the University of Missouri campus network compete for financial support. “It brings a lot of those best practices together from all four campuses and really showcases all the great work that’s going on in the system to promote entrepreneurship,” said Andy…
With new partner, Firebrand ramps up ‘founder-focused’ culture, aims to double fund
Firebrand Ventures is the right culture fit at the right time, said serial entrepreneur Ryan Merket. Joining the Kansas City-based venture firm as a partner alongside John Fein, Merket brings a wealth of experience from his time at Facebook, Reddit and Amazon, as well as five years as an angel investor, he said. “Looking at…
Founder facing gender bias: Don’t call me a victim; call me investors
It’s like pulling teeth to get key investors and resource organizations to help push female entrepreneurs forward, said Carlanda McKinney, citing implicit bias and a lack of effective support mechanisms. “I don’t think it’s intentional at all. I think it’s a byproduct,” said McKinney, co-founder of Raaxo, an online tech platform used to design and…