Investors Stories

‘Badasses’ at Women’s Capital Connection double dollars invested since 2015

More women in Kansas City are realizing the valuable opportunities offered by early-stage investing — and it’s translating into significant growth for the Women’s Capital Connection. The regional investment network has grown not only its number of member investors by about 40 percent in the past three years, but also has more than doubled the…

Beyond borders: Federal grant equips KC to build regional $5M seed fund

Pushing aside the Kansas-Missouri “border war,” a bi-state effort has earned a federal grant that will help create a $5 million fund for startups, which could begin investing as early as 2018. The Enterprise Center in Johnson County announced Monday it secured a $150,000 Economic Development Administration Seed Fund Support grant. The grant — which…

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…

Greitens eyes private investment dollars to fill MTC budget gap

A new, privately-managed innovation fund could replace a popular startup investment program that was dramatically slashed for 2018 amid Missouri’s budget crunch. The potential strategy change comes as a suggestion from the Hawthorn Foundation’s report to Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, following the months-long work of an innovation task force charged with assessing the current state…

JE Dunn leads $500K round in smart apartment startup Homebase

A handful of Kansas City firms both large and small are partnering to advance smart home technologies.  JE Dunn Construction Group and Sunflower Development Group have led at $500,000 investment round in Kansas City-based Homebase, a tech firm building an IoT smart apartment and building platform for multi-family properties. Will Winkler of PSW Real Estate,…