News Stories

Ben Wine and Dave Eames, Fossil Forge

They fought to end Lee’s Summit’s neon ban; now they’re relighting a grinning, spinning Katz face in KC

How a Lee’s Summit duo is reviving eye-catching signs of KC’s past The iconic face of Katz Drug Store — the famed retail operation that grew from the streets of Kansas City to eventually become CVS — is set to return to its hometown thanks, in part, to a pair of unlikely neon sign restorationists. …

Dr. Philip Hickman, PlaBook

PlaBook to compete for $1M in prizes at world’s largest pitch competition for edtech startups

Fresh off its selection to Pipeline’s latest fellowship, a Kansas City edtech startup is now set to compete at The Elite 200 as a semifinalist in The GSV Cup — representing top pre-seed and  seed stage startups in digital learning across the “Pre-K to Gray” space. KC-based PlaBook is set to vie for $1 million…

Sandy Kemper, C2FO

C2FO closes $140M funding round amid record growth, expanded focus on underserved companies

Editor’s note: C2FO is a financial supporter of Startland News’ nonprofit newsroom. Kansas City fintech powerhouse C2FO grows best when it’s accelerating access to capital for those traditionally underserved by the banking industry, said Sandy Kemper, announcing a $140 million funding round for the Leawood-based company. Led by Third Point Ventures — a multi-stage investor…

David Biga, Particle Space

Joining 500 Global’s Japanese accelerator will test KC proptech startup’s market fit for Asian expansion

Access to acceleration has been unlocked, David Biga said, announcing Particle Space has joined a newly launched accelerator program from 500 Global that could give rise to a fully functioning startup ecosystem in Aichi, Japan — while helping the startup further realize its own potential.  “One of the things we’ve been exploring with our API services…

Comeback KC Ventures fellows: top, Dr. Shelley Cooper, Diversity Telehealth and Come On Now!, Ryan Grobler, IAQuality, Jill and Justin Bertelsen, Bertelsen Education and Crib Coaching; middle, Joel Stephens and Brandon Fuhr, XReps, John Black, MediView; bottom, Martin Bukowski and Eliot Arnold, Moodspark, Quest Moffat and Alejandro Andrade Salazar, Kadogo

Accelerator taps first 7 startups to help bring KC back from the edge of global health crisis

Seven Kansas City tech startups have taken the leap to launch new technologies and startups in response to challenges posed by COVID-19 — and have received technical and financial assistance through Comeback KC Ventures to accelerate their efforts.  “These innovations were conceived after two years of the coronavirus pandemic revealed and ignited a need for…