News Stories

Show Me Capital: 6 key goals can help fill funding gaps for early-stage Missouri companies

Missouri is leaving millions of dollars on the table that could fuel early-stage startups, which create nearly 80 percent of net new jobs in the state. A new report from MOSourceLink, a program of the UMKC Innovation Center, reveals Missouri is lacking in alternative loans, access to resources, early-stage capital and locally activated venture capital….

Matt Leadbetter, N-GAGE GRIPS

N-GAGE founder gets a grip on weight-lifting pain points (without giving up his day job)

N-GAGE GRIPS will have found success as a startup when Matt Leadbetter’s oldest son thinks he’s cool. “I remember thinking, ‘I have this thing in my head, I just need to make it,’ and I was kinda thinking at the time, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if when my little boy gets older, he’s impressed with…

Digital Sandbox KC

Digital Sandbox welcomes four new startups led by emerging, veteran KC founders

The latest round of founders joining Digital Sandbox KC includes relative newcomers to the startup scene alongside a Fountain City Fintech alum and a key player behind one of Kansas City’s biggest exits. The proof-of-concept program announced Friday the addition of four new companies for its fourth quarter: TripleBlind, led by Riddhiman Das, who made…

Erin Papworth, Navit

Are venture-seeking women, minority founders at an unfair disadvantage in KC?

Editor’s note: The following is the second in a series of analyses of Startland’s list of Kansas City’s Top Venture Capital-Backed Companies. On stage with a handful of men, Erin Papworth faced a dilemma. The founder of Nav.It — one of the startups to recently complete Fountain City Fintech’s second accelerator cohort — found herself fighting…

Angel Competition Bikinis

Sisters flex startup strength with well-toned, high-performance Angel Competition Bikinis

Bold women are a force to be reckoned with, declared Karah Jones, and they should never feel the need to hide who they are.  “Sometimes in this world it’s frowned upon for a female to be confident,” Jones, co-founder and CEO of Angel Competition Bikinis, said of her motivations for launching the Lenexa company —…