Opinion Stories

Report: Kansas City’s VC funding rank improves among Midwest cities

Editor’s note: Brian Matthews is a guest author to Startland News and co-founded Cultivation Capital. Opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. When assessing the vitality of an entrepreneurial ecosystem, an important factor to consider is the Total Venture Funds Raised by the startups within that city or region. This metric provides an…

Brian Kearns: Get outside of your startup bubble

What’s so special about Silicon Valley, Hollywood or New York? I’ll give you a hint: bad barbecue. Just kidding. These are the places you go when you want to build the next “unicorn,” become a big star or bask in the bright lights of Broadway. The dream you often hear whispered backstage is, “I want…

George Brooks: Two words that can change your business

Some of the biggest moments in any business start with two simple words: What if? After these words, great opportunity can follow. Businesses have started, discoveries made, and movements ignited around this simple curiosity. These words help find the right problems to solve. They help discover the best solutions. They may lead to failure or…

Bob Specht: How Kansas City actually becomes a startup city

Editor’s note: This post was originally published on medium.com. Opinions expressed in the commentary are the author’s alone.  With growth in our Kansas City startup community, questions continuously come of “what next?” What do we need to keep growing? “Funding” is usually what you’ll hear yelled, but I’m not so convinced. I believe improving in…