Startups Stories
GRWM: Founder has more than swag; his platform matches companies with merch Gen Z will actually wear
A lot of branded swag gets buried at the bottom of a drawer after being collected from a special event or trade show — never again to see the light of day, Ivan Hadzhiev said, noting his new startup is helping companies think outside the bag when they design and distribute promotional products. “We’re making…
‘The American dream is the Midwest’: LaunchKC powers next generation of startup job creators
Editor’s note: The following is part of an ongoing feature series exploring impacts of initiatives within the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City through a paid partnership with EDCKC. Relocating to Kansas City after winning a LaunchKC grant — and the community and infrastructure support that comes with it — gives Russel Karim’s startup a centralized…
Roz audits its path to $2.15M in early funding; how KC helped this AI startup scale its potential
A series of funding wins is boosting a Kansas City startup’s efforts to automate the most complex — and tedious — parts of compliance work, drawing from the co-founder’s own pain points and resources from a server-full of local entrepreneur support initiatives. With $2.15 million in funding under its belt so far, Olathe-based Roz — which…
Trially secures $4.7M seed round, launches ‘Margo’ AI solution to clear patient bottleneck
A Kansas City startup’s AI-first platform is expected to save time — and patient lives — thanks to a successful seed round for its clinical trial recruitment tech, explained Kyle McAllister, noting his startup’s solution could help speed up access to treatment by years. Trially, one of Startland News’ 10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in…
LISTEN: Fermenting a clean future through products from meat alternatives to skin creams and baby formula
On this episode of Startland News’ Plug and Play Topeka founder podcast series, we chat with Francesca Gallucci of Natáur, a Baltimore-based biotech company that’s reimagining how essential nutrients are made. Combining synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and eco-friendly fermentation, they’re producing bio-based taurine (and other naturally occurring sulfur compounds) without relying on petroleum. Gallucci takes…
