Startups Stories
Predicting sick days: Sickweather showers HR with data on illness mapping, trends
It’s a partnership more than a year in the making, said Graham Dodge, announcing Sickweather’s deal to help a leading employee benefits company predict workers’ sick days. The Kansas City-based startup is piloting a program among the more than 10,000 employees at Unum Group to give managers more data and insights to plan for absenteeism….
Vintage WiFi mashup: Designer converts old items into bluetooth speakers at Troost T-shirt shop
Rick Kloog’s T-shirt shop on Troost resonates with the sound of side hustles — combining the former music producer’s previously untapped talents for a Vintage WiFi effect. The “funky little vintage store” blends original Kansas City-designed shirts, and miscellaneous items — most of which Kloog converts into bluetooth speakers — as well as other original…
Firebrand Fein: KC needs more audacious startups, ‘crazy ideas’ to attract investors
Kansas City companies need to buck the Midwestern, risk-averse mindset and sell audacious plans to investors, said John Fein. “I would just love to see more crazy ideas, more big game type ideas,” said Fein, founder and managing partner at Firebrand Ventures. “We invest when [the startup] starts to generate revenue, so they have to…
Startup leader hears calling in Kauffman legacy, selected to join Kauffman Foundation trustees
Money alone won’t truly satisfy an entrepreneur, nor will it build a stronger Kansas City, said Matt Condon — lessons learned from the late Ewing Kauffman. “Having a successful company isn’t good enough,” said Condon, a veteran startup leader who recently completed a year as chair of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. “Impacting…
The Nerdery powers down, exiting Kansas City in move to consolidate investments
Once topping Inc. Magazine’s fastest-growing companies list, The Nerdery is now pulling back — closing its Kansas City office and redirecting the paths of 28 metro employees, the company revealed this week. “This decision is by no means a reflection of the performance of the team in Kansas City, who have all done a fantastic…
