Startups Stories
Skipping the line: PayIt driver’s license renewal tech iKan puts DMV stigma in reverse
The market is hungry for consumer-grade digital experiences, said John Thomson, founder and CEO at Kansas City tech startup PayIt. Tuesday’s launch of the firm’s iKan driver’s license renewal technology is a step toward satisfying motorists starved for time and frustrated with inconveniences like long lines and packed parking lots at licensing offices. “Kansas residents…
KCultivator Q&A: Pennez’s Rebecca Dove on pushing past a world that says ‘No’
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The KCultivator Series is sponsored by WeWork Corrigan Station, a modern twist on Kansas City office space. Pennez is working to combat childhood illiteracy by bringing its technology to after-school programming, said founder Rebecca Dove. The…
KC-based Sellozo opens upgraded analytics platform to Amazon sellers
Upping the stakes, true profit tracking platform Sellozo plans to roll out a new level of access for its users selling on retail giant Amazon, said Jessica McCune. “It’s definitely cool to have the capability to work with more than just the North American marketplace,” McCune, the Kansas City-grown company’s marketing specialist, said of the…
Dream Muscle Coffee roasts hipster coffee shop stereotype with protein brew targeting KC’s east side
When life hands out lemons, some people turn them into lemonade. But what happens when it throws 300 pounds of coffee beans in your direction? You percolate new ideas that can disrupt an overcaffeinated market and strengthen a community, Timothy Shockley chuckled. “A friend of mine closed his [Shawnee] coffee shop and left [the beans]…
Collaboration in the air: Cough detection sensors combine Sickweather, Mycroft tech
You can’t manage what you can’t measure, said Sickweather CEO Graham Dodge, describing the need for cough detection sensors that are slated to be rolled out in public places across Kansas City in 2019. Illness forecaster Sickweather is teaming up with fellow Kansas City startup Mycroft, a leader in artificial intelligence-infused tech, to develop the…
