Startups Stories

Startup Crawl returning Oct 5 for First Friday with festival-style entertainment, innovation

Editor’s note: Startup Crawl and Startland News are both programs of the Kansas City Startup Foundation, though the content below was produced independently by Startland. Startup Crawl has a carnival feel to it, said Lauren Conaway, noting the returning event is positioned to help startups collide with people who wouldn’t typically encounter the early-stage businesses….

Glen Dakan, Prestio, and Ryan Matt, Matt Ford

Prestio drives users to auto dealerships without traditional car buying pain points

Gone are the days of traditional car buying for Ben Anderson, the first customer of Kansas City-based startup Prestio. Anderson, an accounting professional at CBIZ, had grown deeply frustrated by auto dealerships, he said. In fall 2017, he turned to Prestio –– a first-of-its-kind software-as-a-service platform that allows customers to buy, trade, and finance vehicle purchases…

George Brooks, Crema

Crema co-founder details expansion experiment at Thinking Bigger breakfast

Crema’s work is all about proximity, said George Brooks, seeking to clarify potential misperceptions about the digital product agency’s foray into markets outside Kansas City. “We’ve been running an experiment,” the Crema co-founder told a crowd at Thinking Bigger Business Media’s recent Big Breakfast. “We’re from Kansas City, but probably 80 percent of our clients…

Techweek 100 list

Techweek 100 list released: Dozens of KC’s top cultivators, ambassadors and innovators

Techweek Kansas City on Friday released its Techweek 100 list of the premier leaders pushing innovation in Kansas City. The collection of cultivators, ambassadors and innovators is a who’s who of familiar names across the startup, entrepreneurship and tech communities. Released in the runup to Techweek KC’s Oct. 8-12 festivities, the list isn’t a ranking,…

Davin Gordon, AltCap Your Biz

Not high-growth or a tech startup? AltCap Your Biz $10K prize could be the boost you need

A $10,000 prize can mean a world of difference for the right entrepreneurial dream, said Davin Gordon. “There’s not a ton of opportunities for small businesses to not only pitch their business and go through that process, but actually have an opportunity to win some money,” he said. Entering its fourth year on the startup…