Startups Stories

Pipeline doubles-down on diverse voices: Meet its new class of Pathfinder entrepreneurs

Programs built to support emerging founders who are primed to break through — despite entering entrepreneurship from a different starting point — have never been more needed, said Melissa Vincent, announcing the newest class of Pipeline Pathfinders. “In today’s climate, programs like Pathfinder are not just valuable — they’re essential,” said Vincent, CEO of Pipeline…

Pipeline adds top founders to its network: Meet 14 fellows tasked with building the Midwest together 

The newest class of Pipeline fellows embodies the elite Midwest network’s founder-first focus on industry-agnostic collaboration and support, said Melissa Vincent, noting the power of tapping barrier-breaking perspectives to solve problems and build world-class companies side by side. “We have an incredible depth of entrepreneurs who are all focused on building high-growth, scalable businesses, but…

TokenTourney reimagines fantasy sports play; adding charities, businesses to its roster

Kansas City-built TokenTourney puts users’ dreams as close as the end of a bracket; now its founders are rallying behind a new effort to team up with charities and businesses who want to engage younger consumers through the tournament-style app. “TokenTourney allows the average person to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences and luxury prizes that they otherwise…

Lula builds $28M round with bicoastal investor; plans deep expansion into new markets

Securing Lula’s Series A funding round is not only validation for the Kansas City proptech startup, Bo Lais said; the $28 million in capital means a greater opportunity to enhance the ecosystem for all of his company’s stakeholders, he added. The funding will allow Lula — a leading platform for streamlined property maintenance solutions and…

Invary’s $3.5M seed round gives startup homefield advantage to rewrite the rules of cybersecurity

A $3.5 million seed round backed by two high-profile Kansas City funds is expected to help Invary redefine runtime security, said Jason Rogers, CEO of the Lawrence-based cybersecurity startup — making new funding headlines from within the KU Innovation Park. Invary — a pioneer in Runtime Integrity solutions built on NSA-licensed technology — announced the round…