Startups Stories

Video: How to write a great elevator pitch for investors and your team

Editor’s note: Continuing our mission to help area entrepreneurs and startups grow, we’re happy to share with you a video from our friends at Kansas City-based tech agency Crema. Learn more about the agency here.  Crema co-founder George Brooks and Crema product strategist Eric Hurst jump into the topic of crafting an eloquent and effective…

Fast-growing Silicon Valley ‘unicorn’ Rubrik expanding to Lawrence

Rubrik — a rapidly-growing, cloud data company based in Palo Alto, Calif. — is launching a new office in Lawrence and plans to hire up to 20 area engineers. The firm partnered with the Bioscience & Technology Business Center at the University of Kansas to create the Rubrik Center for Excellence. The center will house…

John Fein

Firebrand Ventures makes 4 investments in Midwest startups

Kansas City-based Firebrand Ventures is kicking off the summer with a series of startup investments. Led by managing director John Fein, Firebrand has signed a quartet of new deals supporting two pairs of tech startups in both Boulder and Austin. “We’re just incredibly excited to invest in these companies,” Fein said. “We think they’re the…

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation startup growth

Kauffman Foundation dishes $840K to 8 area accelerators

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is hitting the gas on its support of area accelerator programs. As part of the 2016 KC Accelerator Challenge, the Kauffman Foundation announced Tuesday that it’s awarded a total of $840,000 in grants to eight local venture accelerator programs. “Our goal is to increase entrepreneurial success in Kansas City through…

Efficiency, innovative home construction are cornerstones for Prairie Design Build

David Schleicher was just looking for something to get back on track. In 2012, the president of Prairie Design Build, a house building company located in Kansas City, had watched his then six-year-old business begin to suffer because of the recent recession. Schleicher was desperately seeking a way to keep his head above water, not…