Startups Stories

Addressing a market gap, $25M seed fund arrives in Kansas City

Nearly a year after identifying an early-stage funding need in the area, a $25 million seed fund will open a Kansas City office that aims to boost local startups. With a Wednesday night intro at Polsinelli, the Royal Street Investment & Innovation Center will soon move into the Kansas City metro for its second fund. Founded…

An insider’s guide to the 2016 Pipeline IOTY

One of the region’s most highly-esteemed and exclusive events — Pipeline’s Innovator of the Year — is set for this Thursday in Kansas City. Attracting some of the most powerful businesspeople in the Midwest, IOTY is one part pitch competition, two parts black-tie gala and four parts party. It’s a cocktail of entrepreneurial energy, and…

Digital Sandbox

Digital Sandbox KC funding three UMKC student-led startups

Kansas City business incubator Digital Sandbox KC selected three student-led companies for proof-of-concept funding support Tuesday. The enterprises were selected from the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s E-Scholar program and will join three other E-Scholar companies selected in June as part of Digital Sandbox’s partnership with UMKC. Each student startup will receive $10,000 in project development…

Document: FarmLink raises additional $24.6M for ag tech

Ag tech startups in Kansas City are plowing a promising 2016. Kansas City-based FarmLink recently secured nearly $24.6 million in investment capital for its farming technology, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The company offers a suite of tech services for farmers, including analytics platform TrueHarvest and machinery sharing platform MachineryLink Sharing. TrueHarvest…

Sporting Innovations reveals name change

Sports tech company Sporting Innovations is kicking off 2016 new branding. The company announced Monday that it’s changed its name to “FanThreeSixty” to better reflect an “ongoing transformation” and to better connect to its software platform of the same name, FanThreeSixty CEO Robb Heineman said. “We feel the timing is ideal for evolving our brand…