Latest Stories
Adobe for adventure: KC’s VanDoIt offers affordable travel, housing solution nationwide
VanDoIt is no sideshow venture for Brent Kline and his son-in-law, Jared McCauslin. The duo’s custom van and restoration business has a partnership with Ford and customers motoring coast to coast. “We have a couple out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and they are actually a traveling circus act — like, they are actually a circus act…
C2FO’s advice: Seek global capital, local startup partners (Top VC-Backed event photos)
Leawood-based fintech powerhouse C2FO didn’t raise nearly $300 million in capital by accident, nor without a strategy for selecting the right investors, Kerri Thurston told a crowd of founders, executives and investors gathered to celebrate the startups on Startland’s list of Kansas City’s Top Venture Capital-Backed Companies in 2019. “Focus on folks who can really…
KCultivator Q&A: Kathryn Golden risks it all to laugh at life (but roommates are no joke)
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 Plexpod, a progressive coworking platform offering next generation workspace for entrepreneurs, startups, and growth-stage companies of all sizes. A spoonful of sugar couldn’t help Kathryn Golden stomach the oddities she…
DC-based digital SWAT team descends on KC as Social Driver for mission-based clients
From being included in selfies to getting tagged on social media posts, carving a digital footprint is the best way for social movements to gain traction, said Thomas Sanchez, CEO and co-founder of Social Driver. “We are the digital heavy hitters. I always kind of talk about us as almost being like the SWAT team…
Ego gets you in trouble — open ears get you business, UMKC E-Scholars mentor says
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Regnier Institute, but was independently produced by Startland News. If ego runs the show, a founder won’t succeed, Jene’ Hong said as she cracked jokes laced with straightforward advice. “If we have a big ego, we can’t listen to other people and that’s…
Report: Kansas, Missouri economies hinge on homegrown startups, not border war wins
Kansas and Missouri must “grow from within” if the neighboring states aim to successfully confront structural challenges that face their economies, said Amy Liu, a contributor at national think tank the Brookings Institution. The “historic handshake” between Govs. Laura Kelly, D-Kansas, and Mike Parson, R-Missouri, earlier this month marked the symbolic end to an ongoing…
Payit, C2FO making biggest waves, but funding for smaller companies still jumped 81 percent
Editor’s note: The following is the first in a series of analyses of Startland’s list of Kansas City’s Top Venture Capital-Backed Companies. Proof points matter, said John Thomson. “We’re evidence — based on the $100 million-plus growth equity investment we closed this spring — that you can build a world-class tech company in Kansas City,”…
Mid Coast Modern founder joins Westport bar scene with sudsy, eco-friendly concept
Matt Bramlette bathes in the wordplay of it all. His new venture in Kansas City’s quirky Westport entertainment district — known for its shops, restaurants and bars — floats a clean business prop: bars of soap with a low carbon footprint. Hence, “Soap Bar.” Just a few feet away from his popular retail storefront Mid…
LOOK INSIDE: Blade & Timber raises the bar (and kitchen) with Power & Light axe throwing
When Blade & Timber officially opens this weekend at Power & Light, the two-year-old startup concept will set a new standard for the growing experiences industry, said Jessie Poole. “We want to show people ‘This is what you should expect from an axe-throwing experience,’” said Poole, communication director for Blade & Timber. “We’ve been upping…
$9.4M funding round steers Bungii toward ‘biggest sharing economy footprint in US’
A $9.4 million oversubscribed Series A round isn’t just an investor vote of confidence in Bungii, said Ben Jackson. It’s a funding fuel-up as the tech startup shifts expansion plans into high gear on the road to becoming the final link in the big and bulky supply chain. “By the end of 2021, we’ll still…
