Entrepreneurial foundation names local ‘startup champion’ as director
The Kansas City Startup Foundation’s year-long search for a new executive director ended right where it began. The foundation — whose mission is to unify Kansas City’s startup and entrepreneur community — recently hired Matthew Marcus as its executive director. Marcus, who most recently served as the foundation’s chairman, will begin his tenure in May. “It’s…
Read MoreHelp wanted: Addressing KC’s (big) techie shortage
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Kansas City posted nearly 7,700 STEM job openings in 2015 — but only filled 2,550 of them. That means that for every STEM job candidate, there were three job openings. That’s great for job searchers, but terrible for Kansas City business and…
Read MoreHow wearables could change America’s pastime and Amazon’s big oops
In this week’s roundup of watercooler talk from the region’s startup hubs, we have the dish on Major League Baseball wearables, Amazon’s flub with expanding the digital divide and Chicago’s STEM workforce issues. Check out more in this series here. Mobile Commerce Press: Major League Baseball gives the nod to wearable technology No, this doesn’t…
Read MoreThe red carpet, garageband and laboratory of funding models
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. “Funding! Funding! Funding!” It’s the warrior’s cry of the startup community. In the world of entrepreneurship, there’s an incredible amount of pressure to run a startup that can be described as “disruptive,” “innovative” and “scalable.” Those descriptions come with a hefty price tag,…
Read MoreKauffman Foundation CEO serves up 5 policies for entrepreneurial growth
Adaptation, experimentation and research. No, those aren’t tips to run a startup. Rather, they’re a few of the recommendations for lawmakers to consider if they’d like to spur nationwide entrepreneurial growth, according to Wendy Guillies, CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Now nearly a year into her tenure as CEO, Guillies recently presented five…
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