KC firm Handy Camel raising $600K for invention workshop

What do sheep farming and innovation have to do with one another? Quite a lot, if North Kansas City-based Handy Camel is any indication. Since he was a boy, Handy Camel CEO Tom Gray has fostered an innovative ethos, creating a number of doodads to make his work easier as a sheep farmer in New Zealand.…

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Rawxies founder: ‘I didn’t give up’ on fundraising in KC

Vegan snack manufacturer Rawxies is en route to closing a funding round that will significantly increase its production. The Kansas City-based company has now raised $512,000 of its seed round, which will boost manufacturing of its raw, vegan snacks by roughly 400 percent. Investors thus far include England’s family, Liz and Brian Kelly, the Women’s…

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Meet KC’s Cisco Smart City leaders

Kansas City Mayor Sly James announced on Friday 11 people to serve on the city’s Smart City Advisory Board. With a mixture of corporate, non-profit and civic experience, the board will manage and guide policies for Kansas City’s public-private Smart City project. Announced in the summer of 2014, the project will turn downtown into a…

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ClaimKit’s Cheatham: listening scored big business

RiskGenius Chris Cheatham

Adaptability is a cornerstone of launching a successful business. Without that — and a willingness to listen — ClaimKit CEO Chris Cheatham said he would’ve been pursuing a much smaller market with his company’s tech product. ClaimKit, which created a document management system for insurance claims professionals, recently pivoted its model to create a collaborative…

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Some like it hot: KC named top startup town

You’re hot, Kansas City, and it’s not just your sweltering summer heat. Entrepreneur Magazine recently named Kansas City — Mo. and Kan. — as one of nine “hot startup cities” that are outside of San Francisco and New York City. Although Kansas City is also known for its tech prowess, the magazine largely noted the…

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