Investor market turns Midwest conservative: ‘Everyone here is feeling a changing landscape’
After years of soaring valuations across the startup scene, venture firms like M25 are observing a shift to more risk-averse investors and stricter examinations of even the most-exciting company’s worth, said Abhinaya Konduru. “We’re seeing a new normal,” said Konduru, a principal on the influential Chicago-based M25 team and a panelist at Thursday’s MidxMidwest event…
Read MorePower & Light: $10M in Live! Block upgrades planned before downtown’s Big 12 ‘opening day’
The Kansas City Live! Block in the Power & Light District — a place KCMO Councilman Crispen Rea calls the living room of Kansas City — is set for a $10 million upgrade, local business and civic leaders announced Thursday. Key updates also target the popular District nightclub Mosaic. “It’s become an engine that generates…
Read MoreGoogle makes new $120K pledge to KC schools; region embraces a future built on flexibility
In an era of artificial intelligence and high-tech solutions, the children of Kansas City remain a vital piece of the region’s future economic sustainability, said Utaukwa Allen, announcing a new financial pledge from Google that targets local students. Kansas City Public Schools have been selected for a $120,000 partnership with Google to strengthen KCPS’ STEM…
Read MoreLaunchKC invested in this founder’s vision; now she’s helping the grants competition boost KC’s startup scene
Editor’s note: LaunchKC — a longstanding initiative from the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City and the Downtown Council — annual funds six to seven companies through its popular fall grants competition. Winning members of the 2025 LaunchKC cohort are set to be announced at a LaunchKC Liftoff event Nov. 19 at J. Rieger &…
Read MoreIt’s OK to open with joy: How two moms’ dreams just launched twin shops on Brookside-Waldo border
Two women, longtime friends, have similar entrepreneur origin stories. Now they have side-by-side shops in a bustling neighborhood shopping district. The twin storefronts — Bramble & Stem led by Katherine (Brambl) Taylor; and Blue Sky Art + Home from hometown artist Leslie Beck — come as the mothers-turned-business owners pivot from freelancing to full-time entrepreneurship.…
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