Search Results: OHUB

Kevin McGinnis, Keystone Community Corporation, and Rodney Sampson, Opportunity Hub

OHUB.KC an investment in equity infrastructure, founder says; minority accelerator deadline Sept. 18

Kansas City’s startup community still has room to improve on racial equity and access issues, said Rodney Sampson, but the ecosystem should safeguard the progress it’s made now — before COVID-era re-settlers arrive, bringing potentially problematic culture with them from larger startup hubs. “When a lot of those folks leave regions like the coasts and come…

Roy Scott, Healthy Hip Hop; Ina Montgomery, Urban TEC; Tammy Buckner, WeCode KC; and Edgar Palacios, Latinx Education Collaborative

LEANLAB awards $50K in seed grants to 19 Black and Latinx innovators in education

Entrepreneurs should reflect the communities they serve, said Katie Boody — a charge even more critical when innovative work touches Kansas City’s diverse public school systems, she added. “I know firsthand how challenging launching a startup can be for anyone, and especially for founders of color,” said Boody, co-founder and CEO of LEANLAB Education, announcing the…

Stephen Ajayi and Samuel Ajayi, PocketMentor

Techstars KC doubles down on virtual demo day with 1-minute pitches, Brad Feld panel

Since COVID-19 kept members of Techstars Kansas City’s 2020 cohort from visiting the City of Fountains during the three-month accelerator, an Aug. 27 virtual demo day will be as much a meet-and-greet with the startups as a pitch event for potential investors, said Lesa Mitchell. “Our cohort didn’t ever come to KC. That was horrible…

Clarence Tan and Edna Tan, Boddle

Boddle’s new $350K investment comes with a catch: KC startup relocating to Tulsa

Pre-seed funding from Tulsa-based Atento Capital is expected to help accelerate Boddle’s gamified edtech platform amid an ongoing pandemic — but the infusion means the Kansas City startup will move south to work more closely with its new investor. “Our team is looking forward to the growth and impact that this investment will allow us…

Christopher Jones, MatchRite Care; Jeff Blackwood, PANDA Healthcare Technologies; Rob Hughey and Karen Hughey, Team Cura; and Juaquan Herron and Rodney McDuffie II, The Vendors Assistant; Digital Sandbox KC

‘Beacon of light’ — Meet four new Digital Sandbox startups that could reshape KC tech

Digital Sandbox KC’s latest quartet of funded companies will help Kansas City build a better, more inclusive startup ecosystem, said Jill Meyer. “We’ve always been keenly aware of the inequities in the tech ecosystem, especially for entrepreneurs of color,” said Meyer, who leads Digital Sandbox and is senior director of the Technology Ventures Studio at…