Search Results: kcrise fund

It’s easy for small biz to get lost in the shuffle; How ECJC offers a lifeline to Main Street, startup entrepreneurs

The Enterprise Center in Johnson County is on a mission to prove the Kansas City metro remains a place where small businesses can grow and thrive, shared CEO Jeff Shackelford. ECJC — which is home to the Women’s Business Center, the Mid-America Angels and the Women’s Capital Connection angel investment networks, as well as the…

Looking for investors? A startup’s first ask shouldn’t be for money, leading VCs say

Most startup founders think of funding as transactional, Darcy Howe shared, but it’s actually relational. “You’ve got to have relationships with people long before they’ll fund and that includes angels and all the others,” the KCRise Fund founding managing director told a crowd gathered at UMKC’s Bloch Executive Hall for Startland News’ Kansas City Startups…

Startup launches workforce readiness game, scaling its Kansas-built talent crisis solution national

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro.  WICHITA — A newly opened, nationwide digital game tournament aims to help students adopt the life skills needed to start careers wherever they live, said Robert Feeney, describing how his…

Industrial tech leaders fuel ‘fire of innovation’ with startup mentality, partnerships

Getting foundational industries — like construction, manufacturing, and energy — to innovate isn’t easy, shared corporate leaders from three regional heavy hitters. “Everybody loves change,” joked Dustin Burns, vice president of innovation at McCownGordon. “They’re just asking for more change to be dumped on them all the time.” “In my experience, a lot of clients…

Startup ambassadors’ pitch to former Kansas Citians: Move your innovation, hustle Back2KC

Kansas City is having a moment, said Liam Reilly, and it’s an opportunity he and fellow Back2KC organizers couldn’t pass up — reviving the tech talent recruitment program amid Chiefs glory, downtown baseball district buzz, KC Streetcar expansion, riverfront revitalization, and a World Cup on the horizon. “We didn’t want to wait another year to…