Latest Stories
From KC to Down Under, expanded LEANLAB attracts education innovators to latest fellowship
Ten companies arriving Friday to LEANLAB Education’s latest fellowship are expected to be met with real-world classroom partners from nine school systems in the Kansas City metro and Colorado. “When those closest to the issues in education — teachers, parents and students — have access to cutting-edge innovators and researchers, they’ll be able to collectively…
Plug and Play: Global accelerator could unify animal health corridor, grow Topeka’s startup ecosystem
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. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. TOPEKA…
Tinder founder boards advisory team as StoryUP closes oversubscribed $1M+ round
Building a global company requires boots on the ground, Sarah Hill said as she waited to board a flight to Kansas City, hours after the close of her startup’s first million-dollar funding round. “Once the Kansas City investors hopped in, that’s when it came to be oversubscribed — we were just delighted,” said Hill, founder…
Women-led Kansas City companies fuel Launch Health accelerator’s first cohort
Healthcare needs an overhaul and four Kansas City-area companies are among those poised to disrupt the industry as part of the first Launch Health Accelerator cohort, explained Jeremy Tasset. “Through the health accelerator, we were seeking companies with fresh ideas that give rise to improving care and lowering costs that can be readily integrated into…
PayIt’s iKan app named a finalist in Fast Company 2019 Innovation by Design honors
Kansas City’s PayIt isn’t just worthy of investment — its foundational technology continues to win awards alongside the likes of Nike, Microsoft and Mastercard, said John Thomson. Fast Company honored iKan — a PayIt-powered app that allows Kansas residents to pay vehicle registration renewals, renew their driver’s license (the country’s first-ever mobile driver’s license renewal service),…
Custom retro arcade gaming consoles take Hammerspace workshop down memory lane
When Hammerspace Community Workshop moved into its space off Emanuel Cleaver Boulevard in 2017, a small gaming console served as a showpiece for a room designed for creative and crafty children. Mimicking the look of a classic Nintendo GameBoy-turned-arcade game, the apparatus allowed kids — and adults alike — to play retro titles in an environment…
KC Fed: We can fix the digital divide (and solutions come without a high cost)
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Jeremy Hegle is senior community development advisor at Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Some issues affecting the digital divide are complex — expanding availability of affordable broadband, for example, requires government policy, technology, and lots of money. It can seem daunting and…
From maker to CEO: Green Bee founder turned KC resources into a brand buzzing online, in stores
When the inventory of vintage goods Rena Krouse sold online started to dwindle, her entrepreneurial roots helped her recreate history. “I grew a huge Instagram following and they would get irritated when I would run out of certain things,” Krouse, CEO of Green Bee Tea Towels, said in explanation of how her maker’s journey began. …
Amid recession talk, job-creating startups need government focus now, Kauffman says
Editor’s note: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a sponsor of Startland News, but this report was produced independently of the Kansas City-based nonprofit. U.S. policymakers must shift their focus from the old ways of doing business to efforts that boost entrepreneurship at the grassroots levels and target traditionally underoptimized communities, according to the Ewing…
Startup leader exits Sickweather CEO role to lead East Coast tech incubator
Serial entrepreneur Graham Dodge is headed back to the East Coast to lead a tech incubator after exiting his position as CEO of Sickweather, one of the KC-based Sprint Accelerator’s early success stories. “I will be moving back to Maryland for MAGIC [the Mid-Atlantic Gigabit Innovation Collaboratory], but my goal is to stay connected with…
