Latest Stories

railroad fishtech app

Railroad remedy: Fishtech-backed app could bring added efficiency to local transit system

What started out as a joke between coworkers at Fishtech Group, could solve a community-wide pain point in Martin City — and beyond, explained Michael Wilson.  “Every single day there’d be a train come by, blowing its horn, interrupting us on conference calls and they would also make a lot of people late for meetings,”…

Kelly Sievers, Women’s Capital Connection

Q&A: Startup life isn’t all risk-taking and sexy, big-name investors, Kelly Sievers says

Investing doesn’t just hinge a dollar amount, said Kelly Sievers. “It’s also about finding the right kind of funding for your business,” the Women’s Capital Connection managing director told 26 small business owners at a recent Kansas City SCORE mentoring event.  Sievers, an entrepreneurial advisor for the Women’s Business Center, has owned, operated and sold…

Cutting the card in a digital world? Behold the staying power of the analog business card

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Anyone remember Bump? You might not, but the ultra-popular app has about 125 million downloads since its debut in 2009. Free for both Android and iPhone, the app allowed you to instantly share your contact information by literally “bumping” your smartphones together in…

Depalo app

Perfect shots: KC lifestyle blogger launches Depalo app to guide users to Instagram hot spots 

The perfect Instagram-worthy photo location could be within walking distance right now, said Kansas City-based lifestyle blogger Rebeeca Aneloski. A former Missouri representative on the Miss USA stage, Aneloski launched Depalo in June to help users locate picturesque locations across Kansas City — and eventually the globe, she said. “I [initially] started a blog to continue…

Tech pioneer Don Peterson to guide new LaunchKC-Nueterra health accelerator

Leading the new LaunchKC Health Accelerator is Don Peterson’s way of giving back to a community that opened its arms to his family nearly 30 years ago, he said.  “I’m proof that we can accomplish the entrepreneurial dream right here in KC and feel like it’s my duty to pay that forward,” said Peterson, a…

Andrew Ellis and Matt Blake, Gaudete Development, MoCannaHub

MoCannaHub lights up information prohibition; launches cannabis resource-finding app

Rolled in entrepreneurial opportunity, tech companies shouldn’t be afraid to take a hit of the growing marketplace that is cannabis, said Andrew Ellis, explaining the methodology behind MoCannaHub — the app that connects curious consumers with experts and information of various strains.  “Some of the platforms out there are banning cannabis-related content,” explained Ellis, president…

Lauren Conaway, InnovateHER KC

InnovateHER KC founder leaving KCSF as womxn’s community-building startup scales

It’s time to set InnovateHER KC on the path to long-term growth, said Lauren Conaway, announcing her plans to leave the Kansas City Startup Foundation in early July to lead the womxn-focused startup full-time. “InnovateHER KC’s No. 1 priority right now is building out our community with intention,” said Conaway, founder of InnovateHER KC and…

Sprint Accelerator Demo Day

Photos: Sprint Accelerator leaders salute former managing director at demo day

Gratitude powered down the sixth cohort of the Sprint and Dairy Farmers of America-backed Corporate Accelerator Thursday. “I do have one more person that I need to acknowledge and that person is Doug Dresslear,” Tina Peterson, manager of the Sprint Accelerator, told a packed crowd at the National World War 1 museum’s J.C. Nichols Auditorium. …

LaunchKC health accelerator

LaunchKC, Nueterra Capital announce health accelerator with $50K, plus resources for each startup in cohort 

Adding its third vertical in less than a year, LaunchKC will expand its grant opportunities deployment with the new LaunchKC Health Accelerator aimed at improving patient outcomes, the program announced Thursday.  “LaunchKC continues to see momentum, headed into its fifth year, having invested over $2 million in cash grants to attract or retain 38 tech…

Amado Espinosa

Trust yourself and make your own everything: Hear the artist hustle of Amado Espinoza

Whether directing a contemporary indigenous stage performance, covering the Beatles classic Elanor Rigby with a pan flute and charango for TEDxKC or creating a diatonically-tuned bendy-straw, Amado Espinoza understands the importance of fully committing to a pursuit. “For me, being a professional musician means when you dedicate your entire life to music,” he said. A…