Latest Stories

Popular ScaleUp! KC program welcoming area applicants

By Tommy Felts / September 9, 2015

ScaleUp! Kansas City is now accepting applications from area entrepreneurs that hope to boost their businesses through mentorship and a strong network of peers. The program, which is now in the midst of its second class, welcomes about 15 businesspeople that aim to push their firm’s revenue past $1 million annually. ScaleUp! KC connects entrepreneurs…

5 KC startups make national contest

By Tommy Felts / September 8, 2015

Kansas City is well represented in a national competition in which startups have a shot at winning $10,000. Five Kansas City companies were recently announced among 40 contestants in the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s “One in a Million” competition. The competition, which received 377 applicants, challenges startups that have presented at the foundation’s 1 Million…

Angel investors recommit to KC with new fund

By Tommy Felts / September 8, 2015

A new micro venture investment fund launched in Kansas City last week is targeting local, regional and national technology and science startups for funding. The fund, run by Angel Capital Group, is targeting $1 million to $5 million in capital to invest. This isn’t ACG’s first funding effort in Kansas City. The organization has a…

Events Preview: Working with co-founders

By Tommy Felts / September 3, 2015

There are a boatload of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter or curious Kansas Citian, we’d recommend these upcoming events for you. WEEKLY EVENT PREVIEW September First Friday @ Think Big When: September 4 @ 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Where: Think Big Coworking We’re back for another First…

MECA Challenge engages KC students in entrepreneurship

By Tommy Felts / September 3, 2015

For two years, MECA Challenge has been working with Kansas City’s students to instill an entrepreneurial mindset. This fall, organizers are all-in with the first of five MECA Challenges of the season set for tomorrow, Friday, at Blue Valley CAPS. The program is a one-day event for student groups in which they work on teams with…

‘No regrets’: KC startup Knoda closing its doors

By Tommy Felts / September 3, 2015

Rather than lamenting the death of their company, a team of startup founders is drawing valuable lessons from their entrepreneurial experience and forging ahead. Kansas City-based Knoda — which created a social platform allowing users to make, track and rank various predictions — recently announced to users that it was going to shut down operations.…

Without further ado, LaunchKC announces top 20 finalists

By Tommy Felts / September 2, 2015

After weeks of application reviews, LaunchKC has announced the top 20 contenders in their Kansas City-based grant competition. With a special kudos to Kansas City, 12 of the top 20 are from the metro area. Of the remaining eight finalists, seven are from seven U.S. states; and one from Santiago, Chile. Three of these non-Kansas City…

GigaPower coming to northeastern Johnson County

By Tommy Felts / September 2, 2015

AT&T announced this week that the company is expanding availability of U-Verse with GigaPower, its latest high-speed internet service aiming to compete against Google Fiber. The service is coming to Fairway, Mission Hills and Prairie Village, the company announced Monday. GigaPower appeared in the Kansas City metro area in February in parts of Kansas City,…

Startup families: 3 similarities between my new baby and business

By Tommy Felts / September 2, 2015

Starting a company is hard. Having a baby is hard. Doing both at the same time is kind of insane. But one major advantage of living in the Midwest is that founders have the ability to do both. In the coming months other founders will share their stories, experiences, and advice for having the best…

KC startup lands six PGA partnerships, more on the way

By Tommy Felts / September 1, 2015

Jason Gregory is feeling pretty confident his company will be the exclusive partner for at least half of the PGA American independent sections by next year. CaddyX is a golf bag transportation company that takes the leg work out of golfer’s experience by letting them schedule pick up for their clubs with the click of…

Sprint Accelerator opens applications, dons new name

By Tommy Felts / August 31, 2015

Kansas City’s top business accelerator is now accepting applications for a wider applicant pool after a recent — albeit minimal — name change. The Sprint Mobile Accelerator — formerly the Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator — lightened up its name to better reflect its broader focus on boosting mobile-centric startups. Led by Boulder-based Techstars, the accelerator…

KU lecture series brings Apple co-founder

By Tommy Felts / August 31, 2015

A Jayhawk fan is coming back to Lawrence for this year’s Anderson Chandler business lecture. Oh, and the fan just happens to be one of Apple Computer Inc.’s co-founders. Steve Wozniak, who founded Apple alongside Steve Jobs, will be speaking at University of Kansas for their 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Week event. Austin Falley, the KU…

Kansas City can’t get enough of TEDxKC

By Tommy Felts / August 28, 2015

Kansas Citians have rushed the stage to buy tickets for TEDxKC. When tickets for TEDxKC went on sale in early June, they sold out in less than 30 minutes. For those who weren’t able to snag tickets to the live event and simulcast at the Kauffman Performing Arts Center, other area organizations offered watch parties.…

The WTF Series: The Cloud

By Tommy Felts / August 27, 2015

On a daily basis, Ben Kittrell translates the jargon-filled world of technology for clients of his tech consultancy. The Words that Frustrate (WTF) series aims to offer readers some clarity in an industry dominated by techies’ confusing argot. When most people think of the Internet, they think of websites. But it’s actually much more than that. Emails,…

Sherry Turner talks diversity, funding landscape

By Tommy Felts / August 27, 2015

There are few people in Kansas City that have worked harder than Sherry Turner to increase women’s engagement in entrepreneurship. Founder of OneKC for Women, Turner works to help women in the area find jobs, start businesses, get financing or invest in other businesses through a variety of organizations. After years leading large corporate teams,…