Latest Stories
New UMKC center to engage entrepreneurs, community
The University of Missouri-Kansas City recently solidified funds to build an innovation center to serve a broader set of students and the Kansas City community. The $14.8-million Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center will feature a variety of resources for students and the larger business community, including a lab, rapid prototyping equipment, 3D printers and…
Claimkit snags ‘aspirational entrepreneur’ award
Overland Park-based tech startup ClaimKit recently was dubbed 2015’s most “aspirational entrepreneur” by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Founded in 2011, Claimkit created a contract management platform for insurance companies, law firms and consulting groups to help them more efficiently collect and analyze documents. Now with five full time staff, the company in…
C2FO CEO Sandy Kemper talks failure, VCs, maximizing time
From a Kansas City arena to the founders of one of the nation’s largest financial institutions, the Kemper name is well known in Kansas City. But it’s more than just Sandy Kemper’s name that drew a sold out crowd at Kansas City’s May Startup Grind event. Kemper leads one of Kansas City’s fastest growing companies…
Tech startup, KCSV among finalists for small biz awards
The Kansas City Kansas Chamber of Commerce announced Thursday its small business award finalists. The awards celebrate businesses that are financially successful, have a dynamic idea and are making an impact on the community. This year’s finalists include two members of the startup community. RFP365, which created software that eases the request for proposal process,…
1MC recap: program traces roots, features The Swapping Co., OneDayKC
Kansas City’s 1 Million Cups tried something new today. And by new, it was actually old. The event met in its original venue, Kauffman Labs, which served as an intimate setting for attendees. Entrepreneurs and community members gathered around desks and viewed presentations projected onto a white board. “The venue change happened today because our…
Coming UMKC innovation center to serve students, entrepreneurs
With funding shored up from private and public donors, the University of Missouri-Kansas City is planning to move ahead with its plan to build the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center to support students and entrepreneurs. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced Tuesday that the state is allocating $7.4 million to the center, which represents half…
Security firm Nodal nabs $100K, ramps up hiring
Good news is stacking up for Kansas City-based Nodal Industries. The security hardware tech company recently snagged $100,000 in seed funding as part of an opportunity to participate in the 500 Startup accelerator program, based in Mountain View, Calif. The funding will allow Nodal to hire up to eight people, as well as ramp up production…
Play-It Health lands in top-ranked digital health accelerator
As with many successful startups, the idea for Play-It Health was born out of personal experience with an unsolved industry need. Kim Gandy, a former clinician and now the founder and CEO of Play-It Health, recognized that patients were having trouble engaging and adhering to their medical regimen. In the worst cases, this led to…
LaunchKC, Techweek to welcome 10 tech firms to KC in style
In roughly four months, Kansas City will welcome a crop of tech startups bolstered by thousands of dollars in funding and a rockstar arrival. Kansas City’s LaunchKC competition — which aims to attract 10 tech firms to relocate to KC with $50,000 grants — has partnered with national tech conference Techweek to offer the winners…
New platform GUILDit offers art entrepreneurs visibility
A new program called GUILDit to promote and support art entrepreneurship is coming to Kansas City. The program is a bi-monthly gathering where art entrepreneurs take the stage to give six-minute presentations followed by questions and answers in the hopes of crafting a stronger Kansas City art economy, and to further connections between local artists.…
HEMP brings Apple co-founder to KC as featured speaker
Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, will be the keynote speaker at The Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program’s 20th anniversary celebration. Wozniak’s experience shaping the computing industry and influential product design for Apple have produced him fame as one of technology’s key thought leaders. “As a successful entrepreneur, Steve Wozniak understands the importance a mentor can make…
In time for Mother’s Day: Ovatemp wants to boost women’s fertility
The arrival of Ana Mayer’s baby girl isn’t the only thing she’ll be thinking about this Mother’s Day. Mayer — who’s among the newest founders in the Techstars-led Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator in Kansas City — will also be mulling how to further develop Ovatemp, the Boston-based ovulation tech company she leads. Ovatemp offers women…
Founder of defunct Symptomly shares lessons from failure
Failure is a touchy subject. But for Derek Bereit — the former CEO and co-founder of mobile asthma tracking company Symptomly — his company’s failure was an opportunity shrouded in a difficult situation. Rather than sulking, Bereit sat down with Startland News to discuss Symptomly’s demise, the lessons it provided him and the possibilities that…
