Latest Stories
Entrepreneur’s pitch: Throw a life vest to those caring for loved ones with special needs
Families of loved ones with disabilities are fighting the clock, said Samantha Lane, Kansas City-area entrepreneur and founder of Lumina Advocacy and Coaching in Gardner. “There is a huge gap to be filled,” Lane said as she described the array of physical, intellectual, and sensory needs affecting — what she referenced as one-fifth of the American…
DivvyHQ landed Novel’s first investment by avoiding hockey-stick growth, co-founder says
It was a marriage of the minds, said DivvyHQ co-founder Brody Dorland, describing his marketing tech firm’s recent investment from Novel Growth Partners. The company’s leadership — Dorland and co-founder Brock Stechman — is honored to be recipients of NGP’s first investment, Dorland said. But the pairing didn’t come by accident, he added. “I think they viewed…
In talent showdown with corporate neighbors, startups must hire smarter, say Digital Sandbox experts
Kansas City heavy-weights like Garmin and Cerner court developers at the student level, said Brody Dorland, discussing a talent showdown seen by startups across the metro. “How am I supposed to compete with that?” asked Dorland, co-founder of marketing tech firm DivvyHQ, during a recent Digital Sandbox: Summer in the Sand panel about growing startup…
KC Fed: Want to strengthen Kansas City’s job market? Narrow skills gap caused by digital division
Digital division in Kansas City is taking its toll on the local workforce, said Jeremy Hegle. More must be done to allow skilled workers access to technology — in turn offering them a chance to succeed in a rapidly growing electronic economy, added Hegle, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City senior community development advisor. In…
Vote now: Kansas Citians vie to lead tech, education panels at SXSW 2019
A cadre of Kansas Citians are hoping to take the podium at one of the nation’s largest tech and innovation conferences in 2019. At least four Kansas City tech and entrepreneurship leaders are vying for panel or speaking spots at the 2019 South by Southwest conference March 8-17 in Austin, Texas. SXSW recently opened voting…
Nominations for Techweek 100 list of premier KC innovators close Sept. 9
It’s not a ranking. Techweek 100 celebrates the whole spectrum of individuals and organizations who are impacting the business and technology landscape on a significant scale in cities like Kansas City, organizers said. Nominations close Sunday, Sept. 9. “Honorees include fast-growing technology companies, prominent sector investors, key contributing enablers of the digital ecosystem, those at…
Lenexa teen IDs winning medical solution with Parkinson’s detection tech FacePrint
Stanford University will have to wait. Eighteen-year-old Erin Smith is taking her medical technology venture, FacePrint, on the road. The Johnson County teen has been selected to join two prestigious fellowships to further develop FacePrint, which is a diagnostic and monitoring Tool for Parkinson’s Disease. She’s been tapped for $25,000 from the Davidson Institute for…
Velocity Lee’s Summit gets first big boost from city with $145K innovation investment
A $145,000 allocation for Velocity Lee’s Summit represents the first step in the City of Lee’s Summit getting serious about investing in innovation, said Grant Gooding. “There is a lot of talent in Lee’s Summit and we wanted to give entrepreneurs a place and an ecosystem to foster the development of their businesses,” said Gooding,…
Pure Pitch Rally returning to Techweek with land sharks hungry to invest more than $80K
A frenzy of land sharks ready to bite on startups’ best ideas is gathering at The American restaurant during Techweek to award up to $80,000 in cash and $500,000 in Amazon AWS Activate credits. The one-of-a-kind Pure Pitch Rally event — set for 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct 10 — plays off the hit…
Inc. 5000 report: Kansas City retailers among metro’s fastest growing companies
Shoppers are buying, spurring retail growth in Kansas City, according to details gleaned from the 2018 Inc. 5000 fastest-growing companies list. Released Wednesday morning, the report showed a slight dip in performance for Kansas City overall compared to 2017. Three dozen Kansas City-area firms landed on the 2018 Inc. 5000 list, a drop from the…
