Latest Stories
JE Dunn leads $500K round in smart apartment startup Homebase
A handful of Kansas City firms both large and small are partnering to advance smart home technologies. JE Dunn Construction Group and Sunflower Development Group have led at $500,000 investment round in Kansas City-based Homebase, a tech firm building an IoT smart apartment and building platform for multi-family properties. Will Winkler of PSW Real Estate,…
National conference series for digital entrepreneurs makes Kansas City debut
Hundreds of social media gurus, marketing professionals and online entrepreneurs will gather in Kansas City for a two-day conference that will feature talks from executives at Salesforce, AOL, LinkedIn and more. Organized by TechMedia, Digital Summit: Kansas City is part of a national conference series that has been connecting digital marketing professionals for ten years….
Over 100 women will converge in KC for a weekend of coding and camaraderie
This coming weekend, Kansas City will host over 100 women coders from around the Midwest for an immersive, two-day workshop. The second annual workshop Django Girls is an international non-profit organization that is organized locally by Kansas City Women in Technology. The workshop will be held July 21 and 22 and attendees will build web…
KCultivator Q&A: Vivacious Jay Austin talks East KC, failure, Thomas Edison
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series we’re kicking off to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Check out our features on Victor & Penny’s Erin McGrane, SEED Law’s Adrienne Haynes, Code Koalas’ Robert Manigold, Prep-KC CEO Susan Wally and community builder Donald Carter. In 2014, eager college student Jay Austin Googled the words…
In swan song, departing innovation official Kate Garman reflects on tenure with KCMO
Editor’s note: Kate Garman is the KCMO innovation analyst but will be departing this week for a new opportunity in Seattle. She wrote the following piece reflecting on her time with the city. I’ve had a desk at Kansas City Hall now for three years. Starting as an intern, and later joining the staff as…
Mayor James challenges area nonprofits on digital inclusion
Kansas City, Mo. digital inclusion nonprofits now have the opportunity to win free blazing-fast Google Fiber. On Monday, Kansas City Mayor Sly James launched the Google Fiber Community Connections Challenge, which will reward selected local non-profit who seeks to close the digital divide. The challenge is part of the city of Kansas City’s larger digital…
Connecting social entrepreneurs, Conquer for Good launches event series
To spur the creation of socially-conscious enterprises in Kansas City, brand strategy firm Will & Grail announced Thursday the launch of Conquer for Good: Connect, an event series. Following up on the conversation from the Conquer for Good conference in March, the monthly event series will feature talks from Kansas City business leaders who lead…
Events Preview: Django Girls, EduHub and the Lean Lab happy hour
There are a plethora of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter, or curious community member — we recommend these upcoming events for you. Are you hosting a relevant community event? Feel free to add it to the FWD/KC calendar for increased exposure. Once your event…
Techstars Kansas City announces inaugural class
To the delight of its leader, Techstars Kansas City’s first class has a hearty local flavor. Techstars KC on Monday welcomed 10 tech firms — five of which hail from Kansas and Missouri — for its three-month, mentor-led program that rapidly accelerates startup companies. With ambitions to transform the companies into global tech titans, Techstars KC…
Smart City tech enables KCMO to predict potholes before they happen
It seems a dash of innovation can make even the most mundane subjects exciting. That is if Kansas City chief innovation officer Bob Bennett’s enthusiasm for a new pothole technology is any indication. This month, the City of Kansas City, Mo. will pilot a machine learning program that will predict potholes before they occur, saving…
