Latest Stories
Thomas: 3 investing lessons from your busted bracket
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. It’s here — the one month of the year where a single college basketball tournament costs employers a collective $1.2 billion for every hour of lost productivity. And it’s fantastic! I’m a big believer that we can find investing lessons in nearly every…
Video: Sprint Accelerator firms deliver elevator pitches
Startland News, along with the Kansas City community, was able to mix and mingle with the current cohort of startups at the Kansas City-based Sprint Accelerator. In a Wednesday night event at the accelerator — located in the Crossroads Arts District — ten startup founders also quickly pitched their tech firms’ missions. The accelerator program, led…
Inaugural smart city summit eyes the future of public safety
How can technology improve the safety of a city? That subject and more will be discussed during the upcoming Smart City Tech Summit, which will host dozens of government officials and public safety professionals from around the U.S. The summit — set to take place March 29 through March 31 — will focus on the…
Stephens: It’s time to embrace Kansas City’s cowtown character
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. I get it. I do. Many of you moved to Kansas City from small Midwestern towns to get away. Kansas City is the big city. You are tired of the fly-over jokes, the rolling prairie, the Casey’s General Store. You want hip, cool,…
KCWiT diversifying Kansas City’s tech workforce with new program
A Kansas City organization is working to update your mental picture that software programmers are guys hunched over a keyboard in a dark room speedily typing code. The change? Replace the man in the picture with a woman. Well, and the dark room — that’s not the most healthy environment for any programmer. With the…
Kansas’ angel tax credits sprint to legal finish line
The Kansas House of Representatives nearly unanimously agreed that the state’s Angel Investor Tax Credits program must continue to boost early-stage businesses. The House voted 122 to 3 in favor of a measure that will extend the life of the $6 million program until 2021. Angel investor tax credits, which are set to expire in 2016,…
Shawnee native sells another startup for over $1B with GM deal
General Motors is hoping to become the leader of self-driving car technology with the gargantuan acquisition of Cruise Automation, whose founder has a local tie. GM announced on March 11 that it purchased Cruise for more than $1 billion in a move that aims to accelerate the development of GM’s autonomous vehicle tech. Cruise…
The WTF Series: Encryption and Apple’s predicament
For those of you who have been living under a rock the last month, there’s a “little” snafu going on between Apple and the FBI. The FBI handed Apple a court order demanding access to the password-protected iPhone of a mass shooter. In an open letter to customers, Apple CEO Tim Cook explained that the…
Kansas’ angel tax credits score first victory but hurdles remain
A bill extending Kansas’ popular Angel Investor Tax Credits scored its first victory Thursday, but legislators must make quick work of the measure if the program is to survive. The Kansas House Committee on Taxation unanimously approved a measure to continue the program, which offers accredited investors a tax credit of up to $50,000 on…
Women entrepreneurship: Miles to go and room to grow
I am an unabashed coffee fan, but conflicting research on my favorite brew has both raised and dashed my hopes. One study reveals that my two-cups-a-day may increase longevity, while another points to an increased risk of heart disease. Sipping a cup recently while reviewing data on women-owned businesses and entrepreneurship, it occurred to me…
