Chris Cheatham

How this startup (and a KC sports icon) turned young players into card-carrying legends overnight

An Overland Park-based custom trading card company and a Kansas City soccer star are teaming up on the pitch with a goal to make youth sports fun again. Stat Legend — launched by Chris Cheatham and Nick Weaver in 2023 — created custom cards for all 250 players who suit up for the Captains Soccer…

Chris Cheatham, RiskGenius

RiskGenius touchdown: OP insuretech startup scores exit deal with industry leader

Overland Park’s RiskGenius crossed a finish line this week — but work remains as an exit looms, the company announced Tuesday.  Columbus, Ohio-based Bold Penguin — an innovation-driven startup that rapidly increases speed-to-bind for commercial insurance — has agreed to acquire the insurtech company for an undisclosed amount, paving the way for continued dominance as the…

Already feeling FOMO for Global Entrepreneurship Week? Here are KC’s can’t-miss events

Hundreds of events geared toward makers, innovators and job creators are expected to pop up later this month in one of Kansas City’s historic cultural epicenters. “The 18th and Vine District has a rich history of entrepreneurship and has served as a hub for makers, dreamers and doers for decades,” said Jenny Miller, chief organizer…

Chris Cheatham, RiskGenius

RiskGenius announces Series B, partnerships with trio of world’s largest insurance carriers

Customers are pushing for the growth of RiskGenius, a top Kansas City startup providing software-based natural language processing tools for improved quality and accuracy in the insurance industry, said CEO Chris Cheatham. RiskGenius announced Monday an undisclosed Series B round led by Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd., doing business as HSCM Bermuda. The financing round…

Rick Vaughn, Mid America Angels

Top founder salutes Rick Vaughn: A mustached hero with a herculean task

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. The dude is amazing; the dude is a legend. He rocks a mustache and his name is Rick Vaughn. If you don’t know him, it’s too late. He’s already gone. Well, not quite gone; this isn’t an obituary. Rick is just retiring from…