Digital Sandbox KC

Mike Parson, Missouri governor

MTC forced to surrender entire $2.9M budget — including funds already awarded to startups — to help MO pay for COVID-19 shortfall

Editor’s note: The following is part of Startland News’ ongoing coverage of the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Kansas City’s entrepreneur community, as well as how innovation is helping to drive a new normal in the ecosystem. Click here to follow related stories as they develop. A critical funding tool for Missouri startups could become the latest casualty…

Philip Hickman, Plabook; Nomi Smith, PMI Rate Pro; Max Schanker, SWOT; and Jerren Thornhill, The Guy Experience

Digital Sandbox KC deploys funding to four new startups as uncertainty becomes ‘new normal’

Startup leaders’ needs — and the development of their ideas — don’t stop with the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), said Jill Meyer, announcing the latest round of funding selections for Digital Sandbox KC. “We know our entrepreneurs are facing so much uncertainty in this current situation,” said Meyer, senior director of technology ventures at the UMKC…

Joe Krywicki, Jerry Workman and Parker Graham, Destiny; Startland News' Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2020

Already managing $25M in user debt, KC fintech startup Destiny banks on New York accelerator

Newly launched accelerator programming could help Kansas City-based Destiny Wealth secure customers and funding as the startup makes key pivots.  “This accelerator gives us a brand new network,” said Parker Graham, Destiny co-founder and CEO.  Part of the newly launched fintech track of the Nex Cubed Accelerator, Graham and Destiny will spend 16 weeks immersed…

Jeff Shackelford, Enterprise Center in Johnson County

Jeff Shackleford named ECJC’s top exec, aims to keep nonprofit’s impact on entrepreneurs in the billions 

A transition to new leadership at the Enterprise Center in Johnson County comes with a pledge to build upon the work of the nearly 25-year-old nonprofit, said Jeff Shackelford. “The ECJC will continue to play a vital role in being a focal point for local companies and entrepreneurs looking to raise capital to start and…

Richard Neal, Brendan Reilly and Dan Scott, Lelex Prime

Two startup support programs helped Lelex Prime score Fountain Innovation Fund’s first investment

An interconnected, resource-rich startup ecosystem is paying off for Lelex Prime — contributing to the fast-growing artificial intelligence company’s development and boosting its chances to win the Fountain Innovation Fund’s first cash infusion, said Brendan Reilly. “The Digital Sandbox helped us land this investment,” said Reilly, co-founder and principal at Lelex Prime, which joined the…