Lead Bank
KC ranks No. 11 among Midwest startup hubs; why it needs its own big news day to get VCs’ attention
Investors are looking for more big outcomes — from billion-dollar valuations to IPOs — and plentiful startups in the pipeline behind them, said Victor Gutwein, delivering the verdict on Kansas City for his firm’s 2026 ranking of Midwest startup cities. Cues from KC’s most competitive neighbors could help it move up the list, he added.
Meet the 12 KC companies pledging to buy from diverse vendors; Join them in the CEO-to-CEO Challenge
Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by KC Rising, a regional initiative to help Kansas City grow faster and more intentionally, as part of a campaign to promote its CEO-to-CEO Challenge on supplier diversity. A dozen high-profile Kansas City companies are at the vanguard of a new regional effort to boost supplier diversity programs…
AltCap, GIFT, small business allies partner to expand opportunities for Black-owned ventures
A coalition of Kansas City organizations have joined forces to launch a new partnership that will invest in the region’s Black-owned small businesses through flexible debt and equity financing, grant funding and business advisory services, the group announced Thursday. “Unfortunately, many Black entrepreneurs are left out of the financial mainstream when it comes to business…
Lead Bank donates $25K for OHUB.KC to support minority-led startups during ‘unprecedented times’
The moment is now for corporate partners to support entrepreneur initiatives like OHUB.KC, said Rodney Sampson, just a day before the KC.UP minority accelerator pushes ahead with a virtual demo day to showcase its first cohort. Kansas City-based Lead Bank on Thursday announced a $25,000 donation to OHUB.KC — a joint effort between the Economic…
Techweek 100 list released: Dozens of KC’s top cultivators, ambassadors and innovators
Techweek Kansas City on Friday released its Techweek 100 list of the premier leaders pushing innovation in Kansas City. The collection of cultivators, ambassadors and innovators is a who’s who of familiar names across the startup, entrepreneurship and tech communities. Released in the runup to Techweek KC’s Oct. 8-12 festivities, the list isn’t a ranking,…
