Storytailor’s marquee Pure Pitch Rally win comes at the perfect time for the Kansas City startup, its founders said. They’re preparing to roll out a new immersive storytelling platform through a partnership with Amazon’s Alexa+ next year — a move expected to bring their tech to more than 200 million Prime users.
JQ Sirls, right, pitches his startup, StoryTailor, alongside co-founder Herston Fails during the Pure Pitch Rally; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
“It’s the most exciting thing and the most nervous thing, because on Day 1, millions of people will be hitting the site,” said JQ Sirls, CEO of Storytailor, an AI-driven platform that adapts to a child’s emotions to provide a tool of comfort and support. “We’re racing to get prepared.”
Click here to explore Storytailor.
The startup earned $22,000 in checks from “Land Sharks” at Monday’s Pure Pitch Rally competition, which places eight emerging startups on stage with the opportunity to win spot-cash prizes from a crowd of community and business impact investors.
Now in its 10th year, the event sent founders home with more than $82,000 and access to high-value resources and professional networks.
Herston Fails and JQ Sirls, StoryTailor, on stage at the Pure Pitch Rally; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
“A good majority of the people who gave us a check almost put us in tears because of their personal reason why,” said Sirls, referring to the direct feedback that accompanied each individual $1,000 award — some of which came from teenage entrepreneurship students participating in the event.
Entrepreneurship students award checks during the Pure Pitch Rally; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
“There’s one thing for an investor to give us a check, and it’s another thing for high school kids to say, ‘No, this is something we deal with, and we want our siblings to have,’” he continued.
“For everybody who wanted to be seen – and that’s what our platform focuses on — those were the most moving moments,” added Herston Fails, CSO of Storytailor. “The students backing us meant more than any other checks we got, because that’s exactly what’s next.”
The company’s forthcoming “story intelligence” platform allows families to generate personalized children’s stories in under 90 seconds, complete with read-along features and interactive smart home experiences — from synced lighting effects to voice-activated storytelling.
Ian Foster pitches his company, SiteScan, at the 2025 Pure Pitch Rally; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
SiteScan, which uses AI-powered inspection software to help wastewater utility providers detect infrastructure defects, followed Storytailor’s lead at Pure Pitch Rally with $13,500, including the People’s Choice Award.
“I’m completely ecstatic,” said Ian Foster, founder of SiteScan. “Especially because I didn’t expect the first person who stood up to be giving a check to us. I’m really excited to see where things go from here.”
Foster plans to use a portion of the funds to help his team leave their day jobs.The Kansas City startup’s idea was born from his co-founder’s frustration with the 30 hours a week he spent watching inspection videos.
“Cities are paying $1.2 billion every year on pipeline inspections alone. This is where SiteScan comes in,” Foster said in his pitch. “We use cutting-edge computer vision technology to find issues in pipes and other wastewater infrastructure, bringing insights quickly to engineers so that they can get back to doing more important engineer stuff.”
Karen Fenaroli, founder of the Pure Pitch Rally, speaks during the 2025 event at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
The milestone Pure Pitch Rally event, hosted at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art by Tony award winner Nick Demos, marked 10 years of Pure Pitch Rally empowering early-stage entrepreneurs. Founder Karen Fenaroli, CEO of Fenaroli & Associates, reflected on the event’s evolution and impact.
“We are making history on the stage today,” she said. “On this 10th birthday, it will be written everywhere that you are here and you are part of the story of creation, artistry, entrepreneurism, building the city, the state and the future. The next 100 years of Kansas City is happening right now. That is the news. That is our news.”
Since its founding in 2015, Pure Pitch Rally has evolved into a high-impact platform for innovation and investment, connecting corporate and community leaders with more than 80 startups, attracting millions in capital, and helping generate thousands of local jobs.
2025 Pure Pitch Rally competitors; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
Here’s who received Pure Pitch Rally funding:
(Editor’s note: Funding totals are based on amounts announced during the Pure Pitch Rally event. Final, official funding totals had not yet been released by organizers Tuesday morning.)
Herston Fails and JQ Sirls, StoryTailor; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
StoryTailor, JQ Sirls and Herston Fails – $22,000
Storytailor is a dynamic storytelling platform that adapts in real time to a child’s emotional state, helping families, educators, therapists, and caregivers deliver tailored support and encouragement exactly when children need it most — whether soothing tough moments or celebrating silly ones.
“StoryTailor helps anyone, anywhere in any language, create a personalized story for their child and offspring activities in under 90 seconds,” Sirls noted.
Ian Foster, SiteScan; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
SiteScan, Ian Foster — $11,000 + $2,500 People’s Choice Award + $2,500 Luminary Award for legal fees
SiteScan uses AI-powered image recognition to automate civil infrastructure inspections, beginning with sewer systems and quickly expanding to additional use cases, helping engineers and project managers reduce manual workload and accelerate construction timelines.
“Sewers are gross, and you may be wondering, well, then why is this guy up here talking about them?” Foster asked the crowd. “Well, we all know that America’s infrastructure is crumbling. We also know that no one really wants to talk about what’s going on down in the sewers. Unfortunately, there are nearly 2 million miles of sewer pipelines across the U.S. that someone has to inspect.”
Aaron Shumate, CIQ Health; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
CIQ Health, Aaron Shumate — $12,000
CIQ Health provides healthcare organizations with contract and network intelligence tools that transform complex pricing data into actionable insights, helping providers and payers optimize reimbursement, benchmark rates, and negotiate more effectively.
“We help doctors get more money from insurance companies,” Shumate explained. “Now, the financial health of medical practices is understandably not talked about as much, but when they struggle, it’s bad for patients: fewer choices, rushed doctor visits, and ultimately higher medical bills.”
“So like so many things in healthcare, the numbers are staggering,” he added. “Up to 30 percent of all practices are at risk of closure or forced acquisition, and in the rural health market alone, up to $50 billion could be lost over the next 10 years. This puts care for millions of people in jeopardy.”
Julie Mabrey, Resonus; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
Resonus, Julie Mabrey — $12,000
Resonus is a civic engagement app that allows residents to communicate with local government officials in their own language via text or app, while providing public sector leaders with AI-summarized insights to make faster, more inclusive and more informed decisions.
“Civic engagement in our country is broken,” Mabrey explained. “Cities and citizens, they don’t talk to each other. On one hand, you have residents who struggle to figure out how to pay a city bill or to report a pothole or to get input on a new stadium proposal. The process is frustrating and confusing, and they give up and they feel like no one cares what they think. No wonder that nine out of 10 people don’t vote in local elections.”
“On the other side,” she continued, “city leaders sit in empty conference rooms, waiting for input that never arrives, because only 12 percent of us will actually show up to a public meeting this year. They’re forced to make decisions and then they hope they don’t get blamed for making the wrong decision.”
Romy Carlson, Enrichly; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
Enrichly, Romy Carlson — $9,000
Enrichly is a dual-sided youth enrichment marketplace designed to digitize and modernize the $90 billion U.S. activities sector, offering families a central hub to discover and enroll in camps and programs, while equipping providers with tools to manage scheduling, payments and growth.
“This all came about because, No. 1, I am a full time working mother of four, a 25-year health tech veteran who has built and scaled a number of different health tech platforms that manages millions of people’s information,” Carlson said. “But one January a couple years ago, I was sitting in my office and realized it took me 40 hours — a full work week — two bottles of wine and about $12,000 to plan an approachable summer camp plan for my three kids, and that’s somebody who’s pretty tech savvy. What about for parents who don’t have those resources and don’t have that type of access?”
Trina Nudson, BeAligned; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
BeAligned, Trina Nudson — $7,000
BeAligned, developed by The Layne Project, is an AI-powered reflection and negotiation tool that helps families and professionals reduce conflict in high-stakes co-parenting scenarios, supported by a research-based curriculum used in courts, schools and social service agencies.
“It guides reflection before reaction,” Nudson explained. “It helps parents communicate from a place of purpose, not pain. It’s not therapy, it’s not court. It’s a place in between where real change happens. BeAligned utilizes my seven step proprietary process that gives parents just enough space to step out of the conflict, to get curious, to see one another, to see themselves, and to return the focus to what matters most: their children.”
Matt Staub, perfect pAIr; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
perfect pAIr, Matt Staub — $4,000
An AI-powered co-pilot for financial professionals that blends emotionally intelligent discovery with advanced financial planning capabilities, perfect pAIr helps advisors uncover client motivations, deliver holistic strategies across retirement, tax, and estate planning, and inspire action.
“Today’s financial planning tools can kick out a very accurate and adequate financial plan that’s data driven and the numbers are correct,” Staub said, “but that plan won’t amount to anything if it’s not rooted in the hopes, fears, dreams and aspirations of the client. That takes human connection to make that client feel heard, assured, and motivated to act. That’s why we need something that bridges that gap.”
Alex Snook, OnSight; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
OnSight, Alex Snook — $3,000
A SaaS-based identity verification platform, OnSight protects against freight fraud at warehouse docks by confirming driver credentials in real time, while simultaneously improving efficiency and safety across logistics and supply chain operations.
“Cargo theft and freight fraud are a national emergency,” Snook explained. “Every single day, over $18 million of losses can be attributed to cargo theft and freight fraud. So that makes it an over $6 billion problem annually for the United States.”
“Our mission is simple,” he added, “stop the bad guys from showing up.”
