Editor’s note: Startland News editors selected 10 high-growth, scaling Kansas City companies to spotlight for its annual Startups to Watch project. Now in its 11th year, this feature recognizes founders and startups that editors believe will make some of the biggest, most compelling news in the coming 12 months. The following is one of 2026’s picks.
Click here to view the full list of Startups to Watch and see how the companies (including this one) were selected.
LODAS Markets is going after one of private investing’s biggest frustrations: liquidity.
Forging both a marketplace and behind-the-scenes infrastructure to help investors buy, hold, and exit alternative assets, founder Brian King brings years of experience from public markets into the private space.
“We’re a stock exchange for alternative investments, and we’re also a transfer agent,” he explained. “So we’re really running two startups at once.”
Before starting LODAS Markets, King helped build BATS Exchange, which grew from a Kansas City startup into the second-largest stock exchange in the world before being acquired by the Chicago Board Options Exchange. He later spent several years at the New York Stock Exchange, where the idea for LODAS started to take shape.
“The original idea was that alternative investments are mostly illiquid,” he said. “We wanted to make illiquid investments more liquid.”
Alternative investments often include private real estate, private credit, and large funds offered through financial advisors. They can help diversify portfolios and reduce exposure to public market swings, but they come with a big downside.
“If you need to sell it, you can’t,” King said.
LODAS is working to fix that by creating a structured way for investors to find exits.
Elevator pitch: LODAS Markets is building tools to make private investments easier to manage and easier to sell, using exchange-style infrastructure and new partnerships to fuel growth.
- Founder: Brian King
- Headquarters: Overland Park, Kansas
- Founding year: 2020
- Current employee count: 19
- Funding amount raised to date: $19 million
- Noteworthy investors: Cantor Fitzgerald, CAIS Group, KCRise Fund, Gary Fish, Firebrand Ventures
On the marketplace side, LODAS partnered with CAIS Group, a major distributor of alternative investments. The deal includes white-labeling LODAS technology for CAIS’ platform, opening the door to a massive advisor network.
“That was a huge step for us,” King said. “Distribution lets us scale much faster.”
On the transfer agent side, LODAS also landed several large sponsors. One of the biggest was Cantor Fitzgerald, which moved all of its funds onto the LODAS platform.
“The exchange helps investors find exits,” King explained. “The transfer agent side manages cap tables, tracks shareholders, and handles payments like commissions and dividends.”
Brian King, founder of LODAS Markets; photo by Haines Eason
The road to scale was not easy early on. Trust, regulation, and timing all slowed progress.
“You have to build a lot of trust, and you need anchor clients,” said King. “The years leading up to this one were all different and challenging.”
In 2025, he added, “we really turned the corner.”
Looking ahead, King is excited about changes in legislation that could open the door for alternative investments inside retirement accounts.
“New legislation now allows private investments inside 401(k)s,” said King, “That hasn’t been allowed before, and it unlocks a huge pool of assets.”
Because alternative investments are designed for longer hold periods, they align naturally with retirement accounts.
“401(k)s are built for long-term investing,” he said. “That makes this a great growth area for us.”
For 2026, the focus is on expansion.
“Key partnerships in 2025 helped unlock this next phase,” said King. “2026 should be our biggest growth year yet.”
10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2026
- Authentiya puts ethical AI to the test as students embrace controversial classroom tech
- CarePilot prescribes more patient time, fewer clicks for doctors as product line grows
- Cyphra Autonomy pairs robotics with heavy labor (and a light lift for job site users)
- dScribe tracks early momentum with West Coast-Midwest funding combinator
- The Good Game connects young athletes with on-demand sports experts
- LAN Party gains steam with nostalgia as a hook, gaming enterprise potential as the real play
- Resonus wants local government to hear you — not just the loudest voices
- Roz uncovers dynamic momentum amid audit of its own shifting opportunities
- Sova Dating builds emotional matches with vibes, logistics and an unexpected viral moment
